Marisa Miller

Born on August 6, 1978, in the coastal city of Santa Cruz, California, Marisa 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.

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.

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