Model Placement & Management - Not A Booking Agency
Brea - @breaboomer
Haena - @haena_rumpf
Tristan - @tristanjwatson
Angie - @angieruis2020
“Marie P. Anderson is top-notch. She is both informative and motivating. Her extensive knowledge of the industry and her refreshing down-to-earth approach make her seminars a truly enjoyable and memorable experience for all.”
—AUDRA ANDERSON,
CANADIAN MODEL & TALENT CONVENTION
Marie P. Anderson knows fashion and beauty—both the good and the bad. The woman who discovered supermodel Cindy Crawford, and nurtured the careers of numerous top models, is a model industry expert, author, public speaker, mental health advocate and a staunch supporter for models’ rights. “Sexual impropriety and hostile work environments in the fashion industry is a global issue. Why do I care? I’ve been through what it feels like to be sexually traumatized,” says the 35-year model industry executive and former model.
As an in-demand public speaker and Mother Agent, Marie is fearless when it comes to shining a light on the dark corners of the fashion industry. Issues ranging from body image, eating disorders, and substance abuse to trauma and mental health are addressed both in Marie’s revealing speaking engagements and in her candid conversations with new models. “Love can transform,” observes the former Vice President of Elite/Chicago Models and founder of Chicago-based ARia Model & Talent Management—an agency she built and later sold to Ford Models New York. “And that’s what you do with your models, hopefully, is to empower them, to transform them.
But what truly motivates this dynamic businesswoman and media personality is deeply intimate. “Suicide Prevention and Suicide Awareness are at the core of what I do. I tried myself twice, I have 43 friends that were successful and I accidentally witnessed a total stranger plunging to his death from a Penthouse window,” reveals Marie about past traumas that have shaped her purpose. She shares her viewpoints about Suicide Prevention and Suicide Awareness publicly, making it her ultimate goal to help those who may find themselves in this difficult and painful situation.
Marie is currently working on her fourth book, a memoir centered on her experiences in the fashion industry throughout the 1980s and 1990s, which delves deeper into how she overcame personal and professional challenges—and thrived. She’s also authored several must-read books for aspiring models and is now writing the third edition of her MODEL book series, including Model: The Complete Guide to Becoming a Professional Model and Model: The Complete Guide for Men and Women, as well as the audiobook, The Wizard of Editorial: How to Really Become a Successful Model.
In an era before digital portfolios, Marie produced and edited more than fourteen agency promotional books—an essential gatekeeping role in how models were introduced to the industry.
In addition this founder of Boss Babe Models, a personalized career coaching service, has been interviewed in Rolling Stone Magazine and was featured on 60 Minutes Australia, 66 Minutes France, SKY TV United Kingdom, VICE TV America as well as various podcasts.
The Cocoa Beach, Florida, native divides her time between the Sunshine State and her home base of Chicago, Illinois. Marie holds a 2nd-degree black belt in Shidokan Karate, through Chicago Fitness Center, and uses this skill to teach her models self-defense. “I want my kids to fly,” she reveals about her goal of nurturing her models in their careers and their mental health. “I want to give them as much information as possible and for them to think for themselves so they can be really strong individuals.”
