American actress Ginnifer Goodwin was born on May 22, 1978 in Memphis, Tennessee. A graduate of Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996, she entered Boston University, taking up acting; she graduated with honors in 2001. That same year, she began appearing on television, immediately snagging a regular role in the television series Ed. She took on a supporting role, playing Diane, a friend of awkward high schooler Warren Cheswick (Justin Long). She stayed in the show until it was cancelled—despite fan objections—in 2004.
In 2005, Goodwin supplied the voice for the stop-frame animation sketch comedy series Robot Chicken, which parodies pop icons (and occasionally political figures) and cultural conventions. Her voice was used in seven episodes of the show. In 2006, she joined the cast of the acclaimed drama Big Love, which circled around a polygamist’s three families. She played the role of Margene Heffman, originally a babysitter for the Henricksons, and later becomes the third (and youngest) wife of Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton). Because of the differences in age, she closely relates to the older Henrickson children than with her husband and sister-wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloe Sevigny).
Goodwin also appeared in several films. She made her film debut in 2003, playing the role of student Constance Baker in the dramatic film Mona Lisa Smile. She has since appeared in films such as Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Walk the Line, In the Land of Women, and He’s Just Not That Into You.