Jeanne and Gene Griffin met in Vicksburg, Mississippi while Gene was starring in a local play, and Jeanne was making the costumes. Three months later, in August, they were married. Anxious to start a family, Jeanne Nicole Griffin was born early April 16th morning. Her mother had just gone to see Dr. Love (yes, that was his name) on April 15th, and was told she'd be waiting 2 more weeks. The Griffins went to see a movie, and Jeanne went into labor....you could say this was foreshadowing.

 

When little Nikki was 2, her parents decided to move to Frankfurt, Germany. Nikki's earliest memory is arriving in Frankfurt on a cold, dark, rainy night. Gene worked for the US Army Corps of Engineers, and Jeanne was a nurse. Nikki went to an American school, and doesn't remember much of her German language lessons. The Griffin's lived in Germany for 6 years before returning to the states. Two years in Dumfries, VA and they moved again, this time settling in Wilmington, NC. Nikki joined a local modeling school/agency, Delia Model and Talent, when she was 10 years old. At 12, Nikki started spending summers away from home, modeling in NY with the children's depts of the famous Ford and Wilhelmina Agencies.  At 16, the location changed to London, England. However, 5'5 is too short to model, and Nikki decided at 18 that she'd do the sensible thing, and go to college.

 

Nikki never wanted or believed she'd be doing anything other than acting, so school was short-lived. She booked her first real acting job in the Warner Bros film, Summer Catch, that was filming in Southport, NC. She was cut out of the film, but she had a SAG card, and she was on her way. Nikki moved to Los Angeles Sept 1, 2001, and never looked back, even when the world changed on Sept 11. She worked in restaurants, went to make-up school, attended acting classes, and 'paid her dues'. It took two years to get a manager, 1 more year to book another job (Guest Star on Tim Daly's pilot, Eyes), and 8 months after that to book Dukes of Hazzard, which catupulted Nikki into the #1 spot on the IMDb "Star Meter," and kicked off her career.

 

Hollywood is a rollercoaster, Nikki has had her ups and downs, but has stuck it out. Her parents live in Palm Springs, CA, having moved there a year after Nikki moved to LA. She has 2 cats, Kayla and Sofia, and a hoarding problem. She is now happily living in the Valley, still pursuing her acting career, but also exploring other options behind the scenes, in writing and production. She's thrilled to have her own web page, and over 2000 followers on Twitter.