An athletic, dimpled beauty with a history of falling for her costars, Jennifer Garner first caught viewers' eyes as Scott Foley's girlfriend on
Felicity, a part she continued to play off-screen until the two wed in 2000. A handful of feature films and short-lived series followed before Garner became a small-screen star as a wig-donning international spy on
Alias. As her career heated up, her marriage to Foley cooled off and she was briefly linked with her
Alias costar Michael Vartan. But her role as Elektra in the 2003 film
Daredevil changed her life. Not only did her butt-kicking performance lead to her own starring vehicle (2005's sequel
Elektra), but she also married and started a family with costar Ben Affleck. Garner splits her time these days among raising her children, starring in action films and romantic comedies, and working on behalf of charitable initiatives, including early-childhood education.
Jennifer Garner Fast Facts:
- Spent nine years of her adolescence studying ballet.
- Member of the Pi Beta Phi national sorority.
- Was an understudy for the Broadway revival of A Month in the Country, starring Helen Mirren, in 1996; her Broadway debut did not occur until 2007, when she starred in Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Kevin Kline.
- Costarred with future husband Ben Affleck in 2001's Pearl Harbor and 2003's Daredevil.
- "If you talk to anyone from my high school or college," she told US Magazine in 2004, "they'd tell you I was always in sweats and basically a disaster at all times!"
- Was featured in a 2004 CIA recruitment video on the agency's web site.
- Directed the Alias episode "In Dreams," which aired in May 2005.
- Created her own production company named Vandalia Films.
- Became a Save the Children artist ambassador in 2009, lobbying Congress for funding of early-childhood education.
- Jennifer Garner Relationships:
- Ben Affleck - Husband
- Bill Garner - Father
- Melissa Garner - Sister
- Michael Vartan - Ex-significant Other
- Pat Garner - Mother
- Scott Foley - Ex-husband
- Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck - Daughter
- Susannah Garner - Sister
- Violet Anne Affleck - Daughter
- Jennifer Garner Awards:
- 2006 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female Action Star - Winner
- 2006 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female TV Performer - Winner
- 2005 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Hair - Winner
- 2002 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2003 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2004 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2005 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee
- 2002 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Winner
- 2003 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee
- 2004 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee
- 2005 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee
- College:
- Denison University, Granville, OH (BFA in Theater Performance, 1994)
