Marcia Cross is a real redhead — judging by some nude photos that the genuinely desperate "Housewife" hopes to keep off the market.
Phoenix-based agent David Hans Schmidt has gotten his hands on more than 200 personal photos of the titian-tressed actress.
"There are some pictures of her showering outside," Schmidt tells us. "She looks absolutely gorgeous. And yes, the carpet does match the curtains."
Schmidt is representing the owner of a carting firm hired to remove trash from Cross' home in L.A. According to Schmidt, one of the firm's employees discovered the photos when he got to the dump.
Cross is demanding their return. Her lawyers argue that no matter where the photos were found, they are the copyrighted property of Cross and her husband, Tom Mahoney, who may have taken some of them. Cross' attorneys maintain the photos were thrown out by mistake.
"The pictures were not stolen," says Schmidt. "When you throw something away, you forfeit that property.
"We recognize the copyright issue, but U.S. copyright law stops at the border," he adds. Schmidt won't say whether he's ready to shop the shots abroad.
Just as he did earlier this year, when he offered to sell Paris Hilton the embarrassing contents of a rent-due storage locker that went up for public auction, Schmidt has invited Cross to buy back her trash.
"I'm not looking to mortify Ms. Cross," says Schmidt. "I just want the most money for my client."
He says that Cross' representatives have so far balked at his price, which he won't name.
Schmidt says his client also has Cross' tax returns. "I know how much she made, but out of respect for Ms. Cross, I won't discuss it," he says.
Cross' lawyers didn't immediately return calls.
Cross, 44, and Mahoney, 48, were married last June. They're expecting their first child in April.