Fresh Faces: Maddy Haze

A version of this feature appears in the January issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital edition. LOS ANGELES—Less than a year into her blossoming career, Maddy Haze has already identified her role model in the adult industry. Emma Hix. Haze’s fondness for the 2021 Female Performer of the Year nominee developed not from watching Hix on a screen, but from chatting with her on a plane. The veteran and rookie performers were seated next to one another on a flight from Los Angeles to Ohio last spring. Conversation ensued, and by the time the aircraft touched down four hours later, Haze had reshaped her approach to her future. “I really admire her,” Haze said of Hix. “She has so many goals she’s set for herself, goals that don’t have anything to do with the industry. A lot of girls spend their money as soon as they get it, but she saves so much of hers and has her whole life planned out. “She’s sharp. She’s got everything together. That’s how I want to be.” If her debut year is any indication, Haze catches on quickly. The striking, 5-foot-8 blonde is creating quite the buzz in porn circles, shooting for companies such as teamskeet and Naughty America in the spring before performing an anal scene entitled “Take Me” for Tushy Raw in October. Haze said the opportunity to work for an industry titan was the highlight of her banner year. “It was such a great experience shooting for (Tushy),” Haze, 24, told AVN. “Everything was just so professional, from the makeup to the set to the way I was treated.” She laughed. “They even bought food for me afterward,” Haze said. “I’d love to work for them again.” A native of California’s Bay Area, Haze dabbled in camming for a few months in the fall of 2019 before a friend suggested she transition into porn. Haze shot her first scene in Arizona last December for Backroom Casting Couch. “I’ve heard girls say how scared they were to get on the plane to fly to their first scene,” Haze said. “But I wasn’t nervous at all. I just told myself, ‘You know what? This is a chance, an opportunity. I’m going to make the most of it. If anything bad happens, I’ll figure a way out of it.’” Haze’s confidence didn’t waver when she arrived on set. She said taking off her clothes and performing in front of people wasn’t a big deal. “I’m a bit of a nudist,” Haze said, “so I figured it’d be easy to do what they asked. I’ve always felt like a hippie. Even when I was a kid, I never really liked clothes. I just did whatever I wanted. I’m very open-minded, so nothing bothers me. I’m not insecure about anything. I’ve been told that I have natural beauty.” Indeed, Haze’s alluring appearance is what caught the eye of Andre Madness, an agent/producer with Nexxxt Level Talent who signed Haze to a contract last summer. As smitten as he was by her looks, Madness was even more impressed with Haze’s approach to her job, which he said was evident during a photoshoot for his agency’s website. “She has a wonderful, infectious personality—and she took to the camera really well,” Madness said. “She’s definitely critical of herself and she’s always trying to improve. She always wants to do everything better than she did it the last time. She doesn’t take constructive criticism personally. She wants it. She seeks it out.” Madness said Haze left the agency over the winter and took a break from shooting. But he said there were no hard feelings and is confident she’ll continue to shine once she returns. “There are certain people who are naturals for this,” he said. “Maddy is just getting her start, but she really seems to like what she does.” And that includes hobbies other than porn. Haze said she’s in the midst of learning how to become a tattoo artist and she also wants to work as a DJ. Her biggest passion, though, is drawing—“I’ve always been a natural,” Haze said—and she has a side business designing and animating company logos. “I teach myself everything,” Haze said. “I don’t go to school for anything if I don’t have to, because I believe you can learn everything on your own if you ask the right people the right questions, if you know how to network.” Haze realizes she has a lot to learn about the adult industry, too. But if she continues to seek feedback and advice from the icons of the business—just like she did with Hix on that plane—her path to stardom could be smooth. “My goal is to become big in the industry,” Haze said. “But even if it doesn’t happen, I still want to save my money and buy a house. I want to be financially stable and get my first car. I’m just trying to work hard and do something with my life.”