Garner was born to Patricia "Pat" Ann English (a teacher) and Billy Jack Garner, a chemical engineer whose job with Union Carbide forced the family to relocate to Charleston, West Virginia when Jennifer was three years old, where she remained until college. Jennifer studied ballet for nine years before enrolling at Denison University to study chemical engineering. Upon the realization that she loved the stage more than engineering she changed her major to drama. Graduating in 1994, it was thought that Jennifer would continue her drama education at Yale. Instead, keen for experience, she visited a friend in New York City in 1995 and decided to take her chances in theatre-land. She currently stars as the character Sydney Bristow on the TV show Alias on ABC. Garner enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking and kickboxing (a hobby inspired by her character on Alias). She is a graduate of George Washington High School in Charleston, West Virginia (1990), where she played the saxophone . In 2005, Garner entered the Forbes Power 100 List of celebrities. Garner ranked as the 5th best paid actress in Hollywood, accumulating an estimated US$14 million over the year 2004/05. She came 8th behind Cameron Diaz in the power rankings. Garner is known for performing her own stunts, and in January 2005 she was forced to bow out of some publicity duties for her film Elektra due to what was first thought to have been a viral infection. Media reports indicated that she was in fact suffering the effects of nerve damage to her back, caused by a stunt during the filming of Alias. In addition to action films Garner has also starred in the comedy 13 Going on 30 and the upcoming drama from Susannah Grant (writer of Erin Brockovich) named Catch and Release. Her production company, Vandalia Films will produce its first film in 2007; a remake of a Japanese Mystery Romance titled "Ima, ai ni yukimasu" roughly translated to "Be With You". She will produce alongside American Beauty producers Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen. Garner is set to star in the remake. In March 2005, Garner directed the episode "In Dreams" for her series, Alias, which aired in May. For the fifth season of the show she has been promoted to writer/producer level. She has received four consecutive Emmy (the most prestigous American television acting award) nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. During her first nomination in 2002, she was expected by many people to win but lost out to The West Wing's Allison Janney. The year of her second nomination, she lost to Edie Falco for her powerful performance in The Sopranos. For Garner's third nomination, she again lost out to Janney. The most recent nomination in 2005 was not met with a win as Medium's Patricia Arquette won. She has received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress in a Television Series Drama, and won once. She won on her first nomination, which was in January of 2002. "Alias" had just begun a few months beforehand, meaning Garner beat the other nominees even though only half the season (roughly 11 or 12 episodes) had aired. She won the Actor Award from the Screen Actors Guild in 2005. The category had only five nominees and is composed of all actresses in any dramatic roles, both lead and supporting.
|
