Emma Frost is a first class telepath who didn't worry much about using her powers to make a great business career. She built a financial empire even bigger than the one she had inherited. Her greed took her to the Hellfire Club, where she became the White Queen of the Inner Circle, using her Massachusetts Academy to instruct young mutants in order for them to join The Hellions, a super-powered group under the Hellfire Club control. The first time she met the X-Men was when Kitty Pryde was chosen to enter Xavier's school. Emma also had an interest in her, and decided to touch her parents' minds and make them see the Massachusetts' Academy as the perfect choice for Kitty. Fortunately, Charles Xavier arrived in time and changed their minds again, so Emma couldn't take her. As Xavier was using Cerebro to locate young mutants, she was using her money, power, and extensive organization to take them first. It is supposed that she had something to do with a new change of mind of Carmen Pryde, for Kitty was sent for a short time to the Academy. During this battle, Emma and Storm switched bodies, but the Inner Circle was defeated by the X-Men, and the villains promised to leave the girl alone. (Emma has also changed bodies with Jean Grey and Bobby Drake)

Emma has been 'gone' several times, spending a long time in a coma, kept in a sort of shrine by Sebastian Shaw and protected by him. She recovered (don't ask me how) just in time to receive Kitty Pryde during her visit to the Massachusetts Academy with Doug Ramsey. This "visit" was not very pleasant for the girl, for she was kidnapped and Doug had his perceptions altered, seeing no danger. Since the X-Men were in the Secret Wars, she had to be rescued by the New Mutants, who finally had their first confrontation against the Hellions.

She had several battles against the X-Men, but entered a catatonic state after a fight, during which her group of students was massacred by the evil mutant Fitzroy. Then, the X-Men rescued her body from Fitzroy and took it to Xavier's Mansion. She recovered some time later, taking for a while the body of Iceman and, discovering the fate of her pupils, decided to take under her care the new generation of young mutants. Joining Banshee during the Phalanx Covenant, they formed Generation X.

Emma is still the co-leader of Generation X, but she recently lost her powers due to the EMP wave released by the Shadow King.