Josie Maran, born Johanna Selhorst Maran on May 8, 1978, is an American supermodel and actress. She is well known for her association with cosmetics company Maybelline and for her appearances as a model in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Josie Maran was born in Menlo Park, California to a father of Russian and Polish descent, and a mother of Dutch, French, and German ancestry. She began modeling part-time after an agent spotted her at a local barbecue restaurant at the age of 12. Maran continued a more dedicated career after graduating from the Castilleja School. Considered by some to be too short for runway modeling at 5 feet 7 inches tall, her career consists mostly of editorial modeling and advertising/image modeling. Signed at age 17 with the Elite modeling agency of Los Angeles, Josie appeared on her first cover with Glamour magazine in 1998, and she was the featured Guess? Girl in their Summer 1998 and Fall 1998 campaigns. After building a resumé of over 25 commercials and advertisements, including a music video for the popular boy-band the Backstreet Boys, Maran moved cross-country to join with Elite in New York City. In 1999 she landed a multi-year deal with Maybelline following in the footsteps of her idol Christy Turlington.
In addition to her thriving modeling career, Josie began an acting career in 2001 with a star turn as title character Mallory in an independent film, The Mallory Effect. She continued to take on roles, in 2004 landing film roles as a French model in Little Black Book and as one of Dracula's brides in Van Helsing.
In 2005, she was recruited by EA Games to appear as a main character in the street-racing computer and video game, Need for Speed: Most Wanted, which was released on November 17, 2005. She plays the game's second lead Mia Townsend, who guides the lead character through the game.
Maran had a long-term relationship with popular magician David Blaine, with whom she lived with in Manhattan. He reportedly has a tattoo of the letter "J" over his heart for his time spent with her. Currently, Josie is expecting a baby with new boyfriend Lee Alialbozi. However, there are no marriages on record for Josie.
In 2004 she was quoted as saying, "I don't believe in marriage. I just don't think it's necessary in this day and age. I just think if you get married and you're already distrusting the person, why do you have to sign something to show your love? You just love."
In a January 2006 Shape Magazine interview, Josie has revealed that she has quit modeling and acting, and she is now happily living in Hawaii teaching children. She has also started doing yoga, eating organic foods, and quit smoking.
Josie Maran is openly bisexual. She has spoken of having sex with women, including the porn star Jenna Jameson. She also spoke of having a hypothetical crush on singer Gwen Stefani and actor Johnny Depp: "I wanna merge them into one person," she is quoted as saying (also in 2004).
