Rebecca attended UC Santa Cruz and as a struggling student, she decided to sign up with a San Francisco modeling agency to help pay her bills. In a mere two months, Rebecca made the move from college student to glamorous runway model. In no time, she had contracts with major league fashion houses such as Christian Dior and Escada.

Rebecca was featured in the 1996 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition and in People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" for 1997. She has practically become a staple in Sports Illustrated, and in 1999, she graced the cover of the magazine with a painted-on swimsuit.

Rebecca has always stood out from the other models, since she sports a more full, curvaceous body. She has been on numerous magazine covers and became one of the beautiful women to grace the pages of the much loved Victoria's Secret catalogues. Rebecca also became the fantasy girl in Miller Light's advertising campaign, and can also be seen showing off her milk mustache in a "Got Milk?" advertisement, a campaign that also stars Tyra Banks and Jennifer Aniston.

Rebecca has had a cameo appearance in the Austin Powers sequel, "Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me". Rebecca also appeared in a costume role in the blockbuster "X-Men", co-starring Halle Berry and Famke Janssen. In "X-Men", with her attire mostly made of body paint, her role was as the mutant Mystique, Rebecca mystified audiences without even saying a word.

As for her acting career, Rebecca has appeared in popular sitcoms such as Friends and Just Shoot Me. She has also become the host of MTV's House of Style, and sometimes shares co-hosting duties with model James King. Rebecca is no stranger to being the host of a television show; she was a temporary host for NBC's late night show, Later.