Irene Marie
| Irene Marie | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 22, 1950 Miami Beach, USA |
| Occupation | entrepreneur, modeling agency president |
| Website | Irene Marie official website |
Irene Marie (born August 22, 1950 in Miami Beach, Florida) is a former fashion model and founder of the eponymous South Beach model agency Irene Marie Models. Marie and her agency were the subject of the MTV series 8th & Ocean. Marie is referred to as The Grand Dame of Modeling. Marie is the former chair of the Dade Film and Print Advisory Board and has served as a modeling industry expert on CNN.
In 1974, Irene met her future husband, Patrick Marie, while on vacation in Miami Beach. Soon after, Patrick introduced Irene to his cousin; the owner of Paris-based City Models. City Models was seeking to place a group of their models in Miami, and requested Irene's assistance in finding a suitable agency. City Models was dissatisfied with the regional scope of the agencies in Miami, and proposed to Marie to open a branch of City Models in Florida. In 1980, City Models Florida opened in Ft. Lauderdale as one of the first exclusive model and talent agency in South Florida.
For the first time a Florida agency was taking an international perspective to the fashion industry. Marie's contacts in Europe allowed her to persuade foreign photographers and designers to produce their campaigns in Florida, from Palm Beach to the art deco oasis of Miami Beach. In 1983 the name of the agency was changed to Irene Marie Models and by 1988 had outgrown its location in Ft. Lauderdale.
In 1989 Marie decided to move her agency South to South Beach to meet her client's demand for the golden light, inexpensive hotels, and undiscovered scenery. She moved her agency to the former Sunray Apartments (made famous by the chainsaw scene in the movie Scarface (1983 film)) located at 728 Ocean Drive.
The agency continued to grow during the early 1990s with the discovery and development of talent such as Niki Taylor (L'Oréal, Elle, Vogue, Cover Girl), Amber Smith (Wonder Bra, Sports Illustrated), Michael Ostheim (Esprit, Armani), and Britt Bradford (Versace).
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