Adult modeling and films
Cruise began working as a pornographic film actress in the summer of 2013. She made her porn debut in August of that year after contacting the Florida-based talent agency East Coast Talents. Her first agent advised her to market herself towards older men, but she instead marketed her brand towards both male and female college students. She moved to Los Angeles in March 2014 and signed with the agency Spiegler Girls in June. That same month, she was featured in AVN's "fresh" issue.
Cruise stated that she was interested in making extreme movies that explore issues of female submissiveness and consent. She cited Sasha Grey as an influence in that regard, specifically by the way Grey expressed vulnerability in her own films. Cruise appeared in several features, including American Hustle XXX from Smash Pictures and Cinderella XXX. In 2014, she was cast as the lead in director Jacky St. James' romance feature Second Chances, produced by New Sensations.
In 2015, Cruise became the second performer to ever win AVN Award's Best New Starlet and Best Actress in the same year, after Jenna Jameson in 1996. In October 2015, she signed an exclusive one-year contract with Axel Braun Productions.
Cruise was the subject of a 2014 article by Cosmopolitan magazine's website called "Sex Work", which profiles women who have careers in sex-related industries.
She is friends with fellow collegiate porn actress Belle Knox. With encouragement from her father, Cruise contacted Knox as she believed she would be "one of the few people who could really understand what [Knox] was going through." With regard to the publicity that Knox received, Cruise commented that she was "disgusted and appalled by the way civilized society tormented an 18-year-old woman for being sexual. The whole affair really demonstrated how important it is that we improve sexual education and tackle stigmas, as well as foster compassion and empathy between people."
In 2016, CNBC named Cruise one of the 12 most popular pornographic film actresses.
