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Jennifer Anne Garner Biography
Garner was born in Houston,
Texas, to Patricia Ann English, a teacher, and
William Jack Garner, a chemical engineer; she is
the middle child between two sisters, Melissa
Garner Wiley and Susannah Garner Carpenter. When
she was four years old, her father's job with
Union Carbide forced the family to relocate to
Charleston, West Virginia, where Garner resided
until her college years. Her parents were quite
strict, and did not allow Jennifer or her
sisters to wear make-up, go to movies or have
their ears pierced - Jennifer did eventually
have her ears pierced in 1999, but didn't keep
them for long. In 1990, Garner graduated from
George Washington High School in Charleston,
where she played the saxophone. She also studied
ballet for nine years before enrolling at
Denison University to study chemical
engineering. Upon realizing that she enjoyed
stage acting more than science, Garner changed
her major to drama. Garner graduated from
Denison in 1994 and planned to continue her
drama education at Yale University. However,
keen for experience, she visited a friend in New
York City in 1995 and decided to take her
chances in theatre.
In New York City, Garner earned $150 a week as
an understudy in a play. She was then cast in
her first television role, a part in the
made-for-television movie, Zoya, based on the
Danielle Steele novel. Her next acting jobs were
in two short-lived television series,
Significant Others and Time of Your Life, as
well as in two Hallmark Hall of Fame movies,
including the 1997 film, Rose Hill, based on the
best selling book For The Roses by Julie
Garwood. In 1996, she appeared on an episode of
the NBC drama Law & Order. She played a college
student who engaged in an affair with Detective
Rey Curtis. Subsequently, Garner moved to Los
Angeles, California, and got a job as a hostess
at a restaurant before being cast as Hannah Bibb
on the WB series, Felicity. On the set, she met
her future husband, Scott Foley. Garner played
his character's girlfriend. In 1999 she played a
small role in the episode "Pool" of the TV
series The Pretender. In 2000, Garner appeared
in the comedy Dude, Where's My Car?, playing
Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend. In 2001, she
appeared as a nurse in the big-budget epic Pearl
Harbor, co-starring future husband Ben Affleck
and Kate Beckinsale.
Later in 2001, J. J. Abrams, who produced
Felicity, approached Garner about starring in a
new show he was working on for ABC. Garner
auditioned and was cast in the role of Sydney
Bristow in the spy drama Alias. The series
became a success and Garner won the award for
"Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama" at
the January 2002 Golden Globes. Alias had just
begun a few months beforehand, and Garner won
the award with only half the season's episodes
aired. The series had a successful run since,
and concluded in May 2006 during its fifth
season. Garner's salary for the show began at
$45,000 an episode, and had since risen to
$150,000 per episode. During the show's run,
Garner received four consecutive Golden Globe
nominations for her lead performance. She has
also received four consecutive Emmy nominations
for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama
Series". Garner won the "Actor Award" from the
Screen Actors Guild in 2005. The category had
only five nominees and is composed of all
actresses in any dramatic roles, both lead and
supporting. In March 2005, Garner directed "In
Dreams," an Alias episode which aired in May.
Garner has been receiving "producer/director"
credit for the series in its fifth and final
season.
After the initial success of Alias, Garner
returned to her film career with a small role in
the Steven Spielberg film Catch Me If You Can,
and starred alongside Ben Affleck as Elektra
Natchios in the action movie Daredevil, an
adaptation of the comic book. She reprised her
role as "Elektra" in the 2005 spin-off to
Daredevil, entitled Elektra. Garner showed her
comedic side in the romantic comedy 13 Going on
30, which was a financial success and
established her as a leading feature film
actress. Garner is known for performing her own
stunts, and in January 2005 was forced to bow
out of some publicity duties for Elektra, due to
what was first thought to have been a viral
infection but was revealed to be the effects of
nerve damage to her back, caused by a stunt
during the filming of Alias.
Garner entered the Forbes "Power 100" list of
celebrities in 2005. She ranked as the 5th best
paid actress in Hollywood, accumulating an
estimated US $14 million over the year 2004/05.
She came 8th behind Cameron Diaz in the power
rankings. During the 2006 Academy Awards
ceremony, Garner stumbled on her flowing dress
(designed by Michael Kors) as she came onto the
stage to present the award for Sound Editing.
She did not fall, but lost her balance, and
jokingly commented, "I do my own stunts!"
Garner's next film will be the romantic comedy
Catch and Release. She also did voice work for
the 2006 version of Charlotte's Web. Garner has
formed a production company named Vandalia
Films, which will produce its first film in
2007. She will produce the company's upcoming
films Sabbatical and Be with You.
Garner takes her first role as part of an
ensemble in The Kingdom alongside Jamie Foxx and
Jason Bateman. Box office analysts have
commented the choice was smart on Garner's part,
as her other projects with her as the sole lead
are risky gambles.
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