Rebecca Romijn
Rebecca Romijn, March 2007
Born	Rebecca Alie Romijn1 November 6, 1972 (1972-11-06) (age 36)1 Berkeley, California, U.S.
Other name(s)	Rebecca Romijn-Stamos
Occupation	Model (1991-2001), Actress (2000-present)
Spouse(s)	John Stamos (1998–2005) (divorced) Jerry O'Connell (2007–present; 2 children)

Rebecca Alie Romijn (pronounced ro-MAIN; born November 6, 1972) is an American actress (2000-present) and former model (1991-2001). She is best known for her role as Mystique in the X-Men films, and for her role as Alexis Meade on the hit show Ugly Betty.

Life and career

Early life

Romijn (pronounced "Ro-MEIN" in the USA — its proper Dutch pronunciation is [ro:'mɛin]) — ² was born in Berkeley, California, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Kuizenga), a Community College teacher of English as a Second Language and textbook author, and Jaap Romijn, a custom furniture maker.³⁴ Her father is a native of Barneveld, in the Netherlands, and her mother is a third-generation Dutch American⁵ who met Romijn's father while staying in the Netherlands on a teen-age exchange program.⁶ Romijn's maternal grandfather, Dr. Henry B. Kuizenga, was a Presbyterian minister and seminary professor.⁷ Many sources say that she was once nicknamed the "Jolly Blonde Giant" because of her height, but she has admitted to making that up "for a laugh".⁸ While studying music (voice) at the University of California, Santa Cruz,⁹ she became involved with fashion modeling and eventually moved to Paris for more than two years. She stands 5 feet 11. inches (1.80 m) tall.

Career

Among other jobs, Romijn started her modeling career in 1992. She modeled for the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated, Victoria's Secret, Bebe and for Anna Molinari Runway, along with the famous Super-Models such as Claudia Schiffer, Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Cindy Crawford, and Christy Turlington. She also was the host of MTV's House of Style from 1998 to 2000. Rebecca is a fixture on annual lists of the world's most beautiful women by publications such as Maxim (2003–2007), AskMen.com (2001–2003, 2005–2006) and FHM (2000–2005).¹⁰ She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in an episode titled "Chinatown."

In 2000's X-Men, Romijn had her first major movie role as Mystique; she returned to the role in 2003's sequel X2: X-Men United, and again for X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In these movies her costume consisted of blue makeup and some strategically placed prosthetics on her otherwise nude body. In X2: X-Men United she shows up in a bar in one scene in her "normal" look, and also in X-Men: The Last Stand, she appears as a dark-haired "de-powered" Mystique. She had her first leading role in Brian De Palma's Femme Fatale (2002). She also has starred in movies such as Rollerball, The Punisher and Godsend. She played the leading role in Pepper Dennis, a short-lived TV series on The WB. This series showcased Romijn's talents for comedy, singing, modeling, drama, and adventure.

In January 2007, Romijn made her first appearance on the ABC series Ugly Betty as a full time regular.¹¹ She plays Alexis Meade, a male-to-female transsexual and the sibling of lead character Daniel Meade. In April 2008, however, it was reported that Romijn would only be appearing as a recurring character in season 3 due to a change in direction by the writing staff.¹² In November 2007, Romijn made a guest appearance on the ABC series Carpoolers, where she played the ex-wife of the character Laird, played by her real-life husband Jerry O'Connell.¹³

Personal life

Rebecca attended the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1990–91 where she lived in dorm 1 at Stevenson College. She studied music and participated in the dorm talent show, singing a musical comedy routine with a high school friend who joined her at UCSC. During the summer following her freshman year, Rebecca began her career modeling and did not return for her sophomore year.

She married actor John Stamos on September 19, 1998. During her marriage, she used the name Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in both her personal and professional life. The couple announced their separation on April 12, 2004, and divorced on March 1, 2005. She has since returned to using her birth name.

Romijn was asked by Elle magazine in April 2002 whether making Femme Fatale had given her any new ideas about her sexuality. She said, "You know, in my early twenties I wondered if I was interested in women and so I kind of, well ... did my homework. [Grins] And it turns out I'm pretty straight".¹⁴

On September 19, 2005, Rebecca announced her engagement to actor Jerry O'Connell. They were married on their ranch in Southern California on July 14, 2007.

On July 28, 2008, it was announced that Romijn was pregnant. According to Us Weekly magazine,¹⁵ she and O'Connell were expecting twins due in the winter. People magazine reported that the babies were girls, conceived without the assistance of fertility drugs.¹⁶ Romijn and O'Connell welcomed twin daughters Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip on December 28, 2008. Dolly is for Dolly Parton, Charlie is for Jerry's brother, and Tamara is for Rebecca's sister.¹⁷

Romijn will star in the upcoming ABC series Eastwick, reuniting her with her former Pepper Dennis co-star, Lindsay Price.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

• Rebecca Romijn at the Internet Movie Database
• Rebecca Romijn at TV.com
• Rebecca Romijn at Fashion Model Directory