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Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Morrison SDCC 2014.jpg
Morrison at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Jennifer Marie Morrison

(1979-04-12) April 12, 1979 (age 46)
Alma mater Loyola University Chicago
Occupation
  • Actress
  • director
  • producer
Years active 1994–present
Partner(s) Gerardo Celasco (2019–present)
Children 1

Jennifer Marie Morrison (born April 12, 1979) is an American actress and director. She is well-known for her roles in popular TV shows. These include Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical drama House. She also played Emma Swan in the fantasy series Once Upon a Time.

Jennifer has appeared in many other projects. She was Zoey Pierson in the comedy How I Met Your Mother. In the movie Star Trek, she played Winona Kirk. This character was the mother of James T. Kirk. She also starred as Tess Conlon in the sports film Warrior. Jennifer made her first movie as a director with Sun Dogs in 2017.

Early Life and Education

Jennifer Morrison was born in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in Arlington Heights, Illinois. She is the oldest of three children. Her sister, Julia, is a singer and music therapist. Her brother, Daniel, directs a high school band. Her father, David, was a music teacher. He was named Teacher of the Year in 2003.

Jennifer went to South Middle School. She then graduated from Prospect High School in 1997. Her parents worked at this school. She was a talented clarinet player in the marching band. She also sang in the choir and was a cheerleader. Jennifer attended Loyola University Chicago. She studied Theatre and English there. She graduated in 2000. Before moving to Los Angeles to act, she studied at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company.

Acting Career Highlights

Starting Out and Early Films (1992–2010)

JSpencerJMorrison2 (cropped1)
Morrison at a Fox event in 2008

Jennifer started her career very young. She was a child model. She appeared in ads for stores like JCPenney. She also did commercials for Rice Krispies. In 1992, she was on the cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids. She was with basketball star Michael Jordan.

At 14, Jennifer made her first movie. It was the 1994 film Intersection. Later, she played Samantha in Stir of Echoes (1999). Her first main role was in Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000). She also appeared in Grind (2003) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).

In 2004, Jennifer got a big role. She played Dr. Allison Cameron on the show House. She was on the show for six seasons. Her character left in 2009. However, she returned for the final episode in 2012. In 2006, Jennifer starred in Flourish. She also helped produce this independent film. She is also credited as an associate producer for the first season of Glee. She helped bring the idea for the show to the right people.

In 2007, Jennifer was in the computer game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. She played a character named Kirce James. That year, she also appeared in the movie Big Stan. She was in The Murder of Princess Diana, a TV film. In 2009, she was in the movie Star Trek. She played Winona Kirk, James T. Kirk's mother. After House, she acted in the play The Miracle Worker on Broadway.

Once Upon a Time and Other TV Roles (2011–Present)

Jennifer Morrison at the 38th People's Choice Award (2) (cropped)
Morrison at the 2012 People's Choice Awards

In 2010, Jennifer was a guest star on Chase. She then joined the cast of How I Met Your Mother. She played Zoey Pierson. Zoey was a fun architecture student. She became a love interest for the main character, Ted Mosby.

In 2011, Jennifer was in the movie Warrior. She played the wife of Joel Edgerton's character. She tried to keep her family together in the film. In October 2011, Jennifer began her main role in Once Upon a Time. She played Emma Swan. Emma was a bail-bonds collector. She discovered she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming.

In 2016, Jennifer started her own film company. It is called Apartment 3C Productions. She directed her first movie, Sun Dogs, under this company. Netflix later bought the rights to stream the film worldwide.

In 2017, Jennifer acted in an off-Broadway play. It was called The End of Longing. In May 2017, she announced she would not be a regular on Once Upon a Time anymore. However, she returned for a guest appearance. She also came back for the show's final episode in May 2018.

Jennifer co-starred in Amityville: The Awakening. This film was released in 2017. She also directed Sun Dogs. She continued to guest star in seasons 5 and 6 of This Is Us.

Personal Life

In 2004, Jennifer started dating actor Jesse Spencer. He was her co-star on House. They got engaged in 2006 but ended their engagement in 2007. Jennifer later dated actor Amaury Nolasco from 2009 to 2012.

Since 2019, she has been in a relationship with actor Gerardo Celasco. In 2022, Jennifer began calling Celasco her husband. In June 2024, she shared that she had recently become a mother to a baby girl.

Filmography

Film Roles

Year Title Role Notes
1994 Intersection Meaghan Eastman
1994 Miracle on 34th Street Denice
1999 Stir of Echoes Samantha Kozac
2000 Urban Legends: Final Cut Amy Mayfield
2001 Zeros, TheThe Zeros Joyce
2002 Design Sonya Mallow
2002 Nantucket Alicia
2002 Big Shot: Confessions of a Campus Bookie Callie Television film
2002 100 Women Annie
2003 Grind Jamie
2004 Mall Cop Chris
2004 Sure Hand of God, TheThe Sure Hand of God Lily Bowser
2004 Surviving Christmas Missy Vanglider
2004 Lift Sarah Short film
2005 Mr. & Mrs. Smith Jade
2006 The Script Christie Short film
2006 Flourish Gabrielle Winters Producer
2007 Big Stan Mindy
2007 The Murder of Princess Diana Rachel Visco Television film
2009 Star Trek Winona Kirk
2009 Table for Three Leslie Green
2011 Bringing Ashley Home Ashley Phillips Television film
2011 Five Sheila Television film
2011 Warrior Tess Conlon
2012 Stars in Shorts Agent Rachel Mintz
2012 Knife Fight Angela
2013 Some Girl(s) Sam
2013 Alpha Alert Lt. White
2013 Star Trek Into Darkness Winona Kirk (voice)
2015 To Dust Return Sharon Reynolds Short film
2015 Mattresside Angelica Short film
2016 The Darkness Joy Carter
2016 Albion: The Enchanted Stallion The Abbess
2017 Amityville: The Awakening Candice
2017 Sun Dogs Marie Director, producer
2018 Assassination Nation Margie Duncan
2018 Back Roads Callie Mercer
2018 Alex & the List Katherine Stern
2018 Superfly Detective Mason
2019 The Report Caroline Krass
2019 Batman: Hush Selina Kyle / Catwoman (voice)
2019 All Creatures Here Below Penny
2019 ... Juliet Huddy

Television Roles

Year Title Role Notes
2001 The Chronicle Gwen Episode: "Let Sleeping Dogs Fry"
2001 Touched by an Angel Melissa Episode: "Most Likely to Succeed"
2001–2002 Dawson's Creek Melanie Shay Thompson 2 episodes
2002 Any Day Now Mandy Singer Episode: "In Too Deep"
2002 The Random Years Megan Episode: "Pilot"
2004–2012 House Dr. Allison Cameron Main role (Season 1–6); Guest star (Season 8)
2009 The Super Hero Squad Show Wasp 3 episodes; voice role
2010 Chase Faith Maples Episode: "Paranoia"
2010–2014 How I Met Your Mother Zoey Pierson 13 episodes
2011–2018 Once Upon a Time Emma Swan Leading role (Season 1–6); Special guest star (Season 7)
2019–2022 This Is Us Cassidy Sharp Recurring role (Season 4, 6); Guest role (Season 5)
2023 Will Trent Abigail Bentley-Campano SEASON 1
2024 Tracker Lizzy Hawking Episode: "The Storm"

Director Credits

Year Title Notes
2017 Warning Labels Short
2017 Sun Dogs Director, producer, actress
2018 Fabled TV series
2019 Euphoria Episode: “'03 Bonnie and Clyde”
2021 One of Us Is Lying Episode: "Pilot"
2021-23 Dr. Death Episodes: "Dock Ellis", "An Occurrence at Randall Kirby's Sink", "Like Magic", "Worth The Risk", "The Horizon"
2021 Joe Pickett Episodes: "Shoot, Shovel and Shut Up", "The Most Hated Man in 12 Sleeps"
2022 Surface Episode: "It Was Always Going to End This Way"
2023 Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies Episode: "You Can't Just Walk Out of a Drive-In"
2024 Tracker Episode: "Trust Fall"

Music Videos

Year Title Artist Notes
2002 "Too Bad About Your Girl" The Donnas
2003 "Shut Up" Nick Lachey
2015 "What I Want" Will Butler
2015 "Demon Days (Do It All Again)" Wild Wild Horses Also director

Theatre Performances

Year Title Role Venue
2010 The Miracle Worker Kate Keller Circle in the Square Theatre
2017 The End of Longing Stephanie Lucille Lortel Theatre
2024 The Penelopiad Penelope Goodman Theatre

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Jennifer Morrison para niños

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