Nearly six feet tall, blond Rebecca Romijn-Stamos was born and raised in Berkeley, California, the daughter of a Dutch custom furniture-maker and an American-born Dutch mother who taught English as a second language. In interviews, she insists that growing up in that "hippie environment" taught her and her sister not to care about their looks. Nevertheless, it was her stunning appearance that attracted the attention of modeling scouts and casting directors and allowed her to live the life she'd dreamed of. A poor student, Romijn-Stamos, was persuaded by a scout during a semester break from her freshman year at University of California at Santa Cruz to give modeling a try. The opportunity to travel and make money led her to move to Paris where she worked for the world's top fashion and glamour magazines for three years before moving back to the United States in 1995.