Jenna Fischer Bio

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Jenna Fischer Pictures

Jenna Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress. She currently appears as Pam Beesly, on the NBC sitcom, The Office.

Jenna Fischer: Personal life

Fischer was born Regina Marie Fischer in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the daughter of Anne and Jim Fischer. She has one younger sister, Emily, and was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She has gone by the first name "Jenna" since she was born.

She attended Pierremont Elementary School and later attended Nerinx Hall High School, a private, all-girls Catholic school, in suburban Webster Groves. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre, as well as a minor in Journalism, from Truman State University. Before landing her role as Pam Beesly on The Office, Fischer worked as a receptionist and administrative assistant while auditioning for roles on the side. She has stated that she can type 85 words per minute with 90 percent accuracy.

On October 7, 2000, Fischer married Hollywood filmmaker James Gunn, the brother of Fischer's lifelong friend Sean Gunn. On September 5, 2007, Fischer and Gunn announced they were separating after nearly seven years of marriage. In a radio interview during the publicity tour of The Promotion, she said that her divorce was finalized. On September 24, 2008, People reported that Fischer is dating screenwriter Lee Kirk.

In May 2007, while attending the NBC upfronts for her role in The Office, Fischer fell down a flight of stairs in a Manhattan lounge and fractured her back in four places. After a twelve-week recovery, she returned to the set in time for the fourth season's first episode.

Fischer has a cat named Andy, whom she rescued while in college. Fischer is involved with the animal organizations Kitten Rescue and Rescue Rover in Los Angeles. In 2008, she hosted an event for Kitten Rescue that included a silent auction for the organization.

Fischer is godmother to Isabel Lieberstein, the daughter of The Office co-star and close friend Angela Kinsey.

Fischer, along with several of her co-stars, regularly updates her MySpace blog with behind-the-scenes anecdotes of upcoming episodes of The Office.

Jenna Fischer: Career

Jenna Fischer - Television and feature films

Jenna Fischer, February 2008

Before landing her breakthrough role on The Office, Fischer spent the first several years of her career appearing primarily in bit parts in small indie films and guest spots on television shows. Her television credits include roles on Six Feet Under, That '70s Show, Cold Case, Miss Match, Strong Medicine, Undeclared, What I Like About You, Off Centre and Spin City.

Her film credits include Employee of the Month, Slither, Lucky 13, The Specials, The Brothers Solomon, Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and The Promotion.

Fischer talked about her career aspirations in an April 2005 interview with The Index, the student newspaper at Truman State University, her alma mater:

"Honestly it would be great to get to play Pam for a long, long time ... ," she said. "I don't have real big aspirations to be a movie star. I would love to be on a long-running hit TV show. You end up playing a defining role."

Fischer has expressed a desire to take on more dramatic film roles in the future, telling a reporter at the 2009 Golden Globe awards: "Yes, [I want to play a serious role.] When I saw Amy Adams in Doubt, I was just, 'Oh, I'd love to do that someday.' She's so talented and I'd like to follow in her footsteps. She does everything - drama, comedy."

Jenna Fischer - LolliLove

Fischer wrote, directed, and starred in the mockumentary LolliLove, co-starring her now ex-husband James Gunn, Linda Cardellini, Judy Greer, Lloyd Kaufman and Jason Segel. The film premiered at the St. Louis International Film Festival (the hometown of Fischer and Gunn) in November 2004, as well as the Tromadance Film Festival. For her role in the film, Fischer was awarded a Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actor Award. Her experience on the low-budget film (principal photography cost $1500, mostly for food) discouraged her from any future directorial aspirations, as she told a St. Louis arts and entertainment magazine:

The directing was exhausting and the writing was painful. It was very difficult to direct and star in a movie. We also had a very small crew so I did a lot of things a normal director doesn't have to do, like make the props and serve lunch. I was simultaneously getting into character, going over my lines, set dressing the next shot, coaching an actor, and brainstorming with my D.P. I'm good at multitasking, but that was too much for me. I couldn't enjoy any one part the way I would have liked. I think I'll stick to acting.

Jenna Fischer - Other work

Prior to The Office, her short subject work includes the 2002 film Les Superficiales, a Peter Alton film; Alton later co-wrote and narrated LolliLove. Fischer had a starring role in a 2003 Instant Films short subject called The Girl's Guide to Summer, directed by Instant Film's cofounder (and camera operator) Charles Papert.

In 2006, She also appeared on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, appearing in the show's eighth tournament, shot in New Orleans, Louisiana. Fischer played for Catholic Charities' Tsunami Relief and went out in second place.

In 2007, She starred in a music video for Willie Wisely's single, "Through Any Window", directed by longtime friend John Cabrera; the opportunity arose because she knew Wisely from work he had done on soundtracks for LolliLove and Tromeo and Juliet, one of her husband's films.

In December 2007, during the Hollywood writer's strike, she appeared at Sacred Fools Theatre in episode 25 of Darque Magick, a serialized play written and directed by Jenelle Riley.

Jenna Fischer: Awards

In 2007, Fischer received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her portrayal of Pam Beesly on The Office, and she and the rest of the cast from The Office received Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006 and in 2007 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Jenna Fischer: Feature films

Fischer at the Dan in Real Life premiere (2007)