Jaime King (James is a stage name) was born in Omaha, NE, in 1979; King's statuesque beauty became evident at a young age, and in her early teens, she began attending a local modeling school. When King was 14, a representative from a New York modeling agency saw her in a show, and a year later King's career was in high gear. King's picture had appeared in Vogue, Glamour, Allure, Harper's Bazaar, and Mademoiselle before she'd reached the age of 17, and she'd also become an in-demand runway model, with her lean good looks being used to promote the latest designs from Christian Dior, Marithe and Francois Girbaud, and Chanel. However, after rising to fame, King succumbed to the pressures and temptations of the high-pressure world of modeling, and she began to abuse alcohol and drugs, leading to a brief addiction to heroin; King had also become romantically involved with photographer David Sorrenti, and after he died of a drug overdose in 1997, King was inspired to get clean and sober and has remained drug-free since then.

In 1999, King made her first forays into acting with an appearance in "Take a Picture," a video for the rock band Filter, and a small role in the film Four Faces of God. Two years later, King's acting career really took flight, with appearances in the critically acclaimed Blow, the blockbuster Pearl Harbor, and the teen-horror satire Happy Campers. In 2002, King played a major supporting role in Slackers, and was cast alongside Hong Kong action legend Chow Yun-Fat in Bulletproof Monk (2003). King also appearred periodically as a host on the MTV series House of Style.