Born in 1979, in Long Lake, Minnesota, Melissa Keller had a typical childhood and was nurtured by a loving family. She was always full of energy and gravitated towards winter sports like skiing and snowboarding. Her plan to attend a local university was put on the back burner after her father sent photos of her to a local modeling agency, in an attempt to sway his daughter away from her love of everything. Keller was 15 at the time, and the agency loved her fresh face. They assigned her to do advertisements for Target and Sears, and she fell in love with the industry. After graduating from high school, Keller was offered a job in Milan and moved there. She was able to get her foot in the door while in Italy and, upon her return to the U.S., settled in New York City, where her career flourished.
Her first big break came when Parasuco decided she would be their new face. The jean maker was Keller's first project, but it wasn't long before Noxzema and The Gap called upon her to be a part of their advertising campaigns. Soon, Keller's unique smile and mesmerizing eyes could be seen all over fashion magazines. Companies discovered that Keller was a natural in front of the camera, and as much of a perfectionist as the photographers and designers were. Revlon liked these traits and made her their spokes model -- which was a huge deal for the Midwesterner, who was barely out of adolescence at the time. At this juncture in her life, Keller decided she would need to commute between Los Angeles and her current home in the Big Apple in order to capitalize on the fast-paced lifestyle models enjoy.
Cosmetics companies continued to be Keller's main suitors, as she took on contracts with L'Oréal and Aveda in 2001. It was one year later, however, that she would really reach the mainstream audiences. Sports Illustrated had done its research and decided that Keller was the perfect woman to represent them in their annual Swimsuit Issue in 2002. Shot in Brazil, Keller's sexy spread in the magazine drew loads of attention, and carried her through to the next year, where she made a repeat performance in SI. Though she claimed to be uncomfortable in skimpy bikinis, she looked perfectly at ease, and left quite an impression on buyers of the popular mag. While the wave of popularity from her cosmetics campaigns and Sports Illustrated appearances will surely die down, Keller will no doubt find more projects in which she can show off her talents. At the very least, she is a realist and recognizes that modeling will not support her forever. Keller intends to attend university in the future, and has an interest in doing films.
