Childhood

Jennifer Garner was born in Houston, TX, in 1972; when she was very young, her family relocated to Charleston, WV, where she grew up. Jennifer is the second daughter of Bill Garner, a chemical engineer, and Pat Garner, a retired lecturer.

Jennifer grew up in a conservative family that did not allow their daughters to wear make-up and jewelry.

As an adolescencent, for nine years she studied ballet and describes her dance training as one characterized by determination rather than talent, being driven mostly by a love of the stage.

Jennifer would practice for several hours every day, though she would eventually trade ballet for drama, for which she had a greater passion.

Jennifer enrolled at Denison University as chemistry major, but later changed to drama major when she found that her passion for acting was stronger than her love of science.

Jennifer's parent continued to offer support as she took up acting studies at Dennison University, Granville, Ohio, where she graduated in 1994.

Career

After college, Garner moved to New York and began auditioning for stage roles. She got her first role within a short span of her arrival as an understudy in the Broadway production of A Month in the Country. Later that same year, Garner moved to Los Angeles and began working in television, making her screen debut in the Television movie Zoya.

In L.A. Jennifer used to work as a hostess at Isabella's restaurant while gaining steadier stream of TV roles, before getting her first significant break on the WB TV show 'Felicity', where she also met future 'Alias' creator J.J. Abrams.

Over the next two years uptil 2000, Jennifer found consistent screen work. Although the roles she landed were often small ones, their popularity among sitcoms and successful films raised Jennifer's profile in Hollywood.

In 2000, J.J. Abrams, who produced Felicity, was preparing a new series for ABC about a female spy living a triple life as a college student and supposed bank employee, who is also a double agent working for the CIA. Abrams remembered Garner's impressive performance as Hannah, and cast her as Sydney Bristow in Alias.

The series was triumphant, topped the ratings and achieved rave reviews. It finally handed Jennifer a Golden Globe award.

This was followed by supporting roles in the movies 'Pearl Harbor' and 'Dude Where's My Car?'.

The Golden Globe award helped land her the impressive role of Cheryl Ann in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me if You Can (2002, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks). She also used her skill in playing Elektra in the comic adaptation movie Daredevil (2003). Jennifer's ability to play both dramatic and action roles is illustrated by her appearance in these films.

The brunette actress, who was named as one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People (2002), has been sweetly linked to several Hollywood actors including Ben Affleck and Michael Vartan.