American actress Kelli Brianne Garner was born on April 11, 1984 in Bakersfield, California. She didn’t think she’d end up in the entertainment industry until she was discovered by an agent during a friend’s bar mitvah, later making her film debut at the age of 16. She debuted in the short film Architecture of Renaissance by director Mike Mills, which was entered at the Sundance Film Festival. This earned her the attention of director Larry Clark, who cast her in his next film Bully. The 2001 docudrama led her to even more fame, enabling her for roles in Love Liza, Hometown Legend, Related, and Outside, all in 2002.
In 2004, Garner struck gold by appearing alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in acclaimed director Martin Scorsese’s The Aviator. She followed this up with another Sundance Film Festival hit, Thumbsucker, reuniting her with Mike Mills. Her next endeavor was a lead role, starring opposite Tommy Lee Jones in 2005’s Man of the House.
Kelli Garner continued to rise in Hollywood, and continued to get encouraging reviews for her work onstage. She was praised for her Off-Broadway performance in Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead. She has also ventured into television, appearing on shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Grounded for Life, and Law & Order: SVU. She has also worked on two music videos with renowned band Green Day, starring in “Jesus of Suburbia” and the unreleased “Whatsername.”
She soon voiced a character on the animated series American Dad!, as well as a character in the film G-Force. Garner then appeared on Red Velvet and Everything’s Alright, and was cast in the movies Dreamland, The Six Wives of Henry Lefay, Taking Woodstock, and Going the Distance in 2010. That same year, she was given the role of Dawn Barbuso on the ABC documentary-style drama My Generation. She later got cast on the series Pan Am, starring alongside Christina Ricci.