Marisa has always been a very sporty chick. She’s a big fan of football and basketball. She was a star volleyball player while she was at high school, leading the team to victory during her junior year with the team not losing a match during the whole season. But surfing had always been her first love.

In fact, if it hadn’t been for the blonde babe’s love of surfing she may have never become a model. In 2001, she traveled to Southern California to catch some waves. Here a famous fashion photographer was on the beach and Marisa’s beauty caught her eye. He took some pictures of her, which led to Marisa being offered modelling work.

Marisa was unsure whether to take up the opportunity, but with her mother’s support and advice:"You can always go back to school, but you can't always model," she decided to make the leap.

But she didn’t get offered the amazing opportunities she dreamed of that easily. She started out as a nude model for Perfect 10 magazine, but this paid off and Marisa was offered the chance to grace the pages of Sports Illustrated’s famous Swimsuit Edition in 2001.

This in turn brought her to the attention of influential figures in the modelling industry and soon after she was advertising lingerie for Victoria’s Secret catalogues. Her more recent modelling work includes campaigns for top brands like Tommy Hilfiger, J Crew and Nordstrom. She’s also appeared on the cover of Fitness and Shape magazine and fashion bible Vogue. Marisa’s rising profile led Sports Illustrated to get her back for their 2003 - 2006 Swimsuit Editions.

Marisa recently decided she wants to university to arm herself with an education for when the modelling work stops flooding in. Unsurprisingly, sports feature in Marisa’s dreams for the future, she hopes to become a sports caster.