Glamour - April 2002

Who is she, anyway?
We usually do a one-word interview with our cover model, but Josie Maran's been on the cover so often, she gets two!

Hey, you were just on our cover last year. How does it feel to be back?
Privileged. Special.

You recently returned from a month in Thailand. What'd you wear?
Bikinis, sarongs.

The best part was...
Not thinking.

If you weren't a model, what would you be?
An actress.

You've already done one movie. What's next?
Drama, hopefully.

Who's your role model?
Andie MacDowell.

You flew to New York and back to L.A. the day of our shoot. Any time for you?
Fifteen minutes.

At lunch?
My shower.

You travel a lot--what's your biggest travel peeve?
Airports--ick!

What bugs you about them?
The waiting.

What's your favorite hobby?
Eating sushi.

One last Q: What does this cover look say to you?
Comfortable, casual.

"I'm a totally sexual person," claims model-turned-actress Josie Maran with a shrug. "And sometimes -- with the clothes and the poses -- I just don't know how sexy I can be."

At Sundance to do press for her first feature film, "The Mallory Effect," in which she stars alongside "Roswell"'s Steven Roy, the 23-year-old Maybelline model is referring to some risqué Sisley ad campaign shots, snapped by Terry Richardson, in which she appears in compromising positions with a cow.

"I was on a farm, just having fun," she says of the ad. "Terry is like a good director - he frees you, and, well, Maybelline just wasn't psyched about the whole thing."

Of most concern to the cosmetic giant, which has Maran under a five-year contract? Well, besides the pic of the pouty-lipped minx lifting up her shirt, there's one in which a cow (who, apparently, hadn't been milked for two days) is relieving itself into Maran's mouth. Says Maran: "I was grossed out at first, but it was the most delicious milk I'd ever tasted - fresh and warm."

Maran, who's modeled now for 10 years, has recently made the move from New York back to L.A., started acting lessons, and, like the James Kings, Shalom Harlows, Amber Valettas, Michelle Hicks and Estella Warrens of the world, is attempting to segue from magazine covers to big-screen billboards. In her role as Mallory in "The Mallory Effect," she plays a gorgeous, sexual woman who breaks the hearts of several men. Fortunately for Maran, the role wasn't much of a stretch, for when shooting began she had yet to take any acting classes.

"It's hard to watch the film," she claims, hiding her face with her hands. "I was so nervous and scared that I was tight, instead of just having fun." Stressing, "I know now I have so much more to offer."

Presently, spending her days auditioning for big films, modeling for Maybelline, and dating a boy who she refers to as "just chill" (unlike her magician ex-boyfriend of two years, David Blaine, with whom she claims "things were too weird for them to be normal"), Maran's life is as easygoing as the khakis, Batz Maru comic tee, and old Pumas of an outfit she's sporting today. "I have the best life, and I have no idea how it happened. I have good stars, I guess, or there's someone looking out for me."

“My dream is to have sex twice a day. Every time I get into bed, I want it.”

Growing up in northern California, Josie Maran spotted a magazine photo of Christy Turlington and immediately began fantasizing about becoming a famous model. Now, at 22, the New York-based beauty has appeared in major campaigns for Guess? and Maybelline and has starred in more than 25 television commercials and music videos. But as we quickly discovered over a seafood dinner with the sultry sensation, Josie has moved on to other, slightly more visceral fantasies.

Josie on dinner: “Red wine and sushi is my favorite. I like eel, yellowtail, and tuna, but I’m obsessed with sea urchin roe. Obsessed. I need it. When I eat it with my friends, I freak them out a little because it’s almost orgasmic. I say, ‘Can you guys feel it?’ They’re, like, ‘Whatever.’ Eating it is an experience that I like to have alone. I love the creamy texture.”

Josie on acting: “I’ve done commercials for BMW, Neutrogena, and Crest. I also did an Herbal Essences shampoo commercial. You know—‘It’s organic’—three girls getting really excited while shampooing. Basically, I wore a G-string and had fake orgasms in the shower for three days straight. The director would actually say, ‘OK, it’s starting…OK, it’s building!…OK, you’re peaking!’ My mom came to visit me on the set. It must have been interesting for her.

“I also appeared in an old Backstreet Boys video where Howie is a vampire sucking blood from my neck. It was really sexy, kind of an orgasm scene. There was controversy because Backstreet Boys fans thought that I must be his girlfriend. He had to go out onstage and say, ‘That wasn’t my girlfriend in the video.’ He did ask me for my number, though. I said no. They’re nice guys, but butt ugly. And they weren’t all that famous yet, either. I really hate their music, especially when you have to hear it all the time.

“I want to become a real actress. You can’t model forever. I’d like to go to Juilliard to study acting and then get kicked out after one year. But I don’t want to get typecast as The Pretty Girl. I’ve played The Dark Girl in a few commercials, and I like it. My dream role is the serial killer Juliette Lewis played in Natural Born Killers. She’s powerful. Sex, drugs, and rock’n’roll.”

Josie on her temper: “I’m usually a mellow, go-with-the-flow person, except when someone tells me I should do something. Then I get stubborn. If they don’t back off, I get this horrible rage and want to kill them. When I was four and my mom would send me to my room, I’d get so mad I’d go outside and bang my head on the sidewalk.”

Josie on alternative careers: “When I was younger, I wanted to be a sex therapist—a hipper Dr. Ruth. I’ve never had a boring conversation about sex. When you talk about sex, people come alive. My friends told me, ‘You know, guys are going to come to talk about their wives, but then they’re going to want to sleep with you.’ I figured I’d just wear a bag over my head.”

Josie on top: “I love talking about sex, but doing it is better. I’m good at psychology, and I’m good at lovin’. My dream is to have sex twice a day. Every time I get into bed, I want it. Guys are, like, ‘Whoa, slow down!’ For most guys it’s time to sleep. I’m, like, ‘No, it’s not!’ They can’t keep up with me. And I don’t believe in marriage. Why do people screw up a perfectly good thing with a contract? I just want to have fun, happy sex and romance.”

Josie on alternative stimulation: “Vibrators are really important for girls. Boyfriends should accept them and make friends with them. I just got my first vibrator, and it’s so exciting. I called my mom and said, ‘This is the best! You have to get one!’ I just feel open about myself, and a bit raunchy, with it. I know myself better. The thing needs a name, though. Maybe Maxim readers can write in with suggestions.”