Biography
Jeanne Nicole Griffin was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, and moved to Frankfurt, Germany with her parents, Jeanne and Eugene "Gene" Griffin, when she was two. After six years abroad, the family returned to the U.S., living in Virginia for a year before settling in Wilmington, North Carolina. Her father worked for the Army Corps of Engineers, and her mother was a nurse. At age 10, Nikki began modeling, spending three consecutive summers in New York City, represented first by Wilhelmina (Wee Willys) and later by Ford Kids. Although she stopped growing at 15 and never reached the typical model height, she traveled to London to assist aspiring models. After graduating from New Hanover High School, Nikki attended college in North Carolina but did not enjoy it. In 2000, she landed a role in the film Summer Catch, starring Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jessica Biel; although her scene was cut, she earned her SAG card. Realizing she needed to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting fully, Nikki drove to Hollywood in 2001. Her first significant break came when she won a lead role as the love interest of the Duke cousins. She later appeared as Jess Sathers, a drug-dealing party girl from the wrong side of the tracks, in a story arc on the hit show The OC, and had a memorable role in Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift. In 2012, Nikki expanded into editorial writing, publishing several articles in Geek Magazine and online at Marvel.com.
Recently, drawing on her extensive experience both in front of and behind the camera, Nikki has taken on the role of talent manager at the management group that initially launched her acting career. She looks forward to supporting established actors and discovering new talent, describing this career shift as coming "full circle.
