Irene Marie

Infobox Celebrity


image_size = 150px
name = Irene Marie
birth_date = birth date and age|1950|08|22
birth_place = Miami Beach, USA
occupation = entrepreneur, modeling agency president
website = [http://www.irenemarie.com Irene Marie official website]

Irene Marie (born August 22, 1950 in Miami Beach, Florida) is a former fashion model, model agency founder and mother of five. After her first marriage, Marie's Greek/Austrian mother remarried a pilot for Pan American Airlines. In 1960 the family relocated to West Berlin, Germany where her stepfather was stationed. Marie attended school in Germany until 1967 when the family was again relocated, this time to Beirut, Lebanon. Marie completed her last year of high school and first two years of college in Beirut.

Entering the entertainment industry

In 1969 Marie was stopped on the street in Beirut by the producer of a French language variety show. Marie, who had no previous on-camera experience, was cast as the hostess of the television program based on her compelling looks and personality. Shortly after in 1970, Marie was signed by Models International Modeling Agency, one of the top agencies in Paris, and moved to France to pursue modeling. After two successful years, Marie returned to Beirut as a fashion columnist for Le Magazine.

City Models

In 1974, Irene met her future husband, Patrick Marie, while on vacation in Miami Beach. Soon after, Patrick introduced Irene to his cousin; the owner of Paris based City Models. City Models was seeking to place a group of their models in Miami, and requested Irene's assistance in finding a suitable agency. City Models was dissatisfied with the regional scope of the agencies she visited in Miami, and proposed to Marie to open a branch of City Models in Florida. In 1980, City Models Florida opened in Ft. Lauderdale as the first full service ‘on location’ exclusive model and talent agency in Florida.

Irene Marie Models

For the first time a Florida agency was taking an international perspective to the fashion industry. Marie's contacts in Europe allowed her to persuade foreign photographers and designers to produce their campaigns in Florida, from Palm Beach to the art deco oasis of Miami Beach. In 1983 the name of the agency was changed to Irene Marie Models and by 1988 had outgrown its current location in Ft. Lauderdale.

Having realized Miami Beach's potential as a fashion production superpower (unpopulated beaches, vibrant colors, unique lighting), Marie soon decided to move her agency South to the relatively undiscovered South Beach. In 1989, Marie was one of the first real estate investors in South Beach to purchase and renovate an original ocean front building. She moved her agency to the former Sunray Apartments (made famous by the chainsaw scene in the movie Scarface (1983 film)) located at 728 Ocean Drive.

The agency continued to grow during the early 1990s with the discovery and development of talent such as Niki Taylor (L'Oréal, "Elle", "Vogue", Cover Girl), Amber Smith (Wonder Bra, Sports Illustrated), Michael Ostheim (Esprit, Armani), Scott King (Calvin Klein) and Britt Bradford (Versace).

In 1992 "Forbes magazine" listed Irene Marie Models as one of the top 8 most successful modeling agencies in the world. In 1993 Marie opened agency branches in Atlanta, Tampa and was the first Florida based modeling agency to ever open in New York. During this period Irene represented the top models in the business including Marcus Schenkenberg, Jason Shaw, Kimora Lee, Beverly Peele and Ana Nicole Smith. In 1997 Marie joined the Women of Tomorrow Mentor and Scholarship Program, motivating at-risk young women to live up to their full potential through mentoring.

Over the next decade, Marie continued to discover and develop talent including Cindy Taylor, Galen Gering and David Fumero. In 2006, Marie along with MTV launched the hit reality television series "8th & Ocean" which chronicled the lives of 10 models and their relationship with Marie and her staff. In 2007 Marie received the key to the City of Miami Beach in recognition of her cultural and commercial contribution to the development of the city. July 11 was declared Irene Marie Day in the City of Miami Beach.

Awards

*2003 Business Woman of the Year - National Republican Congressional Committee
*2004 Business Woman of the Year – Women in International Trade Organization
*2007 Key to the City of Miami Beach

External links

* [http://www.myspace.com/irenemarie official MySpace profile]
* [http://www.irenemarie.com official agency website]
* [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2179976/ IMDB profile]