​Marisa was born and raised in western Pennsylvania with four siblings and one bathroom. During her childhood, she quickly learned tons of potentially fatal wrestling moves from her siblings (don't tell her parents), and what the word "share" means. As the stereotypical middle child, she felt the need to claim something of her own and auditioned for her high school's spring performance of Singin' in the Rain. Much to her(and her parents') surprise, she booked the comedic supporting role of Lina Lamont. In this moment she realized two things: she could make her voice go really high, and she loved performing. Marisa involved herself in the local community theater and soon started working professionally in Pittsburgh. Her first paid role was playing a nurse (ironically just after she quit nursing school to pursue a theatrical degree at Penn State University). 

After graduating from PSU, she jumped in her then-partner's pickup truck and set off for New York City. The relationship didn't last but her love for the bustling city did, and she stuck around long enough to begin booking roles for well-known clients such as Olay, eBay, Nature's Recipe, Kind Bar, and Blistex. Towards her latter years in NYC, Marisa began her journey as a director and producer. She is now a co-founder of the queer and women-run production company, Late Bloomer Pictures, where she focuses on queer stories and artists. She recently wrapped filming on the company's short film, When It Pays, set to premiere in the festival circuit in the Fall of 2022. 
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In her downtime, you can catch her reading every mystery novel she can get her hands on (Ruth Ware if you're reading this, she'd like a role in your first movie), listening to the Crime Junkie podcast, looking up multi-million dollar homes on Zillow, and baking every type of baked good known to man. There is no dog she will not pet and no ice cream she will not eat.

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