Josie Maran
American actress and supermodel Josie Maran will grace the stage of “Dancing with the Stars” this season with her beauty and poise. She was ranked #101 in Stuff Magazine’s “102 Sexiest Women in the World” 2002 list, #36 in FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005” list. #67 on Maxim Magazine’s “Hot 100 of 2002” list, and #100 on FHM’s “100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006” list.
Josie was born Johanna Selhorst Maran in Menlo Park, California in 1978. She dreamed of being a supermodel early on, having been influence by Christy Turlington. Her stunning looks caught the attention of a modeling agent at a fashion show. Josie’s looks may be attributed to her diverse ethnic background - her father is of Polish and Russian descent and her mother is of Dutch, French, and German descent. Although Josie is shorter than the average model (she is 5’ 7”), her career took off as she did editorial modeling and advertising/image modeling. At age 17, she was signed by Elite modeling agency in Los Angeles. Josie’s first cover was in 1998 for Glamour magazine. She was featured in the Guess? Girl campaigns in the summer and fall of 1998. Josie eventually moved to New York City to join Elite there. She landed a multi-year deal with Maybelline in 1999. She also appeared in the famous Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue in 2000, 2001, and 2002.
Josie has appeared in eight films: Swatters, The Mallory Effect, Van Helsing, Little Black Book, The Aviator, The Confession, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, and The Gravedancers. Josie will also be featured in the EA Games version of Need for Speed: Most Wanted as Mia, who guides the lead character through the game.
Not limiting her time to modeling and acting, Josie is also a member of the band Darling (Nicole Richie is also a member) and Hollywood 2000 (in which she sings and plays violin). She has her own cosmetics line (Josie Maran Cosmetics).
As for her personal life, Josie had a long-term romance with magician David Blaine. She and boyfriend photographer director Ali Alborzi had a daughter, Rumi Joon, on June 20, 2006.
Josie has taken dance classes, so she might have a bit of an advantage over some of the other competitors this season. Her partner will be Alec Mazo, who won season one along with partner Kelly Monaco.
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