Jenna Fischer facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Jenna Fischer
Fischer in 2008
Born	Regina Marie Fischer (1974-03-07) March 7, 1974 (age 51) Fort Wayne, Indiana, U.S.
Alma mater	Truman State University (BA)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	James Gunn ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2008)​ Lee Kirk ​ (m. 2010)​
Children	2

Jenna Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress. She is most famous for playing Pam Beesly in the TV show The Office from 2005 to 2013. For this role, she was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007. She also helped produce the show's last season.

Fischer has also starred in other TV shows like You, Me and the Apocalypse (2015) and Splitting Up Together (2018–2019). She appeared in comedy movies such as Blades of Glory (2007) and Hall Pass (2011). She also acted in drama films like Solitary Man (2009) and The 15:17 to Paris (2018). In 2024, she had a supporting role in the movie Mean Girls.

Today, Jenna Fischer co-hosts a popular podcast called Office Ladies. She hosts it with her The Office co-star, Angela Kinsey. Fischer also wrote a book titled The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide, which came out in 2017.

Early Life and Education

Jenna Fischer was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother, Anne, was a history teacher, and her father, James, was an engineer. Jenna has a younger sister named Emily, who is a third-grade teacher.

Jenna first started acting when she was six years old. She took part in an acting workshop that her mother taught. Another actor, Sean Gunn, who she grew up with, also attended this workshop.

She went to Pierremont Elementary School and then Nerinx Hall High School. This was a private all-girls Catholic school. Fischer later earned a degree in theater from Truman State University. She also studied journalism there.

Starting Her Acting Career

Early Roles and First Film

While in college, Jenna Fischer performed with a traveling Murder Mystery Dinner Theatre group. After moving to Los Angeles in 1998, she joined the Zoo District Theatre Company. A talent agent noticed her after she appeared in a play based on the film Nosferatu. This helped her get an agent.

It was hard for Fischer to get roles in movies and TV at first. Her very first paid acting job was in a video about sex education. Three years after moving to California, she got her first speaking role on TV. She played a waitress in the sitcom Spin City in 2001. She also had small parts in independent films like Employee of the Month. On TV, she appeared in shows like Cold Case, That '70s Show, and Six Feet Under.

When her film career was slow, Fischer decided to create her own project. She wrote, directed, and starred in a mockumentary film called LolliLove. This was the only film she ever directed. Her husband at the time, James Gunn, also starred in it. She filmed interviews with friends in a fake documentary style. This experience helped her a lot for her future role in The Office.

LolliLove was shown at film festivals in 2004. Fischer won the Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actor Award for her role. Even though the film helped her career, she found directing very tiring. She decided to stick to acting after that.

Becoming Pam Beesly in The Office

Fischer with The Office co-star John Krasinski in 2009

In 2005, Jenna Fischer got the role of Pam Beesly in the hit NBC show The Office. This show was based on a British TV series. Before her audition, the casting director told her, "Dare to bore me." Fischer had worked as a receptionist and administrative assistant in Los Angeles. This made her feel perfect for the role of Pam.

She loved playing Pam. In 2009, she said, "I just love playing this character so, so much." Fischer hoped to play Pam for a long time. She said she didn't want to be a big movie star. She just wanted to be on a successful TV show for many years. For the third season of The Office, Fischer was nominated for an Emmy Award in 2007.

In 2008, the cast of The Office won an award for Best Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Fischer gave the acceptance speech for the group. She said they loved working together and were very grateful for their success.

Other Projects and Office Ladies Podcast

In 2006, Fischer appeared on the TV show Celebrity Poker Showdown. She played poker to raise money for charity. In 2007, she was in a music video for Willie Wisely's song "Through Any Window." She also acted in movies like Blades of Glory and Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

In 2009, Fischer filmed the movies Solitary Man and A Little Help. She also appeared in the comedy Hall Pass in 2011. In 2009, she played in a celebrity softball game as part of the Major League Baseball All-Star Week. She also became a spokeswoman for Proactiv Skincare Solutions.

After The Office ended, Fischer acted in plays. She was in Reasons to Be Happy in 2013 and Meteor Shower in 2016. In 2018, she appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! wearing a towel because her dress zipper broke!

On September 11, 2019, Fischer announced a new project. She and Angela Kinsey, her co-star from The Office, would host a weekly podcast. It's called Office Ladies. The podcast started on October 16, 2019. They talk about episodes of The Office and share behind-the-scenes stories. They have had many guests, including other actors and directors from the show. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, they continued recording from their homes. In 2021, Office Ladies won the iHeartRadio Podcast of the Year Award.

In 2021, Fischer and Kinsey announced they wrote a book together. It's called "The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There." The book shares stories and photos about their friendship and time on the show. It was published in May 2022.

In 2023, it was announced that Fischer would play Mrs. Heron in the 2024 movie Mean Girls. In October 2024, Fischer and Kinsey shared that their Office Ladies podcast would change. They will start new types of episodes with more interviews and stories. The podcast is very popular, with over 400 million downloads.

Personal Life and Interests

After moving to Los Angeles, Jenna Fischer's childhood friend Sean Gunn helped her meet his brother, filmmaker James Gunn. This led to her first manager. Jenna and James Gunn married on October 7, 2000. They later separated in 2007 and divorced in 2008.

In 2009, Jenna Fischer announced her engagement to filmmaker Lee Kirk. They met while working on the film The Giant Mechanical Man. Kirk wrote and directed the movie, and Fischer was a producer and actress. She said their work meetings slowly turned into dates. They married on July 3, 2010.

Fischer and Kirk have two children. Their son was born in September 2011, and their daughter was born in May 2014. Interestingly, Fischer's first pregnancy happened at the same time her character Pam was pregnant on The Office. Kirk even made a small appearance on The Office as a lactation consultant.

Jenna Fischer cares a lot about animal welfare. She works with animal rescue groups in Los Angeles, like Kitten Rescue. Before The Office, she spent three years helping these groups directly. She often takes care of foster cats and has hosted charity events for Kitten Rescue.

In October 2024, Fischer shared that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer a year earlier. She announced that she was now cancer-free after treatment. She also shared that her Office Ladies co-host, Angela Kinsey, was very supportive during this time.

Filmography

Film Roles

Television Roles

Awards and Recognitions

See also

In Spanish: Jenna Fischer para niños