Izabella St. James was born in Kraków in Poland, during a time when Poland was oppressed by Communism. When St. James was ten years old her parents moved to Athens, Greece, where they lived for a year. Her family then moved to British Columbia, Canada. A year later they settled in Ontario, Canada. St. James lived in Kitchener—Waterloo for five years while she attended high school, and graduated with an award for academic excellence. After high school, St. James moved to Montreal, Quebec, to attend McGill University. She started with a double major in Political Science and History, but switched to a Humanistic Studies major, where she studied art history, classical music, literature and Spanish.

She then attended Pepperdine University School of Law in Malibu, California. She finished law school in December 2001, earning her Juris Doctor degree by graduating a semester early having completed study abroad programs at Universidad Complutense, Madrid, Spain and at the Jagiellonian University in her native Poland. However, she did not complete the Bar the following February.

In September 2000, she met Hugh Hefner and his girlfriends in a Los Angeles nightclub, and began attending parties at the Playboy Mansion. In January 2002, after finishing law school, St. James became part of Hef's girlfriend posse, spending nights out and traveling with Hef and his girlfriends regularly. In April 2002 Hef invited her to move into the Playboy Mansion and become one of Hefner's 'official girlfriends.' St. James lived at the Mansion for two years, moving out and ending her relationship with Hefner in May 2004.

Since leaving the Playboy Mansion, St. James has been acting and writing. She began writing a memoir of her time as one of Hugh Hefner's girlfriends, which was published in August 2006. It is the first book ever written by a former girlfriend of Hugh Hefner.

St. James lives in Los Angeles and is writing a second book.

Film

Upcoming:

• The Don Ready Story (2009)
• Ninja Cheerleaders (2007)
• Thunder Over Reno (2007) — Paige Raider

Television

• Bernie Mac
• VH1 Fabulous Life of Hugh Hefner
• MTV Cribs Playboy Mansion
• The Surreal Life - Season One, The Wedding and Goodbye
• Playboy’s 50th Anniversary Celebration on A&E
• Sharon Osbourne Show