Below is a really good article on Jaime’s life ups and downs.

HOLLYWOOD loves a happy ending, and in actor Jamie King, 29, who stars in My Bloody Valentine 3D, her real-life ups and downs are a lot more interesting than some of the movies she’s starred in.

Just don’t let her appearance fool you – she is not your typical Hollywood actor.

Blonde and statuesque, this ex model-turned-actor, who has appeared in movies including Pearl Harbor, Blow, Sin City, and The Spirit, was first lauded for her emaciated appearance as a successful model alongside an equally thin Kate Moss, and the term heroin chic was born.

But in her case, it wasn’t just a throwaway term. She was allegedly addicted to the lethal drug from the age of 15 until 18.

This self-described former party girl, turned her life around before it was too late. “I haven’t smoked pot or anything since I was 18 years old. When you’re young it’s normal to want to explore the world and experience things, especially creative people, I think, more than others,” she says.

“I got over it quickly because it felt like an empty way to go for me. It seemed by going out too much or partying too much, I realised that all that would do would inflict upon what I really wanted in my life. It didn’t seem worth it to sacrifice my dreams for a quick thrill.”

Although it was reported she went to rehab at age 19, she says, “I came to the conclusion on my own, as well as from reading Spiritual Warrior by John Roger. It was about having a purposeful life and it had a deep impact on me.”

Waif look

Her modelling career began at age 14 and she was hired for international campaigns including Georgio Armani, Calvin Klein and Victoria’s Secret.

Like her colleague Moss, her waif-like appearance was an anomaly in the fashion world at a time when models became celebrities and supermodels with bigger frames such as Cindy Crawford and Elle Macpherson were the norm.

Says King (who was named after the lead character, Jamie Sommers, in the ’70s TV hit, The Bionic Woman), “You have to understand something, and I wish more women understood this – I was 15 years old then. And it’s the same when you look at magazines now. Most of these girls haven’t even hit puberty yet, so you’re looking at a child in high heels and sexy clothes. It’s all a lie. These girls aren’t even women yet. Women think they have to starve themselves to look like these girls who haven’t been able to eat a burger in four years.”

Suggesting that Moss is well past her teen years yet still maintains a rail-thin body, King laughs, “Yeah, but come on, she still parties. You can look thin because you’re healthy and taking care of yourself, or you can do it because you’re not taking care of yourself.

“I don’t want to do what it takes to look like a size zero. I want to enjoy life.”

New direction

Worlds away from romances with bad boys like Kid Rock, whom she dated back in 2000, she is now happily married to director Kyle Newman, who directed her in the upcoming movie, Fanboys.

Now she can add scream queen to her multi-hyphenated career, for her lead role in My Bloody Valentine, a re-imagining is what they’re calling it these days, not merely a remake, of the 1981 slasher hit of the same name. Valentine has emerged as the first in an upcoming run of 3D flicks including the much-awaited James Cameron’s Avatar starring Aussie actor Sam Worthington.

There’s also Monsters and Aliens and even boy band, the Jonas Brothers, have jumped on the bandwagon with their upcoming 3D film.

King stars alongside TV actors Jensen Ackles (Smallville, Supernatural) and Kerr Smith (Final Destination, Dawson’s Creek).

Clearly, she is no stereotypical dumb blonde.

“When people meet me they’re shocked because they think they know what I’ll be like. It shows you can’t always judge someone by appearances.”

Source: Courier Mail