Michele Merkin

Merkin was born in Santa Clara County, California, of Swedish and Russian Jewish descent{{cite podcast|url=http://www.lovelineshow.com/programhighlights?date=20070606| title =Dr. Drew and Stryker with Michele Merkin.| website = Loveline Uncensored.| host =Drew Pinsky & Stryker|date =June 6, 2007| accessdate =November 10, 2007}} as the youngest child 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 Victoria's Secret catalog in 1977. Merkin was a tall child, reaching {{height|ft=5|in=11}} 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".{{cite web |url=http://www.michelemerkin.com/ |title=Profile |website=Michele Merkin |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131215032227/http://www.michelemerkin.com/ |archive-date=December 15, 2013 |access-date=May 31, 2014 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all }}{{cite web |url=http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=6802 |title=Hot and Fresh |access-date=November 10, 2007 |date=November 2005 |work=Maxim |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071116164316/http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=6802 |archive-date = November 16, 2007}}{{cite magazine |url=http://www.maxim.com/MicheleMerkinWildatHeart/articles/4978.aspx |title=Michele Merkin: Wild at Heart |access-date=November 10, 2007 |magazine=Maxim |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071028074602/http://www.maxim.com/MicheleMerkinWildatHeart/articles/4978.aspx |archive-date = October 28, 2007}}

Merkin began modeling part-time from the age of 15, while she was in high school.

Merkin modeled for 15 years, living in Paris, Milan, New York and Los Angeles, appearing in such magazines as ELLE, Marie Claire, Harper's Bazaar and Vogue, and in more than 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{{cite web |url=http://uk.ign64.ign.com/articles/079/079992p1.html |title=Joanna Sees off Perfect Dark |access-date=November 10, 2007 |author=IGN Staff |date=May 24, 2000 |website=IGN |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071017233313/http://uk.ign64.ign.com/articles/079/079992p1.html |archive-date=October 17, 2007 |df=mdy-all }} for the N64 cartridge; Merkin's hair was cut short and dyed black for the appearances.

Merkin was selected for Maxim magazine's "Hot 100" list of attractive women in 2006 (at #74){{cite press release |title=MAXIM Magazine Unveils Their 'Hot 100' for 2006 |publisher=Maxim |date= May 15, 2006|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-15-2006/0004361818&EDATE= }} and 2007 (at #56).{{cite magazine|url=http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=%207564&src=RSSArticles |title=Maxim's 2007 Hot 100 |access-date=November 10, 2007 |date=May 2007 |magazine=Maxim |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071106083929/http://www.maximonline.com/articles/index.aspx?a_id=%207564&src=RSSArticles |archive-date=November 6, 2007 |url-status=dead }}

Beginning in June 2005, Merkin co-hosted the cable television program Foody Call with Rossi Morreale, a reality television show which combined cooking and romance by teaching men to seduce women with food.{{cite web |url=http://www.stylenetwork.com/ssms-site/style.do?showId=6200 |title=Foody Call |access-date=November 10, 2007 |author=E!: Entertainment Television |author-link=E! |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025034035/http://www.stylenetwork.com/ssms-site/style.do?showId=6200 |archive-date=October 25, 2007 |df=mdy-all }} 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."{{cite web |url=http://www.g4tv.com/attackoftheshow/features/53919/Man_Talk_With_Michele_Merkin.html |title=Man Talk With Michele Merkin |access-date= November 10, 2007 |last=Meyer |first=Frank |date=June 1, 2006| work=Attack of the Show|publisher= G4}}

Concurrently, Merkin was a sideline reporter on the third season of Extreme Dodgeball which aired starting July 2005 on the Game Show Network.[http://michelemerkin.com/index.cfm?id=7 "Extreme Dodgeball coming soon!"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071116163403/http://michelemerkin.com/index.cfm?id=7 |date=November 16, 2007 }}, Michele Merkin Newsletter, official site, June 12, 2005. Retrieved November 8, 2007.

In May 2007, she hosted the television series The Next Best Thing, which aired on American Broadcasting Company.

In March 2008, she hosted Sand Blasters III: The Extreme Sand Sculpting Championship on the Travel Channel.{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1205415/ |title=Sand Blasters III: The Extreme Sand Sculpting Championship |work=Internet Movie Database |access-date=May 31, 2014 }}{{cite web |first=Kris |last=De Leon |url=http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-next-best-thing/next-best-thing-host-revels-on-24227.aspx |title='Next Best Thing' Host Revels on 'Party Monsters: Cabo' |website=BuddyTV |date=November 5, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100201223349/http://www.buddytv.com/articles/the-next-best-thing/next-best-thing-host-revels-on-24227.aspx |archive-date=February 1, 2010 |url-status=live}}

From 2008 to 2009 she co-hosted Party Monsters Cabo on E!, a reality television show in which participants compete to determine who is the best party event planner.{{cite web |first=Rob |last=Hard |url=http://eventplanning.about.com/od/eventcareers/a/party-monsters_5.htm |title=E! Channel Sensationalizes the Event Planning Profession with Reality Show |website=About.com |page=5 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111021045442/http://eventplanning.about.com/od/eventcareers/a/party-monsters_5.htm |archive-date=October 21, 2011 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333904/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |title=Full Cast & Crew |work=Internet Movie Database |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140531232458/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1333904/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm |archive-date=May 31, 2014 |url-status=live}}

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!.{{cite web |url=http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0,,117418,00.html |title=TBS Movie Extra - Michele Merkin |access-date=November 10, 2007 |author=TBS |author-link=TBS (TV network) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071006054417/http://www.tbs.com/stories/story/0%2C%2C117418%2C00.html |archive-date=October 6, 2007 |df=mdy-all }}

Merkin is married to Ted Waitt, co-founder of Gateway, Inc.{{cite web|last=McClain |first=James |url= https://variety.com/2020/dirt/moguls/billionaire-ted-waitt-pays-34-million-for-james-perses-malibu-house-1234694736/ |title= Billionaire Ted Waitt Pays $34 Million for James Perse's Malibu House |website=Variety |publisher=Variety Media, LLC |date=July 1, 2020 |access-date=26 February 2021}} They married in 2011. {{citation needed|date=February 2021}}

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Category:Living people

Category:Glamour models

Category:American women television personalities

Category:Television personalities from California

Category:American people of Russian-Jewish descent

Category:American people of Swedish descent

Category:People from Santa Clara County, California

Category:1975 births