Marissa Janine Whitley was born on January 11, 1983 in Los Angeles, California
to an African American father and Caucasian mother. The youngest of
four, Marissa moved to Springfield, Missouri at age three after the
premature death of her mother and was raised by her aunt while her
older siblings were split among other family members. At age 5,
Marissa's father was killed in a drive by shooting in Los Angeles
before they had the chance to meet. Amid such tragedy, Marissa was
always a joyous child, wise beyond her years who grew up to be a
multi-faceted young woman and artist.
She succeeded at Glendale High School as an honor student, two-sport
varsity athlete (basketball and track), and musician (cello, choir).
She always was passionate about helping others and was active in
Student Council, Girls Service Society and even created the Diversity
Club, a 90+ member group that volunteered with various organizations in
her hometown. After winning Miss Merrie Christmas for scholarship money
her junior year, she was given an entry form by her older sister and
decided to compete in the Miss Missouri Teen USA Pageant. She captured
the state title along with the award for Miss Congeniality and set her
sights on the national title following graduation. With her sassy
attitude and warm personality, Marissa's dream came true as she made
history at 18 and became the first winner from Missouri to capture the
national title during the 19th Annual Miss Teen USA 2001 Competition,
airing live on CBS.
Hosting opportunities for Extra and CBS, guest appearances, keynote
speaking events and charity functions all ensued as Marissa postponed
her fall semester of college at Saint Louis University as a pre-med
major to move to New York City to live at Trump Place for the year of
her reign. But, college was always a life long dream of hers and thus
Marissa decided on attending The University of Missouri-Columbia for
broadcast journalism and became a full-time student while juggling her
duties.
During her second semester as a Tiger in 2003, MTV hired her as a VJ and she helped launch mtvU, a channel
airing to over 10 million college students. Since then, Marissa has
continued acting and modeling in Chicago and now Los Angeles including
national commercials, print, independent films and helping create her
own website. Her hobbies include dancing, photography, writing,
organizing/decorating, playing the trumpet, outdoor
activities, and spending time with her twin nieces/family. Marissa
resides in Los Angeles.
