Who Is Samantha Ronson?

July 30, 2008 — -- She's been called a girlfriend, a gal pal, a sober buddy and a scene-maker.

But who exactly is Samantha Ronson?

Ronson, 30, has been linked to Lindsay Lohan, 22, for more than a year. First, she appeared to be nothing more than the troubled starlet's new BFF, an antidote to the hard-partying socialites Lohan tried to get away from after her 2007 DUI arrests and rehab stint.

Then came the snapshots of Lohan and Ronson holding hands. Then the reports that Lohan created a Facebook profile under the name "Lindsay Ronson." Then the photographs of the couple seemingly kissing on P. Diddy's yacht in the South of France.

The latest news: Earlier this month, the girlfriend of Ronson's older brother, Mark, all but outed the couple to UK's Mirror.

"Sam is an amazing girl. The four of us had a brilliant time -- a real laugh," Daisy Lowe told the paper. "Lindsay is really down to earth. Her and Sam make a lovely couple -- they seem really happy. Their relationship is totally genuine. And they're just so sweet together. Mark totally approves."

While the buzz may distract from Lohan's mission to make it big on the big screen, it couldn't be better for Ronson. Reports and rumors about their supposed relationship have helped raise Ronson's status from quirky hipster to A-list DJ.

To be sure, Ronson was always cool: Born in London, she was raised by her socialite mother Ann Dexter-Jones, her one-time band manager father Laurence Ronson, and after they divorced, her stepfather, Foreigner guitarist Mick Jones.

Her siblings rule the music and fashion worlds. Her 32-year-old brother, Mark, is a DJ-turned-Grammy-award-winning producer widely credited with making Amy Winehouse a household name (he mixed her debut album, "Back to Black"). Ronson's twin sister, Charlotte, heads up her own clothing line known for its casual, chic, trend-setting styles.

Ronson started down the path of her brother and step-dad, exploring a career in music. Her Web site boasts that she spent her childhood "going on tour with Foreigner for family vacations and cutting class at her stepfather's studio," but that she didn't discover her singing, spinning and guitar-playing skills until the age of 20.

Her first major gig was DJ-ing live for MTV's New Year's Eve 2001 show. In 2003, she became the first rock act to be signed to rapper Jay-Z's label, Roc-A-Fella Records.

She released a handful of songs with Roc-A-Fella (one of which was, interestingly, featured in Lohan's 2004 movie "Mean Girls") but parted ways with the label in 2008 to focus on DJ-ing.