Melissa Baker is an American model

Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who is employed to display, advertise and promote commercial products or to serve as a subject of works of art....

 who appeared in the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....

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Biography

Melissa Baker was born in Akron, Ohio

Akron, Ohio

Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...

 and grew up in nearby Cuyahoga Falls

Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio

As of the census of 2000, there were 49,374 people, 21,655 households, and 13,317 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,932.9 people per square mile . There were 22,727 housing units at an average density of 889.7 per square mile...

, graduating from Stow-Munroe Falls High School

Stow-Munroe Falls High School

Stow-Munroe Falls High School — often referred to as Stow High School — is a public high school located in Stow, Ohio, a suburb of Akron in Northeast Ohio. With an enrollment of nearly 2,000 students and a staff of more than 160, it is the only high school in the Stow-Munroe Falls City School...

. She had been a competitive gymnast

Gymnast

Gymnasts are people who participate in the sports of either artistic gymnastics, trampolining, or rhythmic gymnastics.See gymnasium for the origin of the word gymnast from gymnastikos.-Female artistic:Australia...

 in her youth. Her family, which is at least partly Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

 in origin, still resides in Ohio. Her mother's name is Becky, and she has a twin brother, Brandon.

Career

Baker is considered curvaceous. She is represented by Click Model Agency in New York and Los Angeles, and by Women's Model Management in Milan and Paris.

She has modelled for Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch is an American retailer that focuses on casual wear for consumers aged 18 to 22. It has over 300 locations in the United States, and is expanding internationally....

, Express

Express (store)

EXPRESS is an American fashion retailer headquartered in Columbus, Ohio and New York, New York. Express operates over 550 stores in the United States and generates $1.8 billion in annual sales.-History:...

, McDonalds, Sisley

Sisley

Sisley may refer to:*Alfred Sisley, a French impressionist painter of English origin*Sisley, a Benetton Group brand, established in 1974*Sisley Paris, , a French cosmetics company founded in Paris in 1976 by Roland de Saint Vincent and Jean Francois Laporte, before being taken over by the famous...

 and appeared on the cover of Bridal Magazine. Baker has been photographed by Bruce Weber

Bruce Weber (photographer)

Bruce Weber is an American fashion photographer and occasional filmmaker. He is most widely known for his ad campaigns for Calvin Klein, Ralph Lauren, Pirelli, Abercrombie & Fitch, Revlon, and Gianni Versace, as well as his work for Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Elle, Life, Interview, and Rolling Stone...

, Terry Richardson

Terry Richardson

Terrence "Terry" Richardson is an American fashion photographer.-Early life:Richardson was born in New York City, the son of Bob Richardson, a fashion photographer who struggled with schizophrenia and drug abuse...

, Sylvia Krivickova, Richard Phibbs, Raphael Mazzucco

Raphael Mazzucco

Raphael Mazzucco or Rafael Mazzucco is a Canadian fashion, art and music photographer. His photographs have appeared on the cover of five consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues, including the 2006, 2008 and 2009 main cover images....

, Antoine Vergas, Miko Lim

Miko Lim

-Biography:Lim was born in 1980 in Tawau, Malaysia, and was raised in Seattle, Washington. After completing his education at Pomona College in Claremont, California, he developed his photographic style immersed in the fashion scenes of San Francisco, New York, Paris, and Tokyo.-Career :Lim is a...

 and many more. She has appeared on V

V (American magazine)

V magazine is an American fashion magazine published since 1999. The magazine is printed seasonally and highlights trends in fashion, film music and art. A men's fashion quarterly entitled VMAN started as an offshoot in 2003.-History:...

and Maxim

Maxim (magazine)

Maxim is an international men's magazine based in the United Kingdom and known for its pictorials featuring popular actresses, singers, and female models, sometimes pictured dressed, often pictured scantily dressed but not fully nude....

. She walked for the Malan Breton

Malan Breton

Malan Breton is a Taiwanese born fashion designer, costumer, columnist, producer & media personality, Based in New York City. "Malan Breton" also refers to his brands of apparel, jewelry, and accessories.- Life and career :...

 Spring 2009 Runway collection during New York Fashion Week

New York Fashion Week

The semi-annual New York Fashion Week, branded Mercedes-Benz FashionWeek in 2009, is held in February and September of each year in New York City. It is one of four major fashion weeks held around the world .-History:The first New York Fashion Week, then called Press Week, was the world's first...

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Gallery

External links

• Telegraph profile
• Video interview with Melissa Baker
• Melissa Baker at the 2008 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
  Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue
  The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue is published annually by Sports Illustrated. It features fashion models wearing swimwear in exotic locales. According to some, the magazine is the arbiter of supermodel succession. In addition, the issue is a media nexus that in 2005 carried in advertising....