Rebecca Alie Romijn (pronounced ; 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 like "romaine" in the English and The in Romijn as a Dutch word is an alveolar trill. The diphthong , not found in English, involves something like a move from the vowel in 'bed' to the vowel in 'bead' in its native Dutch) 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. Her father is a native of Barneveld, in the Netherlands, and her mother is a third-generation Dutch American who met Romijn's father while staying in the Netherlands on a teen-age exchange program. Romijn's maternal grandfather, Dr. Henry B. Kuizenga, was a Presbyterian minister and seminary professor. www.sfgate.com/cgi-birticle.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/06/25/MNKUIZENGA1.DTL 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". 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. She stands tall.

Career

Among other jobs, Romijn started her modeling career in 1991. She modeled for the the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, Victoria's Secret, bebe, Miller Lite beer, and for Anna Molinari on the runway, along with 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 to 2000. Romijn has been featured numerous times in 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). She also appeared as a guest in the animated talk show Space Ghost Coast to Coast in an episode titled "Chinatown."