Michele Merkin
Encyclopedia
Michele Merkin is an American
model and television host
.
of Swedish and Russian Jewish descent as the youngest child and only daughter of four children. She attended boarding school
in England
. Her mother was from Sweden
, and had been a model for twenty years, including an appearance in the debut 1977 Victoria's Secret
catalog. Merkin grew up tall and slender, reaching by the age of 14. This helped her play basketball
, but gathered her some abuse in school, where she was called nicknames such as "Giraffa
" and "Manute Bol
".
Merkin began modeling part time from the age of 15, while she was in high school. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles
, aiming to study medicine, specifically plastic surgery
, but left during the first quarter to become a professional model.
, Milan
, New York
, and Los Angeles
, appearing in such magazines as ELLE
, Marie Claire
, Harper's Bazaar
and Vogue
, and over 60 commercials, most notably campaigns for Clairol
and the Nintendo
video game Perfect Dark
.
For Perfect Dark
, Merkin appeared as the lead video game character Joanna Dark in commercials and in-store promotions for the N64
cartridge; Merkin's hair was cut short and dyed black for the appearances.
Merkin was selected for the Maxim
"Hot 100" list of attractive women in 2006 (at #74) and 2007 (at #56).
, a reality show which combined cooking and romance by teaching men to seduce women with food. It was the second highest rated
show on the Style Network. After the program was canceled the following year, she admitted that the premise was faulty, saying, "... most girls I know don’t really eat. The way to a woman’s heart is definitely not through her stomach."
Concurrently, Merkin was a sideline reporter on the third season of Extreme Dodgeball
which aired starting July 2005 on the Game Show Network
.
In May 2007, she ventured off cable television
to host the The Next Best Thing
television series, which aired on American Broadcasting Company
.
In March 2008, she hosted Sand Blasters III: The Extreme Sand Sculpting Championship on the Travel Channel
.
As of December 2008, she is co-hosting Party Monsters Cabo
on E!
, a reality television
show where participants compete to determine who is the best party event planner.
Merkin has also hosted individual episodes of E! News Daily, NBC's For Love or Money
, VH1
's Red Eye, The Movie Fan Show, The Love Report for Studios USA, Close-up Hollywood, Buy TV, Movie Watch and Attack of the Show!
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
model and television host
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
.
Early life and beginnings
Merkin was born in San Francisco, CaliforniaSan Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
of Swedish and Russian Jewish descent as the youngest child and only daughter of four children. She attended boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Her mother was from Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, and had been a model for twenty years, including an appearance in the debut 1977 Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American retailer of women's wear, lingerie and beauty products. It is the largest segment of publicly-traded Limited Brands with sales of over US$5 billion and an operating income of $1 billion in 2006...
catalog. Merkin grew up tall and slender, reaching by the age of 14. This helped her play basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, but gathered her some abuse in school, where she was called nicknames such as "Giraffa
Giraffe
The giraffe is an African even-toed ungulate mammal, the tallest of all extant land-living animal species, and the largest ruminant...
" and "Manute Bol
Manute Bol
Manute Bol was a Sudanese-born basketball player and activist. At 7 feet, 7 inches , Bol was one of the tallest players ever to appear in the National Basketball Association, along with Gheorghe Mureşan. Unlike Mureşan, however, Bol was naturally tall and did not have a Pituitary disease...
".
Merkin began modeling part time from the age of 15, while she was in high school. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
, aiming to study medicine, specifically plastic surgery
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
, but left during the first quarter to become a professional model.
Modeling
Merkin modeled for 15 years, living in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, appearing in such magazines as ELLE
Elle
Elle may refer to:*Elle, Central African Republic*Elle , a fashion publication*Ellé, a river in France*Elle , a female given name*Elle , a Sri Lankan game similar to baseball*Ælle of Sussex, a Saxon king...
, Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
, Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
and Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, and over 60 commercials, most notably campaigns for Clairol
Clairol
Clairol is a personal care products division of Procter & Gamble. The Clairol company was started in 1931 by Lawrence M. Gelb and wife, Joan, who named their enterprise after a hair-coloring preparation they found while traveling in France....
and the Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
video game Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is considered the spiritual successor to Rare's earlier first-person shooter GoldenEye 007, with which it shares many gameplay features...
.
For Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark
Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter video game developed by Rare for the Nintendo 64 video game console. It is considered the spiritual successor to Rare's earlier first-person shooter GoldenEye 007, with which it shares many gameplay features...
, Merkin appeared as the lead video game character Joanna Dark in commercials and in-store promotions for the N64
Nintendo 64
The , often referred to as N64, was Nintendo′s third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil...
cartridge; Merkin's hair was cut short and dyed black for the appearances.
Merkin was selected for the Maxim
Maxim (magazine)
Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....
"Hot 100" list of attractive women in 2006 (at #74) and 2007 (at #56).
Television
Beginning in June 2005, Merkin co-hosted the cable television program Foody Call with Rossi MorrealeRossi Morreale
Rossi Morreale is a television personality and former college football player.Morreale was a wide receiver & punt returner for the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team, lettering from 1997–1999. After graduation he sought television exposure...
, a reality show which combined cooking and romance by teaching men to seduce women with food. It was the second highest rated
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
show on the Style Network. After the program was canceled the following year, she admitted that the premise was faulty, saying, "... most girls I know don’t really eat. The way to a woman’s heart is definitely not through her stomach."
Concurrently, Merkin was a sideline reporter on the third season of Extreme Dodgeball
Extreme Dodgeball
Extreme Dodgeball is an American Sports Entertainment television show that debuted on Game Show Network in 2004. It has also been shown in the UK on Challenge.-Standard rules:...
which aired starting July 2005 on the Game Show Network
Game Show Network
The Game Show Network is an American cable television and direct broadcast satellite channel dedicated to game shows and casino game shows. The channel was launched on December 1, 1994. Its current slogan is "The World Needs More Winners"...
.
In May 2007, she ventured off cable television
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
to host the The Next Best Thing
The Next Best Thing (TV series)
The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator? was an American reality TV series competition of celebrity impersonators with a grand prize of $100,000. It was hosted by Michele Merkin. The judges were Jeffrey Ross, Elon Gold and Lisa Ann Walter; ultimately, the winner was chosen...
television series, which aired on American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
.
In March 2008, she hosted Sand Blasters III: The Extreme Sand Sculpting Championship on the Travel Channel
Travel Channel
The Travel Channel is a satellite and cable television channel that is headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland, US. It features documentaries and how-to shows related to travel and leisure around the United States and throughout the world. Programming has included shows in African animal safaris,...
.
As of December 2008, she is co-hosting Party Monsters Cabo
Party Monsters Cabo
Party Monsters Cabo is a reality TV show airing on E!. The show involves party planners competing at the LG Villa in Cabo to see who can throw the "ultimate party" for Hollywood's A-Listers to win a contract with LG for their partys. The show is hosted by Brian Worley and Michele Merkin.- Episode...
on E!
E!
E! Entertainment Television is an American basic cable and satellite television network, owned by NBCUniversal. It features entertainment-related programming, reality television, feature films and occasionally series and specials unrelated to the entertainment industry.E! has an audience reach of...
, a reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
show where participants compete to determine who is the best party event planner.
Merkin has also hosted individual episodes of E! News Daily, NBC's For Love or Money
For Love or Money (TV series)
For Love or Money is an American reality television show initially broadcast as summer programming on NBC in 2003 and 2004. Four seasons of the program were shown in linked pairs, and all seasons were hosted by Jordan Murphy. It was produced by Nash Entertainment with Bruce Nash and J. D...
, VH1
VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
's Red Eye, The Movie Fan Show, The Love Report for Studios USA, Close-up Hollywood, Buy TV, Movie Watch and Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show!
Attack of the Show! is an American live television program shown weeknights on G4, G4 Canada and Fuel TV in Australia. The program is hosted by Kevin Pereira and Candace Bailey...
.