Jennifer Garner
Maybe youve seen Jennifer Garner lately as Sydney Bristow, the protagonist of ABCs hotly anticipated, high-octane spy series, Alias. You know, shes the gal with the bee-stung lips, the hypnotic brown eyes and the lean, curvaceous figure, whos bound to be a future locker pin-up gal of high school boys everywhere.
Until now, the 28-year-old Charleston, West Virginia native was relatively interchangeable with stunning co-stars like Jennifer Love Hewitt (Time of Your Life) and Kate Beckinsale (Pearl Harbor). But, mix up a mane of punchbowl-red hair and wrap her in a slinky cat suit, and the ambiguity ends. Big time.
Since Alias hit the TV screens, and became a hot hit, Garner is perched at the same door to household name status that Jessica Alba (Dark Angel) kicked down after the 2000 Super Bowl. Graduate student by day, undercover espionage operative by night, Syd is a knockout in either guise thanks to Garners considerable physical prowess and sharp tongue.
Not surprisingly, the ascent to landing the plum role of the sultry, ass-kicking secret agent girl was hardly accomplished over night. In fact, Garners big-screen career is still in the pupa stage. She scraped her way through bit roles in films as diverse-with-a-capital-D as Dude, Wheres My Car? and Woody Allens Deconstructing Harry. But, Garner probably finagled her most memorable minutes on the silver screen as a bookworm nurse in last summers heavy hitting WWII epic Pearl Harbor.
Prior to Alias, TV work came in at a higher frequency and garnered increased interest in the former ballet student. In 1999, Garner accepted a starring gig alongside Hewitt in the short-lived Party of Five spinoff, Time of Your Life. But, it was a year earlier that she made her most important, albeit one of her briefest footprints on the television landscape.
A recurring guest spot on the critically acclaimed drama Felicity proved to be a watershed both professionally and romantically. Not only did Garner snare the attention of future husband Scott Foley (she played his characters ex-squeeze, Hannah), she impressed creator J.J. Abrams so much that he ultimately offered her the lead in Alias, whose subplots have a striking similarity to Felicity.
Garner wanted to play Syd in Alias so desperately she took tae kwon do classes a month before the Alias auditions ever began. Her dedication and supermodel smile should be forces to be reckoned with on both the small and big screen in future years.
Oh, and dont forget the hair. Like you could.
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