January Jones was born on January 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, SD. She was named by her parents after the character January Wayne from Jacqueline Susann's novel, Once is Not Enough. While attending Roosevelt High School, Jones spent her pre-modeling, pre-Hollywood time toiling away at a local Dairy Queen. At 18, she moved to New York City and made her first mark as a stunning model for hip suburban clothier Abercrombie & Fitch. After moving to Los Angeles to become an actress, Jones made her debut with a small role in the independent film "All the Rage" (1999), starring Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin. Jones followed with a guest appearance in the Fox pilot, "Get Real", an irreverent family drama told from the perspective of three teenagers. Two years later, she had her biggest break to date when actress landed a role in her first major motion picture, the teen-oriented thriller "The Glass House" (2001), starring Leelee Sobieski.

Like all young and beautiful starlets on the cusp of fame, January quickly became a fixture on the young Hollywood scene. Her blonde beauty attracted a variety of male admirers, including then-relatively unknown pre-Demi Moore paramour Ashton Kutcher. The couple, who reportedly met in 1998 at an Abercrombie & Fitch shoot, dated for three years until Kutcher became enchanted with Moore. Jones moved on to funnyman extraordinaire Jim Carrey and "American Wedding" co-star Seann William Scott before meeting and falling for pop-classical singer and favorite "Oprah" guest, Josh Groban, in 2003. Meanwhile, Jones continued to hone her acting chops, landing roles in a variety of high-profile projects, playing a bank robber in the Bruce Willis-Billy Bob Thornton crime comedy "Bandits" (2001), a memorable lesbian sexpot with temperament issues in the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson hit comedy, "Anger Management" (2003), and a British tourist in the hit romantic comedy, "Love Actually" (2003).

At the time her career began to heat up, actress was featured as #82 in Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. Next up was the star-making role of Cadence Flaherty, the beautiful sister and maid of honor to the not-so-blushing bride (Alyson Hannigan), as well as the love interest of an obnoxious hound (Seann William Scott) in "American Wedding" (2003). Though the film tanked, Jones received her first major coverage for a role that she had won from literally thousands of on-the-brink ingenues. Looking for further challenges, Jones learned how to swing dance for her role in "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004), the critically maligned sequel to the 1987 dance classic. In a journey back to the small screen, she appeared in the recurring role of Marissa Wells on "Huff" (Showtime, 2004-06), a drama about a psychologist (Hank Azaria) who attempts to salvage the lives of his patients, while his own spirals down the drain.