Rebecca Romijn - Early Life

Early Life

Romijn was born in Berkeley, California, United States. Her mother, Elizabeth (née Kuizenga), is a Community College teacher of English as a Second Language and textbook author, and her father, Jaap Romijn, is a custom furniture maker. Her father is a native of Barneveld, the Netherlands, and her mother is an American of half Dutch 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 glamourous and beautiful on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Romijn revealed that 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 (1.80 m) 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.