Rebecca Alie Romijn (born November 6, 1972) is an American film and television actress and former fashion model.

• 1 Biography
  • 1.1 Early life
  • 1.2 Career
  • 1.3 Personal life
• 2 Filmography
  • 2.1 Film
  • 2.2 Television
  • 2.3 Video games
• 3 References
• 4 External links

Romijn (pronounced "Ro-maine") was born in Berkeley, California, to Jaap Romijn, a custom furniture maker, and Elizabeth Kuizenga, a public school English teacher and textbook author. Her father, a native of Barneveld, The Netherlands, is Dutch, and her mother is a second-generation Dutch American[1] who met Romijn's father while studying in Europe.[2] Romijn's maternal grandfather, Dr. Henry B. Kuizenga, was a Presbyterian minister and seminary professor.[3] Many sources say that she was once nicknamed the "Jolly Blonde Giant" but she has admitted to making that up 'for a laugh'.[4] While studying music (voice) at the University of California, Santa Cruz, she became involved with fashion modeling and eventually moved to Paris for more than two years. Romijn is fluent in French and Dutch, in addition to her native language, English.

Among other jobs, Romijn modeled for the swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated and for Victoria's Secret. 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[5])

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. She plays Alexis Meade, a male-to-female transsexual and the sibling of lead character Daniel Meade.

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".[6]

On September 19, 2005, Rebecca announced her engagement to actor Jerry O'Connell. The date of the announcement was controversial, as it would have been her seventh anniversary with Stamos, if not for their divorce. [7]

On July 14, 2007, Romijn married Jerry O'Connell in Ojai, California.[8]

• Rebecca Romijn at the Internet Movie Database
• Rebecca Romijn at TV.com