Fresh Faces: Reina Rae

A version of this story appears in the July issue of AVN magazine. Click here for the digital edition. When she joined the adult industry this spring, Reina Rae became more than just a porn star. She’s also turned into a numbers person. Every morning, the 5-foot-7 brunette scrolls through each of her social media platforms—OnlyFans, Twitter and Instagram—to get updated figures on followers, retweets, and subscriptions. She also keeps daily tabs on her video traffic on Pornhub, where views continue to skyrocket. “It’s exciting and almost surreal,” says Rae, who turned 20 in May. “Everything is moving so fast that I almost don’t believe it sometimes. I’m like, ‘Wow! This is actually happening!’” Rae’s ascension has indeed been quick. After appearing in just 15 scenes for a variety of studios such as Team Skeet and New Sensations, Rae was offered an opportunity many performers yearn for but never achieve: a shoot with Vixen Media Group. Rae’s debut for the industry titan—a boy-girl romp with Alex Jones—garnered rave reviews when it dropped on Vixen’s site in June. A few weeks later she filmed a soon-to-be-released group scene for Slayed (Vixen’s all-girl brand) with veterans with Avery Cristy, Spencer Bradley, September Reign and reigning AVN Female Performer Gianna Dior. Rae certainly left an impression on Slayed director Laurent Sky, who rarely books first-year performers for such high-end scenes. But with flawless skin, an all-natural physique and the face and smile of a glamour model, Rae’s beauty was impossible for Sky to ignore. After interacting with Rae—who is Hispanic—on set, Sky quickly realized that Rae’s strengths extend far beyond her good looks. “We had a beautiful experience with her,” Sky says, “and it was mainly because of her attitude. She just blended in so well. I was like, ‘Wow, OK. Finally a new face who is absolutely great to work with.’ It’s very refreshing. “It’s like getting the full package. She’s very pretty, she’s easy to get along with and she’s professional. Reina is someone we really, really like.” An Arizona native, Rae wasn’t envisioning a career in porn when she graduated from high school in May of 2020. For more than a year she hopscotched from job to job—mainly at restaurants and bars—while she attended community college and searched for her place in life. Through it all, a constant thought hovered in her mind. “My whole life,” Rae says, “I always wanted to do something big. A singer, an actor … it didn’t matter. I wanted to be in front of the camera. I wanted to be known.” Rae launched an OnlyFans account last January that mainly featured solo content that didn’t show her face. A few months later, she was contacted by an agent and decided to transition into studio porn. Rae says she’d only slept with seven people prior to entering the industry, but her inexperience hardly showed during her debut scene with Net Video Girls. Rae became more and more comfortable in front of the camera during the next few months. Before her attention-grabbing shoot for Vixen, Rae filmed a handful of rough scenes with independent creator Hoby Buchanon. “I’ve always been super adventurous,” Rae says, “and I’ve always been open to doing new stuff. I wasn’t totally new to rough sex. I’d asked my ex-boyfriend to slap me before, so I was into it.” Now booking through ATMLA, Rae signed a six-scene contract with Buchanon that will include her first on-screen anal. That scene is slated to drop July 8. Rae is also looking forward to working more glamour-style shoots with elite studios such as Vixen, which seems intent on having her back. “Reina has the desire to do high-end stuff,” Sky says. "We are very picky. It’s not easy to work with us. We’re a cinema company, we’re not a video company. We are very demanding, probably the most demanding company in the industry. “A lot of girls are intimidated to work with us. It’s like being in a real movie. But she just blended in flawlessly, like it was no big deal. It was very surprising.” Sky pauses. “She’s good at what she does,” he says. “I’ve been around the block. This girl knows what’s up. It’s very unusual for a new girl to be at this level, to be honest with you. She’s on the right track.” Just like the numbers say. “I’ve already gotten to experience so much,” Rae says. “But I wouldn’t say things are moving too fast. I’m being very selective when it comes to who I shoot with. Everything is going just right.” Photography by @roxyryannphotos