sports swimsuit illustrated Born Marisa Lee Bertetta in Santa Cruz, California, to parents Krista (Useldinger) and Marc Bertetta, Miller attended high school at Aptos High and Monte Vista Christian School.[citation needed] She considered herself a tomboy growing up, with mostly male friends and little awareness of anything girly. Out of shyness, she often wore large t-shirts to hide her body and would get fully dressed just to go to the trash-can while at the beach. Miller was first \"discovered\" at age sixteen walking through a San Francisco café by two Italian modeling agents. After talking to her mother, she was on a plane to Italy with her mother a few months later, despite her \"shy and conservative\" personality. Miller gained attention in 1997 when she appeared in the first issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Although she came in third behind Ashley Degenford and Monica Hansen in Perfect 10 magazine\'s first annual model search,she was repeatedly showcased in following issues, including the covers of the Winter 1998 and August/September 1999 editions, as well as a reprint for the Fall 2004 edition cover.
