Don’t let the recent tabloid coverage of Jennifer Garner distract you: More than being the other Jen in Ben Affleck’s ever-riveting romantic history, she’s also one of the best-loved actors of our time. That’s why, in honor of her birthday today (an Aries!), we’ve rounded up some of the most memorable film and television roles in Garner’s long career to date—from Jenna Rink in 13 Going on 30 to Evie Adler in Party Down. Revisit them here:
Alias (2001–2006)
This is arguably the part that made Garner a superstar, and for good reason; her role as Sydney Bristow, a young woman who agrees to become an international spy for the CIA, earned her four Emmy nominations. (Incidentally, the existence of this show also gave us one of my favorite Kenneth Parcell lines from 30 Rock: “Like Sydney Bristow on Alias, I’ll use my sexuality as a weapon. To the wig shop!”)
13 Going on 30 (2004)
Is there a better aughts rom-com out there than this beloved 2004 hit about a young girl who wakes up one day as a 30-year-old magazine editor and certified Mean Fashion Girl? If there is, I don’t know it; Garner vests what could be a frothy role with genuine heart that makes 13 Going on 30 both a certified tearjerker and a perennial mood lifter.
Juno (2007)
It’s entirely possible that I have never wanted a divorce for a fictional character more than I do for Garner’s Vanessa Loring in Juno: She only wants a baby but instead is forced to deal with her immature, slacker husband hitting on their teenage surrogate. It’s clear from Garner’s characterization just how badly Vanessa longs for a family of her own, and it’s a delight to watch her build it (in her very own way).
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
It can’t be all that hard to conjure chemistry with Matthew McConaughey, but Garner gets it down to a science in this rom-com about a womanizing photographer who attends his brother’s wedding and reunites with the only girl he ever really fell for. That kiss in the snow at the end? Goose bumps!
Valentine’s Day (2010)
Is this film the Platonic ideal of those factory-issue rom-coms absolutely crammed with celebrity appearances? Yes. Does Garner steal the show as elementary school teacher Julia, even amid a cast that includes Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Bradley Cooper, and both Emma and Julia Roberts? Absolutely.
Dallas Buyers Club (2013)
In a way, we have Matthew McConaughey to thank for Garner’s affecting performance as Dr. Eve Saks in this Oscar-winning film: The actor stopped her from dropping out after a tough day on set, when Garner—who had recently given birth to her youngest son, Samuel—was stuggling to balance the shoot with breastfeeding.
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (2014)
I’ll say it: I love Jennifer Garner in a family-friendly role! This 2014 comedy, based on Judith Viorst’s 1972 children’s book of the same name, features Garner as LA mom Kelly Cooper. Maybe it’s the fact that she really is an LA mom (of three, no less, just like in the film!) that makes her so believable and charming in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
Love, Simon (2018)
Again, who can resist Jennifer Garner basically playing the nicest mom ever? This teen romance drama about a closeted teenager falling in love while trying to find the strength to come out is particularly perfectly cast, given that Garner is the mother of an out trans child in real life.
Camping (2018)
This final Lena Dunham–Jenni Konner collab production didn’t necessarily get the credit it deserved when it first aired in 2018, but Garner’s role as an uptight wife and minor Instagram celebrity makes the show worth watching even if you didn’t get around to it seven years ago.
Party Down
I know I’m not the only one who was counting the days until the season-three return of beloved cult Starz comedy Party Down, and Garner’s addition to the cast, as movie producer Evie Adler, only sweetened the already-standout series. “When we were talking about the role, we would mention Jennifer Garner as the type of person we wanted to cast,” Adam Scott told Yahoo at the time. “We kept saying: ‘We want someone like Jennifer Garner,’ never thinking we would actually get Jennifer Garner.”
