A Field Guide To Jessica Parker Kennedy

A few weeks ago, the pirates of Starz's "Black Sails" set off on their wildly sexy course--and ever since, we've found ourselves consumed by questions about the lovely Jessica Parker Kennedy (also known as Max, the wonderfully manipulative and often undressed sex worker). Who is this gorgeous girl? Where did she come from? And--most importantly--where else can we see her naked? Clearly, it was time for a field guide.

Jessica Parker Kennedy was born on October 3, 1984, in Calgary (that's Canada, for the uninformed). Her first screen role was Lucy the Elf in the TV movie "Santa Baby;" from there she landed more notable roles like Plastique in "Smallville," Melissa Glaser in "The Secret Circle," Megan Rose on "90210," and, of course, Max in "Black Sails."

To some, the transition from teen drama star to naughty pirate show prostitute might seem like an odd one--you know, along the lines of a child star like Miley Cyrus growing up to pose nude--but Kennedy has no qualms about the path her career has taken. For one thing, "Black Sails" isn't the first time she's done a nude scene: long before her days as a member of "Smallville"'s Suicide Squad, she was taking her top off for the role of Beautiful Girl in the Canadian classic "Decoys 2: Alien Seduction." (And you thought Canadians were prudes.) For another, well, she just doesn't think getting naked is anything to be afraid of.

Unlike some of her peers, who treat nude scenes as totally taboo or for special occasions only, Kennedy has a pretty healthy attitude towards taking her top (and bottom) off. As she put it in a recent interview, "You can't be on a Starz show playing a prostitute and say, 'I'm not going to show my boobs.'" Her main concerns about nude scenes? Knowing that her skin showing is essential to the plot (as we're sure it was in "Decoys 2")--and, in the case of full frontal scenes, making sure she's got a got a properly fitted merkin.

Kennedy's willingness to shed her skivvies isn't the only thing to love about her, however. There's also the fact that she's an adventurous young lass with a taste for danger. While filming "Black Sails" in Cape Town, she made sure to take in the sights and sample the local culture--by which we mean, Kennedy and her mom went swimming with sharks. As she told Complex:

Every time you see a picture of a great white shark jumping out of the water and eating a seal on National Geographic it's shot right outside Cape Town. There's a plethora of great whites in the ocean there. I can't believe the surfers are out at 6 o'clock every morning in their wetsuits surfing in this water that's littered with sharks—there are attacks every year! It looks scary but as soon as I get afraid of something, I really want to do it. My mom came to town and wanted to go, too, and I was like, "OK, if my mom wants to go, I can't be a chicken and not go." It was something we did together that turned out to be a really wonderful adventure. It was amazing to be in the ocean and meet great white sharks, something so majestic and beautiful.

So: a gorgeous Canadian lady who enjoys nudity and lives to flirt with danger. Does it get any better than that? Amazingly, yes. In an interview with myFanbase.de, Kennedy revealed a teenage love of "The Craft"--and a more adult love of "Breaking Bad" and "American Horror Story." Sure, we know that having good taste in movies and TV isn't everything...but we're glad to know we won't have to scrap our fantasies of long nights spent curled up next to to Kennedy for a marathon session of Bryan Cranston's downward spiral.

And for those who happen to be curious about the source of Kennedy's stunning good looks and fabulous physique: turns out you can chalk it up to hybrid vigor. The "Black Sails" star is part black, part Russian, and part Italian, and one more argument for interracial relationships (not that we needed any more convincing on that note).

Last but not least: wondering where Kennedy plans to take the role of Max in future episodes? Starz may be mum on the show's upcoming plotlines, but if Kennedy has any say, it'll unfold as follows, "I have this fantasy that I'm going to turn into this really badass pirate, living on the ship and killing really smarmy men." We'd never say no to seeing her get even more badass...provided, of course, that she's still taking the time to show off that fantastic body of hers (as justified by the script, that is).

· See all of Jessica Parker Kennedy's nude scenes at Mr. Skin (mrskin.com)
· Follow Jessica Parker Kennedy on Twitter (twitter.com)