Marisa Miller

Born on August 6, 1978, in the coastal city of Santa Cruz, California, Marisa Miller was a star volleyball player in high school. In fact, in her junior year, thanks to her position as outside hitter, her team never lost a game. Her real name is Marisa Bertetta...she took on her first husband's name Miller and kept it even after divorcing him. Marisa Bertetta Miller now lives in Los Angeles.

Askmen
Marisa's first modeling gig was in 1998 when she appeared nude in Perfect 10 magazine. Although she did several other spreads in the magazine after that, her modeling career didn't seem to be going anywhere. That is, until a chance meeting changed the course of her life forever. In 2001, she drove to Manhattan Beach, California to surf, and famous fashion photographer Mario Testino happened to be on the beach. Mesmerized by Marisa and her singular appeal, he took some pictures of her. Just like Rebecca Romijn, who was discovered in the same manner, Marisa was offered a chance to become a model.

Her mother, Krista, encouraged her to pursue this profession, saying, "You can always go back to school, but you can't always model." Stimulated by these words, Marisa took the plunge. Soon thereafter, she was offered the opportunity to appear within the pages of the 2001 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Obviously, this secured her place within the modeling industry. As a result, Victoria's Secret hired her to model lingerie for its catalogs.

Marisa Bertetta met and married surfing-contest promoter and lifeguard, Jim Miller in the year 2000 and divorced him two years later.

Many other companies also noticed Marisa, and she was soon appearing in publicity campaigns for Tommy Hilfiger, J.Crew and Nordstrom.

With her stock rising, her face was seen on the cover of magazines like Vogue, Fitness and Shape. It's no wonder Sports Illustrated called her back for the 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007 Swimsuit Editions....for the 2004 edition Marisa for the first time appeared nude, with a painted on bikini. This painting session took almost eight hours and has since become a regular feature with Marisa Miller in Sports Illustrated. In 2004, Marisa made her television debut as a modeling judge on the short-lived reality show Manhunt: The Search for America's Most Gorgeous Male Model. That same year, Marisa showed off her surfing skills to the world when she came in second at the celebrity edition of the Kelly Slater Invitational in Fiji.

Marisa also proved that she has a big heart when she participated in the Fashion for Relief benefit show in September 2005. Along with many other celebrities, including Nicole Richie, Beyonce, Naomi Campbell, Kelly Osbourne, and Rachel Hunter, Marisa raised funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Marisa Miller also works with the Peace, Love, Cure campaign to benefit to raise funds for the Young Survival Coalition, a nonprofit built to assist young women suffering from breast cancer. She represents the American Cancer Society as an ambassador for their Making Strides Against Breast Cancer program.

On April 15, 2006, Marisa married her fiancé, Hollywood movie producer Griffin Guess. In 2007 Marisa Miller (she has for some reason kept her first husband's name)became a coordinator for the Global Green Foundation, a nonprofit group focused on eco-friendly living and education. She also appeared on the TV show Entourage and modeled with Victoria Secrets 'It Bra' with Heidi Klum.

Trades
Six years ago Marisa Miller was enjoying a day at the beach in sunny southern California when she encountered a man who would change her life forever. That man was Mario Testino, one of the world’s most famous photographers. "When I was told who Mario was by IMG in New York, I was like, ‘Okay, if I’m ever going to model, this is the person to do it with," Miller recalls. "I didn’t want to be going ‘what if?’ in ten years, so I gave it a shot."

Since then, Miller has become one of the most recognizable supermodels in the world, gracing the pages of countless magazines, including the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. The new SI Swimsuit Issue hits newsstands in mid-February, but Miller must remain secretive about her involvement in this year’s issue. "It’s like Fort Knox in that building [at Sports Illustrated]," says Marisa. "I’m not even really supposed to say if I’m in the issue or not."

That statement leaves men all across America crossing their fingers that Miller will appear in the issue, because she has the type of beauty that turns heads. Yet, although her natural beauty matches the traditional notion of a supermodel, the other supermodel stereotypes don’t apply to her. She doesn’t smoke; she doesn’t take drugs; she doesn’t have an eating disorder; and she’s not ditzy. In fact, she’s an intelligent, down-to-earth, well-spoken woman who expresses interest in potentially following her mother into the nursing field when her career as a model ends. "I’m an ambitious person, so I think if I stop modeling I definitely would have to have a net goal of something to keep me busy and just to help people do something," Miller tells me. "My sisters are in nursing school now too, so I’m from a family of nurses. You never know, my future career could be that."

Miller, however, has no plans to give up her modeling career any time soon. "I love my job," she says enthusiastically. "The opportunities I get are amazing."

Nonetheless, as with any job, modeling has both its upsides and its downsides. "The best and worst part is the traveling," Miller remarks. "It’s the best, because at a young age you get to travel on someone’s dollar. You’re working, so these are paid trips and you’re able to see incredible locations that none of my friends who grew up in Santa Cruz have seen. It’s incredible to have those opportunities and experience different cultures and people. Your life experience is so broad at a young age, so that’s definitely the best part about it."


Of all the locations Miller has visited, she ranks Fiji and St. Barts as her favorites. "I’m such a beach girl, any beach makes me happy."

When Miller’s not on the road modeling, she can usually be found surfing on the California coast near her home. "Surfing is in my blood," she proclaims. "My aunt used to be on the pro tour in the seventies. Growing up in Santa Cruz, everybody surfs. Your mailman surfs. It’s just part of the lifestyle and the culture of growing up there. It was inbred in me from a very young age. Everybody has their thing they do to relax and unwind, and for me, it’s surfing."

Marisa Miller quotable quotes:

"I used to be shy about my body because I was a tomboy, but I was also a size D by the time I was 16. I’d hide my body in big T-shirts and baggy pants. If I was with friends at the beach and I had to get up to throw a piece of garbage away, I would put on all my clothes just to walk to the trash can."

...but today
"I’m comfortable with the curves I have. I like having a woman’s body. It’s not like I’m exercising to be skinny. I’m the girl who needs curves. I like my butt and boobs!"

Marisa Miller’s workout secrets:
"I’ve tried everything. I love surfing: it’s spiritual and physical. I also like Spinning. It’s good toning for your rear and legs. I’ll put in one of my favorite Guns N Roses music video DVDs and start pedaling. I find it’s so much easier to work out when I can distract myself with something visual."

Marisa Miller's biggest dietary weakness: "Definitely ice cream."

Food that Marisa Miller definitely avoids:
"Processed stuff. Recently, I came back from a long trip and [my husband had] gone grocery shopping, which was nice, but it was all TV dinners and Cap’n Crunch. I said, ‘Honey, is there a fruit or vegetable anywhere in the house?’ And he’s like, ‘I got canned peaches!’ God bless him, but he doesn’t make it easy for me."

Marisa Bertetta Miller's funny story:
"Recently, I was on a cover and my dad was so excited that he bought three copies of the magazine at the grocery store. The woman at the checkout looked at him like he was a total pervert. My dad was like, ‘No! That’s my daughter on the cover!" And she was like, ‘Uh-huh.’"




Marisa Miller likes:
Football, muscle cars, spinning, surfing, and female boxing for workout.


Despite her modeling successes, Marisa Miller has always been very athletic and sporty, and has never tried to modify her body through surgery or diet for the sake of getting modeling assignments. For this reason the athletic model has never been seen on the runway wearing top designer clothing....Marisa Miller has been throughout a swimsuit/lingerie model. "Every girl should feel comfortable with whatever size they are and be healthy," says Marisa Miller. "I think it’s terrible the way teen-age girls diet."