| Rebecca Romijn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name: | Rebecca Alie Romijn |
| Born: | November 6, 1972 |
| Birth Hometown: | Berkeley, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | model, actress |
| Years active: | 1991-2002, 2012 (model) 1997-present (actress) |
| Known for: | her role as Mystique in the X-Men films |
Rebecca Romijn (surname is pronounced as "Row-Main") (born November 6, 1972) is an American actress and former fashion model. Romijn is best known for her role as Mystique in the X-Men films and Joan from The Punisher (2004) both from Marvel comics. Romijn also had a recurring role as Alex Meade on the television series Ugly Betty, During her marriage to actor John Stamos, she was often credited as Rebecca Romijn-Stamos.
Early Life
Romijn was born in Berkeley, California. Her mother Elizabeth (nee Kuizenga) is a Community College teacher of English as a Second Language and textbook author. Romijn father Jaap Romijn is a custom furniture maker. Her father is a native of Barneveld, the Netherlands, while her mother is an American of Dutch and English descent; she met Romijn's father while staying in the Netherlands on a teenage exchange program. Romijn's maternal grandfather, Dr. Henry Bernard Kuizenga was a Presbyterian minister and seminary professor. When questioned about always being glamorous and beautiful on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Romijn revealed as a child in her early teens she was in fact an insecure "drama geek" and as a result of her growth spurt she suffered from scoliosis and was constantly in pain. Many sources say that she was once nicknamed the "Jolly Blonde Giant" because of her 5 feet 11 inches (1.80m) height, but she has admitted to making that up "for a laugh". 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.
Career
- Among other jobs, Rebecca Romijn started her modeling career in 1991. She modeled for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Victoria's Secret, bebe, Miller Lite, and for Anna Molinari, Victoria Secret and Giorgio Armani on the runway, along the likes of 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 until 2000. Romijn has been featured numerous times in annual lists of the world's most beautiful women by publication such as Maxim (2003-2007), AskMen.com (2001-2003, 2005-2006) and FHM (2000-2005). She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost: Coast to Coast in an episode entitled "Chinatown".
- In 2000's X-Men Romijn had her first movie role as Mystique; she returned her 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 Romijn shows up in a bar in one scene in her "normal" look and also in X-Men: The Last Stand Romijn appears as a dark-haired "de-powered" Mystique. Romijn had her first leading role in Brian De Palma's Femme Fatale (2002). Romijn also had starred in moves such as Rollerball, The Punisher (playing a woman named Joan) and Godsend. Romijn also played the leading role in Pepper Dennis, a short-lived TV series on The WB.
- In January 2007, Romijn made her first appearance on the ABC series Ugly Betty as a full-time regular cast member. She played as 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 (aligning, fortuitously enough, with Romijn's pregnancy, which would have been inconsistent with her character's storyline). 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.
- Romijn starred in the ABC series Eastwick reuniting with her former Pepper Dennis co-star Lindsay Price before ABC cancelled the show on November 9, 2009. Romijn appeared in an uncredited cameo in the 2011 film X-Men: First Class and appeared as lab worker Jessie on the Adult Swim live-action show NTSF:SD:SUV:: for two seasons. Between June and September 2013, Romijn starred in the TNT series King & Maxwell as Michelle Maxwell a former Secret Service agent who works as a private investigator.
Personal Life
- Romijn attended the University of California at Santa Cruz from 1990 until 1991 where she lived in dorm 1 at Stevenson College. Romijn 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, Romijn began her career modeling ad did not return for her sophomore year.
- Romijn 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. Romijn has since returned using her maiden name. It was revealed in an August 1, 2013 interview on Conan that Romijn had never legally changed her name back from Romijn-Stamos, even though she has been divorced for nine years and re-married for six. The show's host Conan O'Brien stated that a staffer had noticed "Romijn-Stamos" on her driver's license and she said that she is too lazy to go to the DMV.
- 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. And it turns our I'm pretty straight".
- On September 19, 2005 Romijn 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. Romin and O'Connell welcomed twin daughters Dolly Rebecca Rose and Charlie Tamara Tulip on December 28, 2008. Dolly is for singer Dolly Parton's first name and Charlie is for O'Connell's brother.
Show hosted
Show appeared
- Dancing with the Stars (guest appearance 2009)