Born on April 17, 1972 in Houston, Texas, Jennifer Garner was inclined to the arts at a young age. She took ballet lessons from when she was three years old and continued until her teens. She also played the saxophone before taking up chemistry at the Denison University in Granville, Ohio. Realizing she enjoyed the stage more than science, she shifted to drama, and eventually moved to the National Theater Institute in Waterford, Connecticut. She then moved to New York, appearing in several plays.
Garner’s early screen credits include the television movie Zoya—her screen debut, the short-lived shows Significant Others and Time of Your Life, a recurring role in Felicity, and films like Dude, Where’s My Car? and Pearl Harbor. She received her big break in 2001, when she was selected by J. J. Abrams to play the role of Sydney Bristow on the spy drama Alias. She played her character—the headstrong SD-6 agent who deals with many changes in her life, usually brought about by her job—throughout the show’s five seasons, and won a Golden Globe for Best Drama Actress in 2002.
The initial success of Alias led to a slew of successful films. She returned to the silver screen with the 2002 film Catch Me If You Can, alongside Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio. She also appeared in films such as Daredevil, 13 Going on 30, Elektra, Catch and Release and The Kingdom. Garner is also known to do her own stunts, having been trained by fight choreographer David Chandler, who thought she was a natural in stage combat. She also appeared in the award-winning film Juno, as Vannesa Loring, the potential adoptive parent of the baby Juno McGuff (Ellen page) is carrying.
Garner has also recently made her Broadway debut, starring in the 2007 production of Cyrano de Bergerac opposite Kevin Kline.