# Jaime King
**Jaime King** (born 1979) is an American actress and model from [Omaha, Nebraska](https://www.edgepedia.org/omaha-nebraska), known for the television series *Hart of Dixie*, for the *Sin City* films, and for a 1990s modeling career in which she worked as **James King**.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454809/) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/king-jaime-1979)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, Omaha, Nebraska; some sources give the original name as Jamie King[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/king-jaime-1979) |
| Modeling name | Worked as a fashion model as "James King," a name adopted because another model already used her own; she reverted to Jaime when she began acting[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/king-jaime-1979) • [8](https://younghollywood.com/videos/yhstudio/yhstudio/jaime-king.html) |
| Modeling start | Began modeling at age fourteen, after training at Nancy Bounds Studios in Omaha and being discovered by a New York agent at a fashion graduation show[1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/king-jaime-1979) • [3](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/) |
| Signature films | *Pearl Harbor* (2001), *Blow* (2001), *Sin City* (2005) as the twins Goldie and Wendy, *White Chicks* (2004), *Bulletproof Monk* (2003)[10](https://time.com/3959516/cara-delevingne-paper-towns-model-actors/) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jamieking) |
| Television lead | Lemon Breeland on The CW's *Hart of Dixie*, her longest television role[2](https://www.tvguide.com/news/jaime-king-hart-1038340/) |
| Filmmaking | Wrote and directed the short film *Latch Key* (2012), screened at the Omaha Film Festival[3](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/) |
| Producing | Producer on the Netflix series *Black Summer* (2019–2021, 16 episodes)[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454809) |
## Modeling career
King grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where she became interested in fashion and photography and attended a modeling school in the hope of meeting people from bigger cities.[4](https://intothegloss.com/2014/12/jaime-king) • [3](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/) A New York agent discovered her at a graduation show, and at fourteen she moved to New York with her mother for a summer of test shooting; work for *Vogue* and *Harper's Bazaar* followed almost immediately.[4](https://intothegloss.com/2014/12/jaime-king)
By sixteen she had appeared in *Vogue*, *Seventeen*, *Glamour*, and on the cover of *The New York Times Magazine*.[10](https://time.com/3959516/cara-delevingne-paper-towns-model-actors/) She walked runways for Chanel and [Alexander McQueen](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexander-mcqueen) and shared the Gucci runway with established stars of the era, and her McQueen appearance included the label's spring-summer 1998 show, which ended with her soaked by a jet of water.[5](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/) • [3](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/) • [7](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2026-07-01/clinton-dijo-que-glorificabamos-la-muerte-jaime-king-y-la-larga-reinvencion-de-la-musa-del-heroin-chic-que-fue-adicta-real.html) She did editorial shoots for *Vogue*, *Mademoiselle*, *Glamour*, and *Cosmopolitan*, appeared in music videos, and was a Revlon model in the same campaign as [Halle Berry](https://www.edgepedia.org/halle-berry) and [Eva Mendes](https://www.edgepedia.org/eva-mendes), with Revlon commercials in 2002.[3](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/) • [1](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/king-jaime-1979)
Her look became associated with the "heroin chic" (1990s fashion aesthetic of pale, gaunt, drug-addled-looking models) aesthetic of early-1990s fashion, and she has since spoken critically of the era and of a childhood in the industry, saying that a girl of her age should not have been in fashion work.[7](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2026-07-01/clinton-dijo-que-glorificabamos-la-muerte-jaime-king-y-la-larga-reinvencion-de-la-musa-del-heroin-chic-que-fue-adicta-real.html) She has described becoming addicted to cocaine at fourteen, when a photography assistant offered her her first use, and has said that her experience of the period was one of self-destruction alongside her professional success.[7](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2026-07-01/clinton-dijo-que-glorificabamos-la-muerte-jaime-king-y-la-larga-reinvencion-de-la-musa-del-heroin-chic-que-fue-adicta-real.html)
She left modeling before her 20th birthday, against resistance from the industry, to rehabilitate from her addictions and pursue acting and filmmaking, which she describes as her original plan.[5](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/) • [7](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2026-07-01/clinton-dijo-que-glorificabamos-la-muerte-jaime-king-y-la-larga-reinvencion-de-la-musa-del-heroin-chic-que-fue-adicta-real.html)
## Acting career
King's screen career began in 2001 with small roles in [Michael Bay](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-bay)'s *Pearl Harbor* and [Ted Demme](https://www.edgepedia.org/ted-demme)'s *Blow*, in which she played Kristina Jung.[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jamieking) • [10](https://time.com/3959516/cara-delevingne-paper-towns-model-actors/) She followed with supporting parts in *Slackers* (2002), *Bulletproof Monk* (2003), and *White Chicks* (2004), then drew notice in [Robert Rodriguez](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-rodriguez)'s stylized *Sin City* (2005), playing the twins Goldie and Wendy, a role she reprised in *Frank Miller's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For* (2014).[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jamieking) • [12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jaime-king/) • [7](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2026-07-01/clinton-dijo-que-glorificabamos-la-muerte-jaime-king-y-la-larga-reinvencion-de-la-musa-del-heroin-chic-que-fue-adicta-real.html) Her film work since has run largely through genre and independent pictures, including *My Bloody Valentine* (2009), *The Spirit* (2008), *Barely Lethal* (2015), and a small appearance in *Ocean's 8* (2018).[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jamieking) • [12](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jaime-king/) She also voiced the bounty hunter Aurra Sing in *Star Wars: The Clone Wars* and starred as Sherri Papini in the 2023 television film *Hoax: The Kidnapping of Sherri Papini*.[6](https://www.martincid.com/people/jaime-king/) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jamieking)
**Hart of Dixie.** King's most prominent television role came as Lemon Breeland, the sharp-edged Southern belle of [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw) comedy-drama *Hart of Dixie* (2011). She has said she initially declined the role several times because she was not interested in television and did not know she would be allowed to approach the character with a film actor's depth; she ultimately played Lemon across the series' run and has described the part as one of the most intricate characters she has been permitted to develop over time.[5](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/) • [13](https://evergreenpodcasts.com/the-katz-walk/jaime-king-her-transition-from-supermodel-to-television-and-film-star) In discussing the character with *TV Guide*, she explained that Lemon's mother left when Lemon was sixteen, and that Lemon's drive to appear perfect grew from believing she might have caused the departure; the character's hostility to Zoe Hart ([Rachel Bilson](https://www.edgepedia.org/rachel-bilson)) is rooted in loyalty to her father and her engagement to George Tucker ([Scott Porter](https://www.edgepedia.org/scott-porter)).[2](https://www.tvguide.com/news/jaime-king-hart-1038340/)
The Lemon look itself traces to King: the series' creator saw her at an event dressed as an homage to [Grace Kelly](https://www.edgepedia.org/grace-kelly), in a floral Reem Acra dress with a 1940s-influenced bob and red lip, and used that image as the character's template; King then worked with the costume department to design Lemon's custom-made dresses.[5](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/)
## Writing, directing, and producing
King has worked behind the camera as well. At the 2012 Omaha Film Festival she presented *Latch Key*, a dramatic short she described as deeply personal and which she wrote and directed, and she reported several projects in development, including the feature *Polar Seasons*, which she co-wrote.[3](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/) Her producing credits include the short *Latch Key*, the series *Black Summer* (2019–2021), and the 2023 film *The Resurrection of Charles Manson*, on which she was also an executive producer.[9](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454809)
## Style and fashion connections
King has remained close to the fashion industry that trained her. She counts designers [Jason Wu](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-wu) and Francisco Costa of Calvin Klein among her friends and has described using those connections directly for red carpet and editorial needs, working with stylist Karla Welch as a collaborator rather than a selector after becoming a mother.[5](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/) In 2014 she announced a collaboration with the Australian company Sapling Child on an organic, non-toxic, vegetable-dyed baby line.[5](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/)
## References
1. [King, Jaime 1979–, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/king-jaime-1979)
2. [Jaime King: My Hart of Dixie Character Has a World of Hurt Inside Her, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/news/jaime-king-hart-1038340/)
3. [Model-turned-actress Jaime King screens Omaha-made film she wrote and directed, The Reader](https://thereader.com/2012/03/07/model-turned-actress-jaime-king-screens-omaha-made-film-she-wrote-and-direc/)
4. [Jaime King, Into The Gloss](https://intothegloss.com/2014/12/jaime-king)
5. [The Style: It's Good to be King, Harper's Bazaar](https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a2567/jaime-king-style/)
6. [Jaime King, the actress who began modelling at 14 and now says no child belongs in fashion, Martin Cid Magazine](https://www.martincid.com/people/jaime-king/)
7. [Jaime King o la larga recuperación de la musa del 'heroin chic', El País S Moda](https://elpais.com/smoda/moda/2026-07-01/clinton-dijo-que-glorificabamos-la-muerte-jaime-king-y-la-larga-reinvencion-de-la-musa-del-heroin-chic-que-fue-adicta-real.html)
8. [Jaime King, Young Hollywood](https://younghollywood.com/videos/yhstudio/yhstudio/jaime-king.html)
9. [Jaime King, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0454809)
10. [11 Models Who Became Actors, TIME](https://time.com/3959516/cara-delevingne-paper-towns-model-actors/)
11. [Jaime King, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/jamieking)
12. [Jaime King, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/person/jaime-king/)
13. [Jaime King Part II: Her Transition From Supermodel to Television and Film Star, Evergreen Podcasts](https://evergreenpodcasts.com/the-katz-walk/jaime-king-her-transition-from-supermodel-to-television-and-film-star)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 2000s onward › Surnames Jo to Kl*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license