Ginnifer Goodwin Movies and Career Information

Ginnifer Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American television and film actress, best known for her role as Margene Heffman on the HBO series Big Love and starring in the movies Mona Lisa Smile and He's Just Not That into You. Goodwin was born Jennifer Goodwin in Memphis, Tennessee. Her mother, Linda (Kantor) Goodwin, is a former educator with a doctorate who works for FedEx, and her father, Tim Goodwin, formerly owned and operated a recording studio. She changed her name from "Jennifer" to "Ginnifer" because that is how she and her family pronounced it in their 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 affiliated with the North American Federation of Temple Youth and was active in BBYO at the Jewish Community Center in Memphis growing up; 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 Boston University's College of Fine Arts, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting, with honors, in