| Marita Hakala | |
| Birth Date: | 10 November 1968 |
| Birth Place: | Ulvila, Finland |
| Occupation: | Fashion model, businessperson |
| Partners: | Vesa-Matti Loiri (1989–1993) Esa Tikkanen (2000–2002) |
Marita Hakala (born 10 November 1968) is a Finnish businessperson and fashion model.[1] After a part-time modeling career in Finland, she became a full time professional model in Milan, Italy, where her first booking was with Blumarine, a high-end fashion house.
Marita Hakala created a reality television series Mallikoulu (Model School), based on her experiences in the modeling world. The show was aired on Finland's leading broadcasting TV network MTV3 followed by a spinoff show on Sub TV on Fridays at prime time during 2005 and 2006, and 2015 on Ava. The first season's winner, Suvi Koponen, became the first international Finnish supermodel.[2]
Marita Hakala got into the business side of modeling when she was 17 years old and started a model society called Satakunnan Mallit in Western Finland. In 2006, she co-founded a model and talent agency Casting House Inc in Helsinki, Finland.[3] In 2014, Hakala moved to Los Angeles,[4] joining a modeling agency and scouting new model talents.[5] Marita Hakala also works as an entertainment reporter in the USA.[6]
Finnish actor and musician Vesa-Matti Loiri and Marita Hakala met at Pori Jazz Festival in the summer of 1989. She was engaged with a Finnish hockey player Esa Tikkanen in 2000.