Trivia

Before she began her modeling career, she attended and graduated from Columbia University with a double major in mathematics and economics to have a career as a Wall Street analyst.

Received the first role she auditioned for, as the restaurant hostess on Sex and the City (1998).

Had a body double for her sex scene in Conan the Barbarian (2011).

Ranked #28 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 Women of 2003 list.

Modelled for Guess?, Abercrombie & Fitch, L'Oreal and Nicole Miller.

Attended and graduated from Cony High School, where she competed in the high jump.

She enjoys windsurfing, sailing and watching boxing.

During the making of G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Nichols burned herself and her co-star Sienna Miller sprained her wrist, while shooting the fight scene between Scarlett O'Hara and the Baroness.

Nichols and her Star Trek (2009) co-star Zoe Saldaña both went onto work with Stephen Lang. Saldana, with Lang in Avatar (2009); Nichols, with Lang in Conan the Barbarian (2011).

Yahoo! Model of the Month. (September 2000)

Her father has English and French-Canadian ancestry. Her maternal grandfather was of three-quarters Italian and one-quarter German descent, while her maternal grandmother had English, Scottish and Northern Irish ancestry.

Was the first choice for the role of Scarlett O'Hara in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009).

She dyed her hair red for her roles in Star Trek (2009) and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), and allowed her hair to return to natural blonde for her wedding ceremony to Scott Stuber.

Is often confused with sports analyst Rachel Nichols. After Rachel Nichols was caught making controversial comments during a leaked conference call in 2021, she got so annoyed with Twitter users mistakenly tagging and verbally attacking her that she changed her Twitter name to display "Actress, not ESPN".

Married movie producer Scott Stuber on July 26, 2008 in Aspen, Colorado and divorced in February 2009 on account of irreconcilable differences. They were working on building a home in Cabo San Lucas shorty after their honeymoon.

On December 30, 2013, Nichols announced on Instagram that she and real estate developer Michael Kershaw were engaged. They married on September 27, 2014.