Ryan Oliva

Jennifer Anne Garner is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas in 1972, her mother, Patricia Ann, was an English teacher, and her father, William John Garner, was a chemical engineer. She had an older sister, Melissa Garner Wiley, and a younger sister, Susannah Garner Carpenter. At age four, her family moved to West Virginia due to her father's job, where she lived until college. Her family was very supportive of her pursuing her dreams. She graduated from George Washington High School in 1990. During high school, she learned to play the saxophone, joined the swim team, and studied ballet for nine years. After high school, she enrolled in the chemistry program at Denison University. However, she discovered her passion for performing arts and switched to a drama major. After graduating in 1994, a visit to a friend in New York City led her to pursue a theatre career. Living in New York, she found a theatre role paying $150 a week. This role opened doors, leading to a role in a television movie adaptation of a Danielle Steel novel, *Zoya*. She then appeared in the short-lived TV series *Time of Your Life* and *Significant Others*, and in the 1997 television movie *Rose Hill*. In 1996, she appeared in an episode of *Law & Order*. To be with her boyfriend, she moved to Los Angeles and worked as a waitress before landing a role in the TV series *Felicity*, playing Scott Foley's girlfriend. In 2000, she starred alongside Ashton Kutcher in the comedy *Dude, Where's My Car?*, and her breakout role came in 2001's *Pearl Harbor*, alongside Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. Also in 2001, J.J. Abrams, producer of *Felicity*, offered her the lead role in *Alias*, playing Sydney Bristow, a spy. She took up taekwondo for the role. The show's success led to a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama in January 2002, before half of the first season had even aired. She started at $45,000 per episode, rising to $150,000 in later seasons. She received four Golden Globe nominations and four Emmy nominations for her role. In 2005, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. Garner also ventured into directing, directing the *Alias* season 4 episode, *In Dreams*. Following *Alias*' success, she returned to film, starring in Steven Spielberg's *Catch Me If You Can*, *Daredevil* (2003) with Ben Affleck, its sequel *Elektra* (2005), and the comedy *13 Going on 30* (2004). She was ranked as the fifth highest-paid actress in Hollywood by Forbes, earning $14 million annually. She appeared in *Juno* (2007), playing Vanessa, who adopts Juno's baby, and *Catch and Release* (2007). She continued her career in films such as *Dallas Buyers Club* (2013), *Danny Collins* (2015), and *Nine Lives* (2016). She married Scott Foley, her co-star in *Felicity*, on October 19, 2000, and they divorced in March 2004. She then briefly dated Michael Vartan, her co-star in *Alias*, before starting a relationship with Ben Affleck, her co-star in *Daredevil*. They married on June 29, 2005, while she was pregnant. Their first child, Violet Anne Affleck, was born on December 1, 2005, followed by Seraphina Rose Elizabeth (born 2009) and Samuel Garner (born 2012). The couple separated in 2017. She enjoys cooking, gardening, and kickboxing. Her best friend is actress Jean Louise Kelly.