| Marisa Miller |
Marisa Miller backstage during Fashion for Relief benefiting victims of Hurricane Katrina. |
| Birth name |
Marisa Bertetta |
| Date of birth |
August 6, 1978 (1978-08-06) (age 30) |
| Place of birth |
Santa Cruz, California, U.S. |
| Height |
5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Hair color |
Blonde |
| Eye color |
Hazel |
| Measurements |
34D-23-35 (US)
86-58-88 (EU) |
| Weight |
110 lb (50 kg/7.9 st) |
| Dress size |
2 (US), 32 (EU), 5 (UK) |
| Shoe size |
7 (US), 37½ (EU), 4½ (UK) |
| Agency |
Cartel Management[1] |
| Spouse(s) |
Jim Miller (2000–2002)
Griffin Guess (2006–present) |
| Official website |
Marisa Miller (born August 6, 1978[2]) is an American model known for her many appearances in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues and Victoria's Secret catalogs. She is the Swimsuit Issue cover model for the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and a Victoria's Secret Angel.[3]
Biography
Early life and career start
Born Marisa Bertetta in Santa Cruz, California, she was first "discovered" at age 16 walking through a San Francisco café by two Italian modeling agents.[4] After talking to her mom Krista Bertetta, she was on a plane to Italy with her mom a few months later. Marisa says that the most valuable thing that her mom has ever told her was "You can always go back to school but you may not always be able to model." Marisa took her mom's advice and soon gained attention when she appeared in a 1997 issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Although she came in third behind Ashley Degenford and Monica Hansen in Perfect 10 magazine's first annual model search, she was repeatedly showcased in following issues, including the covers of the Winter 1998, Aug/Sept 1999, and Fall 2004 editions. She has two sisters and attended Monte Vista Christian School[5] in Watsonville, California.
Career
Atypically, Miller was able to move from a start as an amateur magazine model to high profile mainstream work after she was spotted by fashion photographer Mario Testino in Manhattan Beach, California in 2001.[6] Noticing her, Testino snapped pictures of her and approached her for a job offer. Soon after, Miller worked with the likes of Victoria's Secret and has appeared in every issue of the coveted Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue since 2002. In particular, she was featured in the 2004,[7] 2005,[8] 2007,[9] and 2008 editions' sections of body painting featuring the work of Joanne Gair.[10] Raphael Mazzucco's handbra photograph of Marisa wearing nothing but an iPod in the 2007 edition became one of the most famous photos ever published in that magazine.[11] As part of the Sports Illustrated 50th anniversary celebration, she was selected to duplicate some of the swimsuit issues most memorable photos of models such as Tyra Banks,[12] Cheryl Tiegs,[13] Daniela Pestova,[14] and Cindy Crawford. She's also appeared in a diverse range of magazines, many of them international editions, such as GQ, Maxim, Surfing, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, Vanity Fair, and Vogue, as well as working on campaigns for Nordstrom, J.Crew, Tommy Hilfiger, and most recently, Bath & Body Works and True Religion jeans. In 2004, she served as a modeling judge in the short-lived reality television series Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model.[15] In the same year she also appeared in Puddle of Mudd's music video for "Spin You Around".
In 2007, Miller shot her first television commercial for Victoria's Secret with Heidi Klum. Miller caused quite a stir, unexpectedly drawing more attention than Klum, as well as appearing in a cameo on the HBO show Entourage. She was also featured as a model on the pilot episode and the finale of the VH1 reality show The Shot.
On November 26, 2007, Miller made a special guest appearance in the third season of How I Met Your Mother with her fellow Victoria's Secret Angels (Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Selita Ebanks, Miranda Kerr, and Heidi Klum). Eight days later, on December 4, 2007, Miller made her debut at the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show,[16] and has been confirmed for the 2008 show, which will take place in Miami.
On the February 12, 2008 episode of The Late Show with David Letterman it was announced via a three-story billboard in New York City that Miller would grace the cover of the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. The tandem online launch of the 2008 issue drew record page views to the SI website: 228 million, a 41% increase over 2007.[17]
Her next big assignment was a five-city tour to promote the launch of the Victoria's Secret 2008 Swim collection in stores. The April-May tour included stops in New York City, Miami, Chicago (where she threw the opening pitch at a Cubs game), Boston, and Minneapolis, where she signed copies of the Swim 2008 catalogue for fans.
She designed a shoe line with Vans[18] that launched in July 2008.
In August 2008, she filmed a viral video commercial (to be released on Youtube in the fall) with All Star baseball player Ryan Braun for Remington's ShortCut clippers.[19]
In the media
The swell in publicity resulting from her 2008 work served to land Miller in the number one spot on Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" rankings for 2008,[20] beating out list regulars such as Scarlett Johansson, Jessica Biel, and Eva Longoria-Parker. This marked the first time anyone has debuted on the list in the number one position.[21] In her subsequent cover story for the July issue, Maxim proclaimed her as the "return of the great American supermodel." She also finished first place in The Best Damn Sports Show Period "Smokin' Sixteen" competition in 2008,[22] repeating her 2007 win over competitors such as Gisele Bündchen and Adriana Lima. Miller then ranked #9 in the Askmen.com's "Top 99" for 2008 (an increase of three places from the previous year, which was a two-place increase itself from 2006) and added to her popular accolades with the "Hot N' Fresh" award at the second annual Spike Guys' Choice Awards, broadcast on June 22nd.
Charitable work
Miller is currently an ambassador for the American Cancer Society,[23] to which proceeds from her online store are donated. She also supports the Young Survival Coalition,[24] which seeks to promote awareness of breast cancer in women under 40,[25] as well as environmental organization The Surfrider Foundation, which aims to preserve the world's oceans and beaches.
Personal life
She married Jim Miller, a Los Angeles surfing contest promoter and lifeguard from California in 2000, and separated from him in 2002. They divorced soon after. She married Hollywood producer Griffin Guess on April 15, 2006.[26] Marisa enjoys football, muscle cars, cooking, and boxing. From an early age she loved surfing; in 2004, she placed second in the celebrity division of the Kelly Slater Surf Invitational behind Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction fame. She was a standout volleyball player on her high school team, and has long been a big sports fan in general. She has said that if she weren't a model she would be a sportscaster.[27]
Notes
External links
