Jennifer Garner was born on April 17, 1972 in Houston, Texas, to a chemical engineer father and an English professor mother. She was the second of three daughters, all of whom were a young age when the family relocated to Charleston, West Virginia.

Jennifer studied ballet for nine years before enrolling at Denison University as a chemical engineer. Upon the realization that she loved the stage more than science she changed her major to drama.

Jennifer Garner made her big screen debut in 1997, with roles in Agnieszka Holland's adaptation of the Henry James classic "Washington Square" as well as the modern NYC tale "Deconstructing Harry" and the comical "Mister Magoo".

Again, success did not elude her, and she soon made her screen debut in the made-for-television movie Zoya. Over the next two years leading up to 1998, Jennifer found consistent screen work.

1998 found Jennifer Garner cast as the female lead on the short-lived Fox drama Significant Others; while the show only aired for a little over a month, Garner fared much better with a showy recurring role on Felicity, where she played Hannah, the former girlfriend of Noel Crane, played by Scott Foley.

Garner also appeared opposite her husband, Foley, in a supporting role in the independent drama Rennie's Landing. Parlaying her newfound action hero status over to the big screen, Garner could next be seen as the mysterious and powerful Elektra