Michele Merkin

Michele Merkin (born June 25, 1975) is an American model and television host. Merkin was born in San Francisco, California 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 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 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...