Ginnifer Goodwin attends a party in Los Angeles

Born: May 22, 1978, Memphis, Tennessee, United States

Height: 1.68 m

TV shows: Once Upon a Time, Big Love, Ed, The Talk, More

Siblings: Melissa Goodwin

Parents: Linda Goodwin, Tim Goodwin

Jennifer Michelle Goodwin, known professionally as Ginnifer Goodwin, is an American television and film actress. She is best known for her role as Margene Heffman on Big Love, and for her roles in films like Mona Lisa Smile, Something Borrowed, and He's Just Not That Into You. She currently has a lead role as Mary Margaret Blanchard/Snow White in the ABC series Once Upon a Time.

Early life

Goodwin was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Her father, Tim Goodwin, formerly owned and operated a recording studio, and her mother, Linda , is a former educator and "stay-at-home mom", who later worked for FedEx and Apple. Goodwin changed her name from "Jennifer" to "Ginnifer" to distinguish her name, and to assist in pronunciation of her name in her regional dialect. Her younger sister, Melissa Goodwin, is a stop motion animator on shows such as the Emmy Award-winning Robot Chicken, on which Ginnifer has also appeared as voice talent.

Goodwin was raised in her mother's Jewish faith. In her youth, Goodwin was affiliated with the North American Federation of Temple Youth, and was active in BBYO at the Jewish Community Center in Memphis; she had a bat mitzvah. After graduating from Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996, Goodwin attended Hanover College (majoring in Theatre) for one year before moving on to earn her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University. While a student at BU, she performed in numerous student short films, as well as several college and local stage productions. Goodwin was given the "Excellence in Acting: Professional Promise Award" by the Bette Davis Foundation, and graduated with honors. After her time at Boston University, she studied in England at Stratford Upon-Avon’s Shakespeare Institute, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The following year she earned an "Acting Shakespeare Certificate" at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Personal life

Goodwin was a vegan and was a spokesperson for Farm Sanctuary's Adopt-A-Turkey Project in 2009, having adopted a whole flock herself. She revealed on Jimmy Kimmel that she gave up being a vegan after experiencing undisclosed health issues. She said: "I'm always learning and growing and changing and there were some boring health issues, and so I did actually have to work some animal products back into my diet." Goodwin says although she's never had a "dramatic weight problem", she uses Weight Watchers to keep her indulgences in check.She considers herself an extremely healthy person, and balances her diet with ballet classes and cardio workouts.

Goodwin began dating actor Joey Kern in April 2009. The couple announced their engagement December 24, 2010. They announced their breakup on May 20, 2011. Goodwin has been dating Once Upon a Time co-star Josh Dallas since fall 2011.She is a close and longtime friend of her Once Upon a Time co-star Jennifer Morrison.

Goodwin has said that she "up and left Judaism for a very long time", after she left Memphis, and that "for 10 years, there was nothing. No ritual. No tradition. No community". More recently, however, she has reconnected with her faith.

Career

Goodwin first had roles in the popular NBC television programs Law & Order and Ed before appearing in the Comedy Central television movie Porn 'n Chicken. She later had substantial roles in the films Mona Lisa Smile, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Walk the Line—in which she portrayed Vivian Liberto, Johnny Cash's first wife—and Birds of America. She also played Dori Dumchovic in the dark comedy Love Comes to the Executioner. Goodwin played a leading role as Margene Heffman, the third wife in a polygamous family, on the HBO original series Big Love, which concluded on March 20, 2011. Ginnifer has recurring voice roles in the Cartoon Network show, Robot Chicken, the animation of which her younger sister Melissa Goodwin is involved.

In 2008, Max Mara honored Goodwin with a "Face of the Future" award, an award recognizing up and coming women in film. Also, Goodwin was one of the celebrities featured in Gap's Fall 2008 ad campaign.

Goodwin starred as Gigi in He's Just Not That into You, which was released in February 2009. For this role she received a nomination for the People's Choice Award for Breakout Movie Actress. In April 2009 she began filming Ramona and Beezus (playing "Aunt Bea").

In 2011, Goodwin plays Mary Margaret Blanchard, a teacher in Storybrooke, Maine, as well as fairy tale heroine Snow White, in the revisionist fantasy adventure television program, Once Upon a Time, which debuted on ABC.