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Small-town spirit -

Jennifer Garner was born in Houston, Texas, on April 17, 1972, but she grew up in West Virginia. She lived in the small city of Charleston and credits its friendly, community-driven spirit with shaping her.

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The importance of community -

"Community is the one thing people crave most, and it's hard to come by. I grew up with such an excess of it that now wherever I go, the first thing I do is build my group," she explained in a 2015 interview with Southern Living.

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Southern homebird -

Garner was the middle child in her family and grew up with her schoolteacher mom, her engineer dad, and her two sisters. She told The Hollywood Reporter that she always expected she'd live locally and raise a little family of her own.

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Breaking into acting -

However, once she graduated college with a degree in theater, she started getting acting roles. Her natural sweetness and good nature were part of her charm, but when it came to playing her most iconic character, she needed to add a little grit!

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'Alias' -

Garner was cast as the lead in J.J. Abrams' hit show ‘Alias’ in 2000. Her character, Sydney Bristow, was a highly-skilled spy who hid her job from her family and friends. “I needed a little swagger,” Garner admitted.

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Becoming Sydney -

Abrams says he saw Garner transform during the three weeks they spent shooting the pilot. "She was learning languages, scaling buildings, and fighting with muscles I don’t know that she’d ever used before, and she was proud of her bruises,” he recalled.

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Relationship with Scott Foley -

At this time, Garner was already married to actor Scott Foley, and Abrams recalls thinking, “Oh my God, Scott’s going to come home to a different spouse.”

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'Felicity' -

Garner had met Foley while working on J.J. Abrams' previous project, the TV series ‘Felicity.’ They got married in 2000, but Garner says their relationship was already falling apart by 2003.

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Relationship with Michael Vartan -

Shortly after her divorce from Foley in May 2003, Garner began dating her 'Alias' co-star Michael Vartan. But it wouldn't last long.

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'Daredevil' (2003) -

Indeed, 2003 was also the year that Garner was cast in the Marvel movie ‘Daredevil’ alongside Ben Affleck (this was back when Marvel movies were bad, Garner has joked). However, a few good things did come from the experience.

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'Elektra' (2005) -

One was that Garner’s character was given her own spin-off movie called ‘Elektra,’ which came out in 2005. It was another opportunity for the actress to show off her amazing physical commitment to her roles, and also helped to remind everyone of her range. She might be a Southern sweetheart, but she can play tough and sexy, too!

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Ben Affleck -

Garner and Affleck also fell in love on the set of ‘Daredevil,’ having previously struck up a friendship on the set of 'Pearl Harbor' (2001). They began dating in mid-2004.

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‘13 Going on 30' (2004) -

Jennifer Garner became a household name after starring in the rom-com ‘13 Going on 30.’ It joined the Tom Hanks 1988 classic ‘Big’ as one of the most beloved body-swap comedies of all time. The world fell in love with Garner’s sincerity, with critics calling her “utterly beguiling” and “America’s next sweetheart.”

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Recognition -

In 2005, ‘Alias,’ concluded with its fifth and final season. By that time, Garner had won a Golden Globe, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a People’s Choice Award, and many more accolades for her performance on the show.

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Tying the knot -

That same year, Garner and Affleck slipped away for a secret low-key wedding in Turks and Caicos. A few months later in December, they welcomed their first child, a daughter named Violet.

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'The Kingdom' (2007) -

The next year she was cast in an action-thriller called ‘The Kingdom’ opposite Jamie Foxx, and she worked in the Arizona desert while still breastfeeding. It was 118°F (48°C) and Garner was continuously working on fight scenes. She ended up in the hospital with dehydration more than once, but never complained and went right back to work each time, according to director Peter Berg.

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'Juno' (2007) -

Her next big role was in the 2007 indie favorite ‘Juno.’ Director Jason Reitman cast Garner because he knew she could bring the necessary authenticity to the role—a hopeful woman desperate to become a mother. In one scene, Garner’s character has her hand on the pregnant belly of Elliot Page’s character and feels the baby kick.

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'Juno' (2007) -

Reitman says it was possibly the best acting he’s ever seen: "It’s a long shot that ends with her going, ‘Whoa.’ Like, she feels the kick. And I don’t know how many times we did that shot, but any time you’d look into her eyes at the moment she felt that kick, your heart just burst out of your ribs for her.”

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Family life - In the following years, Garner truly did commit herself to the joys of motherhood. She and Affleck welcomed two more kids in 2009 and 2012: Seraphina and Samuel. It was during these years that she also felt the dark side of fame more deeply.

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The dark side of fame - Garner was increasingly adored by the tabloids as her fame grew, but it reached a fever pitch once she coupled up with Ben Affleck. The level of attention was scary, but she accepted that she had chosen a public life. Her children, however, had not.

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Constant bombardment -

Garner and her young children were stalked by hoards of paparazzi wherever she went. “You’d go through a yellow light and 15, 20 cars would go through the red light behind you, driving up on the side of roads, and this is just for a mom and a kid.”

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Seeking help -

It became so difficult to manage that Garner called a meeting in her home with other mothers and the local authorities to ask for protection. Her daughter Violet, who was just five years old at the time, stood up on a chair to tell the group, “We didn’t ask for this. We don’t want these cameras, they’re scary. The men are scary, they knock each other over and it’s hard to feel like a kid when you’re being chased.”

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Speaking out -

Garner campaigned and spoke in front of the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety in support of a bill that would protect children from the press. It was passed in 2014.

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Getting back in the ring -

In the meantime, Garner had been turning down every offer her agents brought to her so she could focus on raising her children. In 2012, she received an ultimatum from her agent Patrick Whitesell, who instructed her to accept his next offer, or retire! Luckily, it was a good one.

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'Dallas Buyers Club’ (2013) -

Garner appeared in the Oscar-winning drama ‘Dallas Buyers Club’ in 2013. She played the role of Eve Saks, a doctor helping to treat patients during the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, including Matthew McConaughey’s Ron Woodrof and Jared Leto’s Rayon.

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Divorce - In 2015, Garner and Affleck made a joint announcement that they were divorcing. “We go forward with love and friendship for one another and a commitment to co-parenting our children,” which by all accounts has very much been the case.

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Relationship with John Miller -

In 2018, Garner began a relationship with businessman John Miller, the CEO of CaliGroup. They are said to have split brciefly in 2020 but got back together again. 

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Charity -

In addition to managing motherhood, an impressive career, and a difficult divorce, Garner has also consistently kept up with her dedication to philanthropy. She has been an active board member of Save the Children since 2008, a charity that is close to her own heart. Her mother grew up extremely poor in Oklahoma and Garner felt passionate about eradicating poverty in the US.

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Once Upon a Farm -

Garner also co-founded the company Once Upon a Farm, a startup that creates organic farm fresh products for children and babies. The company aims to help rural farmers thrive and provide babies with fresh food that’s free of toxins and pesticides. Some of the produce is actually grown on Garner’s ancestral family farm in Oklahoma.

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What's next? -

Garner’s most recent film, ‘The Adam Project,' was released on Netflix in March 2022. She stars alongside Ryan Reynolds, Mark Ruffalo, and Zoe Saldana in what happens to be yet another hit body swap/time travel adventure. Perhaps she’ll give fans another coveted throwback and jump on the reboot trend for a new season of ‘Alias.’ When asked by reporters if she’d be interested, her answer was “Sign me up!”

Sources: (Insider) (The Hollywood Reporter) 

See also: Hit TV shows that were rebooted

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