In 2006, the creators of the then fledgling comedy series Ugly Betty proposed a wild plot twist for the show’s first season: the mysterious villain covered in bandages and living in the basement of a fashion magazine publishing house would be revealed as the transgender scion of a media dynasty, who’d faked their death before undergoing gender reassignment surgery. “Alex” would emerge as Alexis Meade, a campy bombshell who’d try to take over the company.
But the creators weren’t stupid. This was 2006, and such a risky storyline required a trojan horse. Enter supermodel turned actor Rebecca Romijn, then best known for being the bluest, nudest mutant in the X-Men franchise.
