Jennifer Garner
Jennifer Anne Affleck, known professionally as Jennifer Garner, is an American actress and the second of three daughters born in a middle class family in Houston, Texas. Her mother, Patricia Ann, was an English teacher from Oklahoma, and her father, William John Garner, worked as a chemical engineer at Union Carbide. When she was four years old, her father's job with Union Carbide relocated her family to Princeton, West Virginia, and then later to Charleston, West Virginia, where Jennifer resided until her college years.She has credited her older sister, Melissa Lynn Garner Wylie, who resides in Boston, Massachusetts, as a source of inspiration to her. Her younger sister is Susannah Kay Garner Carpenter.
Jennifer's conservative upbringing included going to church every Sunday, not wearing make-up or a bikini, and waiting at least until the age of sixteen to be allowed to get her ears pierced, which, she later joked, made her family "just a step away from being Amish." Garner attended the George Washington High School in Charleston, where she appeared in her first show in the sixth grade. She began taking ballet lessons at the age of three and continued to dance throughout her youth, but she did not envision herself becoming a classical ballerina In 1990, she enrolled at Ohio's Denison University, where she majored in drama and worked in numerous theatrical productions. She graduated from Denison, where she was initiated into the sorority Pi Beta Phi, in 1994.
In 1995, Jennifer started pursuing theater in New York City and earned $150 a week as an understudy in the play A Month in the Country for Roundabout Theatre Company. She was then cast in her first television role as part of a made-for-television movie Zoya, based on the Danielle Steel novel. In the late 1990s, she made brief appearances in individual episodes of Spin City and Law & Order while also securing roles in two short-lived television series, Significant Others and Time of Your Life.
Jennifer made her first big screen appearance of the 21st century in the comedy Dude, Where's My Car?, playing one of Ashton Kutcher's girlfriends.
She gained recognition on television for her performance as CIA agent Sydney Bristow in the thriller drama series Alias, which aired on ABC for five seasons from 2001 to 2006. While working on Alias, she gained minor roles in hit movies such as Pearl Harbor (2001) and Catch Me if You Can (2002). Since then, Jennifer has appeared in supporting as well as lead roles on the big screen in projects including Daredevil (2003), 13 Going on 30 (2004) and Juno (2007).
On October 19, 2000, Jennifer married actor Scott Foley, whom she had met on the set of Felicity in 1998. After separating from Scott in March 2003, Jennifer filed for divorce in May 2003, citing irreconcilable differences, and the two were officially divorced on March 30, 2004. Scott and Jennifer claimed that working in the film industry was what led to the failure of their marriage and, according to Garner, they "really were victims of Hollywood." .
In July 2004, Jennifer started dating Ben Affleck and the two made their first public appearance as a couple by attending the Boston Red Sox's opening World Series games in August.Since her relationship with Ben, first as girlfriend and then as wife, Jennifer has been a tabloid staple. "Ben taught me that you cannot read that stuff, that it’s poison," she said in 2009.
On Jennifer's 33rd birthday, while she was pregnant with his child, Ben proposed to her with a 4.5 carats (900 mg) diamond ring from Harry Winston. Ben married Jennifer, who was three months pregnant at the time, on June 29, 2005 in a private ceremony, officiated by family friend Victor Garber, at the Parrot Cay resort on the Turks and Caicos Islands.
On December 1, 2005, Jennifer gave birth to their first daughter, Violet Anne Affleck. The couple's second child, Seraphina Rose Elizabeth Affleck, was born on January 6, 2009.
Jennifer, often acknowledged as grounded and well-mannered, enjoys cooking and gardening. She has a yellow Labrador Retriever named "Martha Stewart", which appeared with her on the television show Martha on January 24, 2007.
Jennifer splits her time these days raising her two children with Affleck, starring in action films and romantic comedies, and working on behalf of charitable initiatives.
Let's pray for her that she will realize the importance of having Him in her life, and that our Father will draw her closer into a deeper relationship with His Son, Jesus Christ.
--Heidi