Anyone remotely familiar with pop culture knows of Jennifer Garner. Maybe you’re a fan of rom coms and caught her starring role in 13 Going on 30, or you’re a fan of strong women, loving the elevation Sydney Bristow brought to the small screen during the early noughties. You may have fallen for her girl-next-door charm in all those TV commercials, or came to love her as a mom in movies like Juno, Love, Simon, and the new Netflix movie Yes Day. Whatever the case may be, there are many reasons why one can see the shine behind Jennifer’s smile, so we’ve decided to shine a spotlight on all the Jennifer Garner movies, TV shows, and appearances where the actress and mom made us fall in love with her.
Love at First Sight
We fell in love with Jennifer Garner when she became America’s sweetheart playing Sydney Bristow ABC’s Alias.
She left ballet for theater.
The decision eventually led to her appearing on TV and film screens everywhere.
Beauty Isn’t Skin Deep
She’s been named one of People magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People in the World several times. She most recently made the cover of the “Beautiful People” issue in 2019! (But they didn’t need to tell us. We already knew!)
She Has a BA in Theater
Proving she’s not just a beauty. (Again, we knew that.)
“I do all my own stunts!”
Maxim Called It
She was ranked #1 on Maxim’s Hot 100 (2002).
Passion Play
She abandoned attending Yale to follow her passion for acting in New York City.
The Champ
She takes on-set injuries set like a champ. After getting her knuckles sliced by Will Yun Lee on the set of Elektra, she got patched up, resumed the scene, and got sliced a second time in the same spot.
Adorable
This adorable reaction she gave after accidentally revealing the gender of her baby on Jay Leno’s Tonight Show.
Family Love
She’s so close to TV dad Victor Garber (from Alias) that she had him officiate her wedding.
Commitment to Fashion
Jennifer commits to her fashion choices. How so? She got her ears pierced to wear $250,000 diamond chandelier earrings for the 2006 Academy Awards, only to (purposely) let them close up again soon after. (We’d do the same thing to wear those beauties.)
Doing Good IRL
She works with the charity Save the Children as a board member.
Activist for Good
She is an avid activist for early childhood education.
And She Does All This…
…as the mother of three kids. Jennifer has two daughters and a son: Violet, Seraphina and Samuel.
AND she’s a great mom!
“I have this internal battle between, ‘I need to work, I need to work, I need to work,’ and ‘I need to be home with my kids.’ And the kids win.”
Toilet Talk
As a summer job, she once cleaned toilets. “I can really clean a good bathroom,” she claimed during a podcast with David Tennant.
She’s a Star
And we love that she’s got one, too. Jennifer Garner received her star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in August of 2018.
Good Food… for Good
She co-founded Once Upon a Farm, a baby food line that produces “farm to high-chair” meals for kids.
Dedicated
She knows how to prepare for a role. In preparing for on her part in Happy Endings from 2005 she was quoted as saying, “I have to learn how to smoke. I have to say horrible things. I have to do horrible things. It’s just bad. It’s going to be fun.”
She Pokes Fun at Herself
Down to Earth
Her down-to-earth attitude includes her love of roller coasters.
Girl Power!
She knows the value of women taking charge. On her movie Peppermint, Jennifer said, “…But there is something about a woman just taking control and saying, ‘Absolutely not; this is absolutely unacceptable.’”
She’s a “Mountaineer”
She had the call sign of Mountaineer on the set of Alias due to her West Virginian background.
Protecting Kids
She became an advocate for anti-paparazzi campaigns to protect children of celebrities.
Jennifer testified before the California State Assembly Committee on Public Safety, alongside fellow actress and mom Halle Berry, in favor of a bill aimed at protecting children of celebrities from the prying lenses of paparazzi. That bill was eventually signed into law.
Just When We Couldn’t Love Her More…
She stole our hearts in her first film as a leading lady, 13 Going on 30. The movie has since become a cult favorite.
WHAT? You don’t know the plot?
13 Going on 30 is about teenager Jenna who is frustrated with everything in her high school life. When she fantasizes about being a well-adjusted adult, she is suddenly transformed into a 30-year-old (Jennifer Garner). But adulthood, with its own set of male-female challenges, isn’t as easy as it looks.
Natural Beauty
Jennifer prefers to go au naturelle in her downtime with her children. “They’ll look at me and say, ‘Can you wash your face? Can you put your hair in a ponytail and put your glasses and sweats on?’” she told People. “And I see the compliment in that. They just want me to look like Mom.”
She Keeps It Tight
She puts care into her date book. As she showed off recently to her Instagram followers, Jennifer knows how to keep her schedule in order.
She Is Adorable in Frames
Enough said!
