Janis Maria Wilson


Janis Maria Wilson is a Norwegian model and actress. She is known for portraying Miss Gudbrandsdalen in the Norwegian-American TV series entitled Lilyhammer.

Career

Wilson is of Croatian and Italian descent. She was born in Rome but grew up in Norwegian county of Oppland and town of Lillehammer. She studied marketing and economics at the BI Norwegian Business School. She began modeling while still in college. In 2006 she appeared in the Norwegian television series Shopaholic, was a finalist in the Miss Norway modeling contest, and appeared in a commercial for Norwegian financial firm DNB ASA. She was on the cover of magazines such as Beauty Style, Lowrider, and Norwegian magazine Gatebil. In an interview in 2006, she claimed the modeling industry had a bad reputation, and said that she personally had never used drugs. In 2010, she was one of 21 Norwegians competing for a chance to become a Playboy cover model. In 2012, she landed the role of Miss Gudbrandsdalen in Lilyhammer.

Personal life

Wilson was the alleged victim of personal attacks on two separate occasions in 2010. While on assignment in Turkey, there were reports of a dispute regarding a garment which escalated into an apparent altercation between Wilson shopkeepers at a clothing shop in the Turkish beach resort of Alanya. Wilson blamed the shopkeepers for causing scratches and bruises to Wilson's face; in contrast, the shopkeepers reported that they were attacked by Wilson and her mother after a dress was reportedly missing. A few months later, there were reports of an unrelated second assault which happened in Oslo; in this attack, also in 2010, Wilson reported that she was walking her dog in a park near her home when an unknown assailant attacked her; she suffered stab wounds and bruises and scratches but managed to survive.