Rebecca Romijn Biography

Rebecca Romijn (pronounced "romaine"), was born on the 6th of November 1972, in Berkeley, California.

Once a college student who was born to hippie parents, Rebecca's fashion sense did not go further than her Birkenstock sandals. Now, the only Birks she's wearing are on her fingers, earlobes and neckline.

In 1995, Rebecca attended UC Santa Cruz and majored in music. A struggling student, Rebecca decided to sign up with a San Francisco modeling agency to help pay the bills. In a mere two months and almost instantaneously, Rebecca made the move from college student to glamorous runway model.

As if Rebecca needed even more reassurance for her stunning appearance, she was featured in People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" for 1997, who claimed that her addition to the 50 Most Beautiful was not because of her looks, but for her sense of humor about her body and her profession.

Rebecca was also featured in the 1996 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, and has practically become a staple in the magazine's issue. In 1999, she graced the cover of the magazine with a painted-on swimsuit.

As for her acting career, Rebecca has appeared in popular sitcoms such as Friends and Just Shoot Me. She has also become the host of MTV's House of Style, and sometimes shares co-hosting duties with model James King. Rebecca was no stranger to being the host of a television show; she was a temporary host for NBC's late-night show, Later.

Rebecca had a cameo appearance in 1999's Austin Powers sequel, Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me

Rebecca's most famous movie role so far was as the shape-shifting Mystique in X-Men (2000), based on the long-running comic book series about teenage mutant superheroes (that Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created in 1962). To play Mystique, every day Rebecca had to start out nude, and then two female makeup artists would apply blue body paint and other stick-on parts for 8 hours a day. Rebecca told Jay Leno on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (1992) that things like tissue paper would stick to her hips; and one day the long hours of wearing sticky paint makeup made her so upset that director 'Bryan Singer (I)' told her to have a glass of white wine and relax. Notwithstanding those technical difficulties, "X-Men" was a box-office bonanza, and Rebecca's future in films was assured.