Jennifer Garner Biography

Childhood & Early Life

Jennifer Garner was born on April 17, 1972, in Houston, Texas, to Patricia Ann and William John ‘Bill’ Garner. Her father was a chemical engineer and her mother was an English teacher. She was brought up in West Virginia.

Garner started taking ballet lessons at the age of three and continued dancing throughout her youth. However, she did not want to become a dancer. She was raised in a conservative environment which required her to visit the church every Sunday.

She attended ‘George Washington High School’ in Charleston and later went to ‘Denison University’ to study drama. Initially, she did not want to be an actor as she wanted to become a doctor or a librarian. She also studied at the ‘National Theater Institute’ in ‘Eugene O’Neill Theater Center,’ Waterford, Connecticut. She graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in theater performance in 1994.

Career

In 1995, she became an understudy for the play ‘A Month in the Country’ at ‘Roundabout Theatre Company.’ She soon landed a role in the made-for-television movie ‘Zoya’ and briefly appeared in ‘Spin City’ and ‘Law & Order.’ Garner was now being noticed in the industry, and as a result made her first big-screen appearance in the movie, ‘Dude, Where’s My Car?’ in 2000. The following year, she played a supporting role in ‘Pearl Harbor.’

In 2001, J. J. Abrams approached Garner to play ‘Sydney Bristow’ in his new spy drama series ‘Alias.’ She accepted the offer, despite being reluctant at the beginning as the role demanded her to be physically strong. She appeared in Steven Spielberg’s movie ‘Catch Me If You Can’ along with Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks. It was because of Spielberg’s request that Garner accepted the small but significant role in the movie.

In 2003, she got her breakout role in the movie ‘Daredevil.’ Garner played the character of ‘Elektra Natchios,’ the love interest of Ben Affleck’s character. ‘Daredevil’ was an adaptation of a comic book. Garner landed the lead role in the movie ‘13 Going on 30’ in 2004. Her performance in the movie was appreciated.

From 2006 to 2007, Garner got prominent roles in movies, such as ‘Catch and Release’ (2006), ‘The Kingdom’ (2007), and ‘Juno’ (2007). ‘Juno’ did exceptionally well and her performance in the film was critically acclaimed. In 2007, she made her Broadway debut with ‘Cyrano de Bergerac,’ which was based on Edmond Rostand’s play of the same name. She played the role of ‘Roxanne’ opposite Kevin Kline at the ‘Richard Rogers Theatre.’

In 2010, Garner acted in the romantic comedy film ‘Valentine’s Day’ alongside actors like Ashton Kutcher, Julia Roberts, Patrick Dempsey, Bradley Cooper, and Jessica Alba. She played the role of a woman caught in a loveless relationship. In 2011 and 2012, Garner appeared in movies like ‘Arthur’ (2011), ‘The Odd Life of Timothy Green’ (2012), and ‘Butter’ (2012). In 2012, she joined the ‘Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences.’

In 2013, she was seen alongside Matthew McConaughey in the biographical drama film ‘Dallas Buyers Club.’ The film was a box office success and received favorable reviews. In 2014, she starred opposite Kevin Costner in the sports drama film ‘Draft Day.’ In the same year, she was also seen in the ‘Disney’ adaptation of the popular children’s book, ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.’ In 2015, she played a supporting role in the comedy-drama film ‘Danny Collins.’ The film had Al Pacino and Annette Bening in important roles. In 2016, Jennifer Garner played the lead role opposite Kevin Spacey in the comedy film ‘Nine Lives.’ In the same year, she was also seen in the Christian drama film ‘Miracles from Heaven.’ In 2017, she was seen in movies, such as ‘Wakefield’ and ‘The Tribes of Palos Verdes.’ She co-starred in the movie ‘Love, Simon’ in 2018 which was an adaptation of the novel, ‘Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda.’ In 2018, she voiced a character named ‘Mama Llama’ in Netflix’s original series ‘Llama Llama.’ She landed the lead role in the movie ‘Peppermint’ in 2018.

She voiced ‘Mom’ in the 2019 animated film ‘Wonder Park’ directed by Dylan Brown. The film was about a young girl who comes across a magical amusement park. In 2021, she starred as ‘Allison Torres’ in the Miguel Arteta-directed family comedy film ‘Yes Day.’ The film received a mixed response from critics and earned a 50% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. She played the role of ‘Ellie Reed’ in the 2022 sci-fi film ‘The Adam Project’ directed by Shawn Levy. The film received mixed reviews from critics. The following year, she was seen in the television miniseries ‘The Last Thing He Told Me.’ She will be next seen in the upcoming American superhero film ‘Deadpool 3’ where she will reprise her role as ‘Elektra Natchios.’

Major Works

The most prominent work in Garner’s career is ‘Alias’ which ran from 2001 to 2006. She played the role of ‘Sydney Bristow’ and won the ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.’

Personal Life & Legacy

In 2000, Garner got married to Scott Foley, whom she met on the sets of ‘Felicity.’ They got divorced in three years on the grounds of irreconcilable differences. Just a year after her divorce, she started dating Ben Affleck. Garner and Affleck got married in 2005 in a private ceremony in the Caribbean. The couple was blessed with three children, namely Violet Anne Affleck, Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck, and Samuel Garner Affleck. In 2015, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck announced their intention to end their marriage. In 2017, they filed legal documents to seek joint physical and legal custody of their children. The divorce was finalized in October 2018. In 2018, she started dating John Miller. The couple briefly separated in 2020 but got back together a year later.

Awards & Achievements

For her performance in ‘Alias,’ Garner won the ‘Screen Actors Guild Award’ for ‘Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series,’ received four ‘Golden Globe Award’ nominations for ‘Best Actress – Television Series Drama,’ and received an ‘Emmy Award’ nomination as well.

Trivia

• At the time when Garner got married to Ben Affleck, she was four months pregnant.
• On the first day of filming ‘Alias,’ Garner told director J.J. Abrams, ‘I don’t think I can do this.’
• She was named one of ‘People’ magazine’s ‘50 Most Beautiful People in the World.’
• On August 20, 2018, she was honored with a star on the ‘Hollywood Walk of Fame’ at 6920 Hollywood Boulevard in California.
• She is the co-founder of ‘Once Upon a Farm,’ which produces ‘farm-to-high chair’ meals for children.