Josie Maran

Johanna Selhorst "Josie" Maran was born on May 8, 1978, in Menlo Park, California. She is an American model, actress, and entrepreneur who was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her father worked in green home construction and is of Russian Jewish ancestry, while her mother, Roberta, worked as an artist and interior decorator. After her mother was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, the family was inspired to adopt a healthier lifestyle. Maran attended Castilleja School, an all-girls school in Palo Alto, California, from seventh through twelfth grade.

Maran began her modeling pathway during high school after being approached in San Francisco and encouraged by a scouting agent. In 1990, an appendectomy left her with a scar that is typically edited out of her photographs. At age 17, she signed with the Elite modeling agency in Los Angeles. She landed her first magazine cover with Glamour in 1998 and was featured as the Guess? Girl for their summer and fall 1998 campaigns. After appearing in over 25 advertisements and commercials—including playing Howie D's companion in the music video for the Backstreet Boys song "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)"—she relocated to New York City to join Elite there. In 1999, she signed a multi-year contract with Maybelline, and she subsequently appeared in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for three consecutive years from 2000 to 2002.

In addition to modeling, Maran pursued interests in music and acting. She casually sang and played violin in two bands: Darling, alongside Nicole Richie, and Hollywood 2000. Her acting career began in 2001 when she played the title character Mallory in the independent film The Mallory Effect, followed by a role as Susan in Swatters in 2002. In 2004, she appeared in three feature films, playing a French model in Little Black Book, Dracula's bride Marishka in Van Helsing, and a cigarette girl in The Aviator. She later starred in the 2005 short film The Confession alongside Wentworth Miller and played Kira Hayden in the 2006 film The Gravedancers.

Maran expanded into video games and television during the mid-2000s. In November 2005, she featured in the street-racing video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted, playing the character Mia Townsend, who guides the player through the game. In 2007, she participated as a contestant on the television competition Dancing with the Stars, where she and her dance partner Alec Mazo were the first couple eliminated that season.

In June 2007, Maran launched her own line of natural skincare and cosmetics called Josie Maran Cosmetics, operating under the motto "luxury with a conscience." The product line utilizes fair trade argan oil grown and harvested by co-ops of Moroccan women as its main ingredient. Beyond her business activities, she commits herself to environmental protection and improvement.

In her personal life, Maran has two daughters, Rumi Joon, born in 2006, and Indi Joon, born in 2012, with her former partner, Iranian-American photographer Ali Alborzi. On August 26, 2018, Maran married David Belle.