Kelli Brianne Garner (born April 11, 1984)
is an American actress who has appeared in a variety of
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independe ...
and mainstream films, television, and theater.
A native of
Southern California
Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ...
, Garner made her feature film debut at age seventeen in
Larry Clark
Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film ''Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses prim ...
's thriller ''
Bully
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an i ...
'' (2001), followed by a supporting role as
Faith Domergue in
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
's ''
The Aviator'' (2004). In 2005, she made her New York stage debut in an
Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
production of ''
Dog Sees God''. Over the following several years, Garner had lead roles in the independent film ''
Thumbsucker'' (2005), the studio comedy ''
Man of the House'' (2005), and the comedy-drama ''
Lars and the Real Girl'' (2007). She returned to theater in 2008, appearing in an Off-Broadway production of ''
The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...
'' opposite
Dianne Wiest
Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Woo ...
.
Garner subsequently had a supporting role in the
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
animated film ''
G-Force
The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...
'' (2009), and from 2011 to 2012, had a lead role on the short-lived period drama ''
Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
'', portraying a flight attendant. She later co-starred in
Alexandre Aja
Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, (; born 7 August 1978) is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film '' Haute Tension'' (known as ''Hi ...
's fantasy horror film ''
Horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
'' (2014) opposite
Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...
. In 2015, Garner portrayed
Marilyn Monroe
Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...
in the television film ''
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
''The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe'' is a 2015 American drama miniseries on Marilyn Monroe. It stars Kelli Garner, Susan Sarandon, Emily Watson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Eva Amurri Martino and was first aired on Lifetime on May 30 and 31, 20 ...
'', opposite
Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
. She subsequently guest-starred on the series ''
Looking
Looking is the act of intentionally focusing visual perception on someone or something, for the purpose of obtaining information, and possibly to convey interest or another sentiment. A large number of troponyms exist to describe variations o ...
'' (2014–2015) before starring as the lead on the
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
drama series ''
The Enemy Within'', which ran for one season in 2019. She also had a minor role in the monster film ''
Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019).
Early life
Garner was born on April 11, 1984, in
Bakersfield, California
Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...
,
and spent her early childhood in
Newbury Park before her family settled in
Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...
.
[ Although she described herself as a "shy" young girl, Garner caught the attention of a talent agent while attending a friend's bar mitzvah, and was subsequently cast in an Eggo commercial.] While a student at Thousand Oaks High School
Thousand Oaks High School (TOHS) is a high school in Thousand Oaks, California, United States. Established in 1962, it is part of the Conejo Valley Unified School District. It has a suburban campus with one story buildings primarily accessed by co ...
, Garner was cast in director Mike Mills's short film ''Architecture of Assurance'' in 2000. Garner was a talented soccer player in high school, and had planned on pursuing it as a career before she began working as an actress.
Career
Garner had appeared in several short films before being cast in a supporting role in the television film ''Time Share
A timeshare (sometimes called vacation ownership) is a property with a divided form of ownership or use rights. These properties are typically resort condominium units, in which multiple parties hold rights to use the property, and each own ...
'' in 2000. In 2001, she was cast in Larry Clark
Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film ''Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses prim ...
's controversial crime thriller ''Bully
Bullying is the use of force, coercion, hurtful teasing or threat, to abuse, aggressively dominate or intimidate. The behavior is often repeated and habitual. One essential prerequisite is the perception (by the bully or by others) of an i ...
'' (2001), in which she portrayed Heather Swallers, a teenager who participates with her friends in an orchestrated murder of one of their peers; Clark cast Garner in the film after seeing her performance in Mike Mills's short ''Architecture of Assurance''. The film, which was based on the real-life 1993 murder of Bobby Kent, received critical acclaim.
Her next major role came at age nineteen in Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
's '' The Aviator'' (2004), in which she portrayed actress Faith Domergue, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes Jr. (December 24, 1905 – April 5, 1976) was an American business magnate, record-setting pilot, engineer, film producer, and philanthropist, known during his lifetime as one of the most influential and richest people in t ...
. According to Garner, she wore brown contact lens
Contact lenses, or simply contacts, are thin lenses placed directly on the surface of the eyes. Contact lenses are ocular prosthetic devices used by over 150 million people worldwide, and they can be worn to correct vision or for cosmeti ...
es to her audition in order to further embody Domergue; she has said that she tripped and fell when entering the audition room in front of director Scorsese and star DiCaprio. "I thought I'd lost the job," she recalled, "But I think it was that moment that made it work ecausethe character was someone who was trying to be much older than she was." The following year, she appeared in the comedy '' Man of the House'', and the independent teen drama '' Thumbsucker'' (2005), opposite Lou Taylor Pucci
Lou Taylor Pucci (born July 27, 1985) is an American actor who first appeared on film in Rebecca Miller's ''Personal Velocity: Three Portraits'' in 2002. Pucci had his breakthrough leading role in ''Thumbsucker (film), Thumbsucker'' (2005), for wh ...
and Vince Vaughn
Vincent Anthony Vaughn (born March 28, 1970) is an American actor.
Vaughn began acting in the late 1980s, appearing in minor television roles before attaining wider recognition with the 1996 comedy-drama film '' Swingers''. He has appeared in ...
. She had supporting parts in the independent films ''London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
'' (2005) and '' Dreamland'' (2006), the latter of which earned her a Best Actress award at Method Fest Independent Film Festival
The Method Fest Independent Film Festival is an independent film festival
A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more cinemas or screening venues, usually in a single city or region. Increasingly, film festiv ...
, shared with co-star Agnes Bruckner
Agnes Bruckner is an American actress and former model. She began acting in television in the late 1990s and has since appeared in several films, including '' The Woods'', '' Blue Car'', '' Murder by Numbers'', '' Blood and Chocolate'', ''The An ...
.
In December 2005, Garner starred in the Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...
production of '' Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead'' at the Century Center for the Performing Arts
The performing arts are arts such as music, dance, and drama which are performed for an audience. They are different from the visual arts, which are the use of paint, canvas or various materials to create physical or static art objects. Perfo ...
, co-starring with America Ferrara, Eddie Kaye Thomas
Eddie Kaye Thomas (born October 31, 1980) is an American actor who rose to prominence as Paul Finch in the ''American Pie'' film series. His other notable appearances include Andy Rosenberg in the ''Harold & Kumar'' series, Jeff Woodcock in ...
, and Ari Graynor
Ariel Geltman Graynor (born April 27, 1983) is an American actress, known for her roles in TV series such as ''I'm Dying Up Here'', ''The Sopranos'' and ''Fringe'', in stage productions such as '' Brooklyn Boy'' and ''The Little Dog Laughed'', an ...
, among others.[ She later appeared in the ]Green Day
Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a ...
music video, " Jesus of Suburbia" (with ''Thumbsucker'' co-star Lou Taylor Pucci).
In 2007, Garner appeared in a lead role in the critically acclaimed drama '' Lars and the Real Girl'' as Ryan Gosling
Ryan Thomas Gosling (born November 12, 1980) is a Canadian actor. Prominent in independent film, he has also worked in blockbuster films of varying genres, and has accrued a worldwide box office gross of over 1.9 billion USD. He has receive ...
's co-worker and love interest. In 2008, she appeared again onstage in an Off-Broadway production of Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
's ''The Seagull
''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...
'' opposite Dianne Wiest
Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Woo ...
, as Nina. Ben Brantley of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', though critical of some elements of the production, praised Garner's performance among her younger co-stars.[ She had a minor part in the comedy '']Taking Woodstock
''Taking Woodstock'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, directed by Ang Lee. The screenplay by James Schamus is based on the memoir '' Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life'' by El ...
'' (2009), and in the Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
film ''G-Force
The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measur ...
'' (2009), which she followed with a supporting role in '' Going the Distance'' (2010), opposite Drew Barrymore
Drew Blythe Barrymore (born February 22, 1975) is an American actress, director, producer, talk show host and author. A member of the Barrymore family of actors, she is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a ...
. Between 2011 and 2012, she had a main role as Kate Cameron on the period series ''Pan Am
Pan American World Airways, originally founded as Pan American Airways and commonly known as Pan Am, was an American airline that was the principal and largest international air carrier and unofficial overseas flag carrier of the United State ...
'', opposite Christina Ricci
Christina Ricci ( ; born February 12, 1980) is an American actress. Known for playing unusual characters with a dark edge, Ricci predominantly works in independent productions, but has also appeared in numerous box office hits. She has receive ...
.
Garner dated Johnny Galecki
John Mark Galecki (born April 30, 1975) is an American actor. He played Leonard Hofstadter in the CBS sitcom '' The Big Bang Theory'' (2007–2019) for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination, and David Healy in the ABC sitcoms ''Ro ...
from 2011 to 2014
Garner was next cast in Alexandre Aja
Alexandre Jouan-Arcady, known professionally as Alexandre Aja, (; born 7 August 1978) is a French filmmaker best known for his work in the horror genre. He rose to international stardom for his 2003 horror film '' Haute Tension'' (known as ''Hi ...
's horror-fantasy ''Horns Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
'' (2014) with Daniel Radcliffe
Daniel Jacob Radcliffe (born 23 July 1989) is an English actor. He rose to fame at age twelve, when he began portraying Harry Potter in the film series of the same name; and has held various other film and theatre roles. Over his career, Rad ...
, and played the title role in the Lifetime mini-series ''The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
''The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe'' is a 2015 American drama miniseries on Marilyn Monroe. It stars Kelli Garner, Susan Sarandon, Emily Watson, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Eva Amurri Martino and was first aired on Lifetime on May 30 and 31, 20 ...
'', opposite Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, ...
as her mother. She also appeared in the independent film '' One More Time'' (2015) with Christopher Walken
Christopher Walken (born Ronald Walken; March 31, 1943) is an American actor. Prolific in film, television and on stage, Walken is the recipient of numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Awa ...
and Amber Heard
Amber Laura Heard (born April 22, 1986) is an American actress. She had her first leading role in the horror film ''All the Boys Love Mandy Lane'' (2006), and went on to star in films such as '' The Ward'' (2010) and ''Drive Angry'' (2011). Sh ...
. Between 2014 and 2015, she had a guest-starring role on the gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
-themed series ''Looking
Looking is the act of intentionally focusing visual perception on someone or something, for the purpose of obtaining information, and possibly to convey interest or another sentiment. A large number of troponyms exist to describe variations o ...
'', playing the sister of the lead character, Patrick Murray.[ In 2019, Garner had a supporting part in the action film '' Godzilla: King of the Monsters'', and also starred as a lead opposite ]Jennifer Carpenter
Jennifer Carpenter is an American actress who is known for her role as Debra Morgan in the Showtime series '' Dexter'', for which she earned a Saturn Award in 2009, and also for playing Rebecca Harris in the CBS television series '' Limitless'' ...
and Morris Chestnut
Morris Lamont Chestnut (born January 1, 1969) is an American actor. He first came to prominence for his role as Ricky in the 1991 film ''Boyz n the Hood''. He has appeared in feature films and on television series, including the starring role of ...
on the series '' The Enemy Within''.[
]
Filmography
Film
Television
Music videos
Stage credits
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garner, Kelli
1984 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from Bakersfield, California
American child actresses
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Living people
People from Thousand Oaks, California