Rebecca Romijn is an American actress and former model who is best known for portraying ‘Mystique’ in the first three installments of the ‘X-Men’ superhero film franchise. Romijn portrayed ‘Joan’ in a second Marvel superhero film titled ‘The Punisher’. Since beginning her career as a model, Romijn has posed for prestigious companies such as Christian Dior, Sports Illustrated, and Victoria’s Secret. She spent a decade modeling for major fashion houses before leaving the industry to focus on her acting career. Romijn’s television career has been more successful than his Hollywood career. She portrayed ‘Alexis Mead’ in ‘Ugly Betty’ and then ‘Jessie Nichols’ in ‘NTSF:SD: SUV’. She also appeared in the television series ‘King & Maxwell’ and ‘The Librarians. She has lent her voice to numerous projects, including video games, and hosted the reality program “Skin Wars” about body painting.
Rebecca Romijn’s Career
Rebecca Romijn began her career as a model in 1991, and she has since appeared in numerous issues of ‘Elle’, ‘Marie Claire’, ‘Cosmopolitan’, ‘Allure’, ‘Glamour’, ‘GQ’, ‘Esquire’, and ‘Sports Illustrated’. Within a decade of her modeling career, Romijn had appeared in advertisements for Escada, Christian Dior, La Perla, Dillard’s, Pantene, and Miller Lite, among others. In addition to Victoria’s Secret, she has represented Bebe, Maybelline, and Tommy Hilfiger.
She has walked the runway for Anna Molinari, Sonia Rykiel, and Giorgio Armani, joining the ranks of top models Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell, Cindy Crawford, and Stephanie Seymour. In 2002, Romijn was included on Stuff Magazine’s list of the “102 Sexiest Women in the World.” She appeared on numerous annual lists of attractive women published by Maxim, AskMen.com, FHM, and People Magazine.
After beginning her career in the entertainment industry, Romijn had to wait a while before she was offered the role of ‘Mystique’ in the 2000 Marvel Comics-inspired superhero film ‘X-Men’. She appeared in the film alongside Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, and Famke Janssen, which grossed over $296 million. During filming, she was required to be completely nude and spent over eight hours per day applying makeup.
Both she and her two makeup artists had a difficult time applying blue paint to her complete body and transforming her into the character. To cheer her up, the director would tell her to drink a glass of wine and unwind whenever she felt depressed or agitated. Her commitment to the role and endeavors persuaded the producers to sign her for future installments of the X-Men franchise.
She reprised her role from the first film in ‘X2: X-Men United in 2003 and ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ in 2006. In these three films, she revealed her true appearance only once (in a bar scene from ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’). Jennifer Lawrence was chosen to portray the younger incarnation of ‘Mystique’ in later installments of the X-Men franchise.
In 2007, Romijn portrayed a transgender woman named ‘Alexis Meade’ in 33 episodes of the ABC comedy-drama series ‘Ugly Betty’. Between 2009 and 2010, she portrayed Roxie Torcoletti in the fantasy comedy “Eastwick.” Romijn was a series regular on the parody police procedural series ‘NTSF:SD: SUV’, in which she portrayed ‘Jessie Nichols’.
She also played ‘Michelle Maxwell’ in the TNT drama series King & Maxwell, based on the novel by David Baldacci. In 2014, she was the moderator of the American reality competition ‘Skin Wars’, which involved body painting. She portrayed ‘Eve Baird’ in the fantasy adventure series ‘The Librarians in the same year.
Rebecca’s Personal Life
Rebecca Alie Romijn was born on November 6, 1972, in Berkeley, California, to Jaap Romijn, a custom furniture manufacturer, and Elizabeth Romijn, an English instructor at a community college. They began dating after meeting at the Victoria’s Secret fashion show.
The couple tied the knot on September 19, 1998, but divorced in 2005. She wed actor Jerry O’Connell in 2007. They have twin daughters named after Dolly Parton and Jerry O’Connell’s sibling, Charlie O’Connell: Dolly Rebecca Rose O’Connell and Charlie Tamara Tulip O’Connell.
Estimated Net Worth
American actress and singer Rebecca Romijn has a net worth of $20 million. Rebecca is perhaps best known for portraying Mystique in the first three “X-Men” films beginning in 2000. She also appeared in numerous other films, including “The Punisher,” “Femme Fatale,” and others.