Rebecca Romijn was born in 1972 in Berkeley, California to parents of Dutch ancestry. Her parents did not have much money when Rebecca was growing up so she was forced to shop at thrift stores. It has become a habit and Rebecca continues to shop at thrift stores to this day. She was nicknamed “the jolly blonde giant” by friends as a teenager, thanks to her blonde hair and large six-foot frame. It was during her time studying music at the University of California, Santa Cruz, that Romijn first became involved with modeling.

The way she tells the story was that she was a broke college freshmen sitting in her dorm room thinking that she was missing out on something. She happened to have a friend who was able to hook her up with a modeling agency and the rest is history. Later that year Romijn moved to Paris and immediately found work shooting the cover of the French Elle. She ended up staying and living in Paris for over two years.

Rebecca landed several very high profile modeling gigs including the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issues and as a Victoria’s Secret lingerie model. These high profile gigs kept the model in the public eye where she remained popular with the MTV generation. This allowed her to easily switch from modeling to television and eventually work in films.

In 1998, right around the time she retired from modeling, Rebecca married actor John Stamos, who is best known for his work on the family comedy, Full House. Stamos and Romijn met at a Victoria’s Secret fashion show in 1994. It is reported that their first date was at Disneyland. During their marriage she used the name Rebecca Romijn-Stamos in her professional life. In 2004, the couple separated. The divorce was finalized in March of 2005.

Later that same year, in September, Rebecca got engaged to actor Jerry O’Connell.

Other films to Romijn’s credit include Godsend which co-starred Robert De Niro, Femme Fatale, and Rollerball. She is also currently starring in the lead character on the television show, Pepper Dennis, which airs on the WB.

Although Rebecca is nearly six feet tall she is able to keep her weight at 130 pounds thanks to a combination of stretching exercises and a weight training routine. Today, her body is now well-toned which is a big difference from her earlier modeling days where she was slim without muscle tone. Rebecca is not one of those girls who only eats salads; her favorite foods include filet mignon and Haagen-Dazs ice cream Cappuccino-Commotion.