- published: 17 Mar 2010
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Tanisha Mariko Harper (born September 18, 1981) is a model, actress and television host.
Harper was born in Tokyo, Japan. She is of African-American, and Cherokee Native American descent. At the age of fifteen years she was discovered in a shopping mall in her hometown of Phoenix, Arizona. At that time, she began her successful modeling career with the Ford Model Agency.
At the age of fifteen, Tanisha Harper began working in print, runway, and commercial modeling and fashion jobs. She has done editorials for numerous magazines, including, Elle, Cosmopolitan, Vanity Fair, and In Style. She has appeared in adverts and catalogs for companies such as, L'Oréal, Smashbox, MAC Cosmetics, Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, and Tommy Hilfiger'.
She has appeared on both the Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks show, and was interviewed by Katie Couric on The Today Show. Harper often works with photographer Bruce Talbot. She also competed as a model in the 6th season of Project Runway, finishing in second place, behind eventual winner Irina Shabayeva's model Kalyn Hemphill. During the show, she was mostly paired with designer Althea Harper, who also finished second.