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Brooke Burke was born on September 8th, 1971, in Hartford, Connecticut, but raised in Tucson, Arizona. Her exotic, original looks can be attributed to her family's heritage, which blends her French/Irish father with her Portuguese/Irish mother. The middle child of seven siblings (with three older sisters and three younger brothers), Brooke wanted to pursue an atypical career -- but never dreamed of becoming an entertainment media figure.
The aspiring rock band drummer got her start in entertainment after she was noticed for her stunning good looks. She was accompanying a friend to a modeling agency and was immediately noticed by a talent scout. After dabbling in modeling while in Arizona, Brooke won an acting scholarship, headed to Los Angeles, and began her broadcast journalism studies at UCLA. In her extra time, she worked as a model and gained considerable experience while posing for the Frederick's of Hollywood catalogs.
Becoming a high-profile model was not difficult after having signed with modeling and talent agencies such as Ford, Wilhelmina and Cunningham Escott Dipene. Brooke was ready to add up to a dozen magazine covers to her resume, not to mention several television commercials, namely the Bally Total Fitness commercials (as the "beautiful body"), Discover Card commercials (as Derek Jeter's dream date), and commercials for Coca-Cola, Anheuser-Busch and M Professional Cosmetics. When E! Entertainment Television was searching for a replacement for its show "Wild On" in 1999, a swimwear company that Brooke worked for recommended her to the entertainment channel. After the encouragement of a friend, Brooke went for a casual meeting and interview with E!, which led to a trial show in Spain.
E! was looking for a spontaneous, personable and down-to-earth person, and since Brooke fit the bill perfectly, she was signed to a three-year contract with the network as host of the travel show, "Wild On". Her job has taken her to the most exotic spots in the world, from Australia and Bali to Belize. Known as an "experienced traveler," she even enjoyed a stint as a spokesperson for the Norwegian Cruise Line.
Thanks to the success of "Wild On", Brooke's exposure increased exponentially, and a "Play..boy" appearance in May 2001 certainly didn't hurt. Once her run on "Wild On" ended, she stayed on E!, but this time as host of the popular countdown show, "Rank". In the meantime, Burke kept busy with appearances on "The Weakest Link" and "That's Life", and by starting her own women's swimwear line called Barely Brooke, based on her designs and experience as a swimsuit model and extensive traveler. She also proved how good she could look in bikinis with her own calendars in 2003 and 2004.
Brooke left her hosting duties on "Rank" in 2003, but the sexy brunette is still keeping busy, this time with acting. She made guest appearances on shows like "Monk" and "Less Than Perfect" in 2004, and has three movies in the pipeline: "The Hazing", "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story" (starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller), and "Knuckle Sandwich", all set for release in 2004. Brooke Burke also lends her voice to the "People and Places" category of Atari's Trivial Pursuit video game.
When not working, Brooke enjoys staying home with her husband, plastic surgeon Garth Fisher, and their daughters Neriah (born March 2000) and Sierra Sky (born April 2002). While at her Los Angeles home, the jet setter stays fit by practicing yoga, kickboxing and pilates, scuba diving, taking long walks, and relaxes by cooking and reading. AskMen |
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