Born on 30 December 1982, Kristin was still in secondary school, with plans to go on and study forensic science or psychology, when she received the surprise news that CBC had cast her in the role. Her distinctive looks come from a father of Dutch descent and a mother of Chinese descent. Both her parents worked as landscape architects.
Kristin has starred in several movies such as EuroTrip, Space Milkshake, Irvine Welsh's Ecstas and Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li, in which she pleayed the lead character, since her Smallville success. But television is still where her career has seemed to remain the most successful. Most notably, since 2012 she has played Catherine Chandler, the lead female character in The CW TV series Beauty & the Beast.