Marisa Petroro (born February 11, 1972 in Elizabeth, New Jersey) is an American Model, Actress and Humanitarian. She is best known to TV Game Show audiences as Briefcase Model #18 on the NBC Game Show Deal or No Deal.
Born in Elizabeth, New Jersey, of Italian and Argentine descent. At the tender age of four, Marisa first started to perform in beauty pageants and by the age eight, the New Jersey native began taking trips to New York to study acting at the highly acclaimed HB Studio. After making the pageant circuit, Petroro won the title of Miss Italia USA before retiring from the pageantry after placing in the top five in Miss Italia USA 1996.
Marisa then began her quest for gigs in the entertainment field. She packed her belongings and convinced a friend to join her as they traveled 3000 miles on a cross-country drive that ended in Los Angeles.
It wasn't long after arriving in Los Angeles when Marisa landed her first TV show job by appearing on the TV sitcom Ned and Stacey and her first national commercial, Clear Blue Easy, was directed David Lynch and it wasn't too long before she found herself working regularly on a number of shows including appearances in Rescue 77, The Pretender, The Young & The Restless, Reno 911! , Las Vegas, and Rules Of Engagement. Marisa also guest starred opposite Eva Longoria on the ABC primetime hit Desperate Housewives.
Aside from all the guest starring and supporting roles on various TV sitcoms, soap operas, and dramas, Petroro would soon land a weekly TV gig. Her fun personality and pretty looks landed her a spot on the NBC Game Show Deal or No Deal as one of the 26 Briefcase Models. During it's Premiere Week in December 2005, Marisa stood beside Briefcase #10 and when the show returned to the airwaves in February 2006, she moved to Briefcase #20 for the first episode and then she moved to Briefcase #9 for the first week before moving back up to Briefcase #20 the following week. She also subbed at Briefcase #5 for four episodes during season one. During it's Premiere Week in December 2005, Marisa had $1,000,000 in the first three nights.
For Season two, Marisa moves over to Briefcase #18 (switching cases with Aliké Boggan), where she would remain until the show's end in May 2009. Also during the second season, she substituted at Briefcase #2 for four episodes and during season three, she subbed at Briefcase #5 for a second time. In season five, she is being replaced by Elissa Ingrid
In 2009, Marisa reunited with fellow Briefcase Models Patricia Kara and Leyla Milani as they competed on a celebrity edition of the GSN original series Catch 21. She and Leyla lost the game to Patricia who walked away with a grand total of $2,500 for the charity she was playing for.
Since the ending of Deal or No Deal, Marisa has continue to land TV gigs. She guest starred opposite Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar on Franklin & Bash and had a recurring role on the Showtime original series Dexter. Petroro also played vixen Amber Raines on Drop Dead Diva and the Italian engineer, Ipolita, on Touch.
Cases[]
- Case 20 - Season 1
- Case 18 - Season 2~4
Gallery[]
