Josie agreed and at the show she was spotted by a modeling agent. As you can no doubt guess, her career took off very quickly and she fast becoming one of the hottest young models doing the rounds.

Josie was born in Menlo Park, San Francisco and although she now lives in New York, she still considers the Californian state as her home. She attended an all-girls private school and has some sage advice for others. She believes that young aspiring models, of which there are more and more each year, should finish school and not simply drop everything for fame and fortune. Josie argues that there's much time for modeling after finishing school, and we strongly concur. Interestingly, she also mentions that modeling can be deceiving as it isn't as glamorous and perfect as many would have you believe.

Today Josie is with Elite Model Management, perhaps the biggest player in this region of the industry. With their help, she has landed many lucrative and exciting contracts. Initially, she started with the little fish, such as Teen Magazine, Glamour Fitness, Stuff, Seventeen and Shape Magazine. But as time wore on, the big names liked what they saw. Strangely, this is one of Josie's many famous quotes: "I'm still figuring out why people would want to look at me. Maybe it's generic beauty, but it's weird to be valued for something I was born with."

Lately, the US supermodel has starred in Australian and French copies of Elle and the French edition of Cosmopolitan magazine, to name a few. She has also been working with the likes of Victoria's Secret - the lingerine brand that everyone wants a piece of. She has also worked in numerous Guess? campaigns, for magazine and television advertisements and is currently one of many big-name spokeswomen for Maybelline cosmetics.

Add to this an appearance in the 2001 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition and you'd have to agree that Josie is really doing well at such a young age in the fashion industry.

Originally, Josie had no idea that she'd be a model - she had no aspirations for such a job, but like many other models out there, it basically landed in her lap. She has delved into television, starring in music videos (for the Backstreet Boys, among others) and Neutrogena ads, but she really wants to explore acting.

Her first movie role is now finished filming and if you want to judge her on acting, go and see Mallory Effect when it releases here in early 2002.

Josie Maran has stuck true to her Californian roots and is a very easy going girl. She's down to earth and enjoys meeting new people, seeing new cultures and going to new countries. When she's not striking a pose, Josie likes to spend her spare time with friends and family. She also likes to hike, enjoys reading and traveling - a good thing too!

If Josie's movie debut goes well, it could be the end of catwalk Josie and the start of movie star Josie. Either way, she's a great role model, wise beyond her years, who deservers nothing but success in whatever she does.

by Sara Templeton