Jacinda Barrett was born on August 2, 1972, in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Her father is an airport firefighter, one of the first on the scene after a plane crash; she admits that her parents sheltered her from the harsh nature of her father's work while she was a child. Jacinda first studied drama at Kenmore State High School in Brisbane, but her desire to see the world led her to leave home immediately after high school.

When she was just 17 years, Barret headed for Europe, where Jacinda began a whirlwind career as a model for the Storm modeling agency, the same agency that represented fellow models turned actresses, Elle Macpherson and Josie Maran), basing herself out of Paris, France. In the years that followed, Jacinda strutted her sexy stuff on the runways of the world. Much to the chagrin of men everywhere, she soon got bored of the modeling life and decided to try her hand at acting.

Her stunning good looks led to her big break on MTV's The Real World: London in 1995. Although it was a fun ride, it was ultimately not the type of "acting" Jacinda wanted to pursue. As a result, she decided to take some time off to devote herself to more stringent acting lessons.

Jacinda Barrett enrolled in the British Academy of Dramatic Art in Oxford, England, and her training paid off in spades. In 1997, she was cast in her first film: Campfire Tales.

Girl had a talented tongue. Her ability to drop her native Australian accent helped her land more coveted roles in the U.S., most notably in 2000's "Urban Legends: Final Cut". One of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" in 1997 was also busy with TV work, on the short-lived series "D.C." (2000) and "Citizen Baines" (2001).

But it was Barrett's big screen exposure (we mean that literally) in 2003's "The Human Stain" -- opposite Anthony Hopkins and Nicole Kidman -- that thrust her into the spotlight. Her nude scene virtually assured that her star was on the rise. Consequently, Jacinda landed roles in the high-profile films "Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason", opposite Renee Zellweger and "Hugh Grant" and the tribute to firefighters, "Ladder 49" (both in 2004). Interestingly, Jacinda's 5'10" height sometimes plays against her; in "Ladder 49", she had to wear flat shoes so that she wouldn't tower over co-star Joaquin Phoenix.