Biography for
Jenna Fischer More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

7 March 1974, Ft. Wayne, Indiana, USA

Birth Name

Regina Marie Fischer

Height

5' 5½" (1.66 m)

Mini Biography

Emmy-nominated actress Jenna Fischer, best known for playing the character of receptionist Pam Beesley in "The Office" (2005), was born Regina Marie Fischer in Fort Wayne, Indiana, on March 7, 1974. Raised in St. Louis, Missouri, after graduating from high school, she studied theater arts at Truman State University. She made her debut as a professional actress in the 1998 film Born Champion (1998).

Fischer wrote and directed the mock-documentary LolliLove (2004), which starred her and her ex-husband, filmmaker James Gunn. The movie had its premier in November 2004 at the St. Louis International Film Festival in November 2004. In 2007, she was nominated as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role of Pam in "The Office" (2005), losing out to Jaime Pressly in "My Name Is Earl" (2005). The very talented Fischer should be in line for many more nominations and awards in the future.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood

Spouse

James Gunn

(7 October 2000 - 2008) (divorced)

Trivia

Took her first acting class with Sean Gunn (who stars as Kirk on WB's "Gilmore Girls" (2000)) at the age of six in St. Louis, Missouri. The class was taught by her mother, Anne Fischer. Jenna and Sean stayed in touch over the years and in October 2000 she married his brother, writer/director James Gunn The two are now divorced.

Graduated from Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri

Daughter of Anne Fischer.

Originally enrolled at Truman State University as a Pre-Law student; later changed to Theatre.

Worked as a receptionist in various offices. Types 85 WPM with 90% accuracy.

Considered becoming a veterinarian due to her love for animals; ultimately opted for working with Kitten Rescue and being the proud owner of a dog and a cat (Andy, featured prominently with Jenna in 2006 issue of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful).

#37 in People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful, 2006 issue.

First met ex-husband James Gunn at a script reading for The Specials (2000), which he wrote.

Mother Anne Fischer and younger sister Emily are both elementary school teachers.

Has one sibling - Emily, her younger sister.

Connected to many "Jims" in her life - her father Jim Fischer, her ex-husband James Gunn, Jim Zulevic (who cast her in The Specials (2000) and subsequently introduced her to James), and finally (and more famously known), her TV counterpart Jim Halpert (played by John Krasinski).

Former sister-in-law of Brian Gunn, Matt Gunn, Patrick Gunn and Sean Gunn.

Auditioned for the role of Sydney Bristow in "Alias" (2001), but was never called back. She later said, "They said they liked my acting, but I wasn't hot enough.

Fractured her back in four places after falling down a set of stairs at the NYC bar, Buddakan, on May 15, 2007.

Went to Nerinx Hall, an all girls Catholic school in Webster Groves, Missouri.

On "The Office" (2005), the characters are all put off by Angela's (Angela Kinsey) creepy preoccupation with cute pictures of cats. In real life, Fischer has admitted she is an enthusiast of the same thing.

Is a fan of the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.

Is best friends with "The Office" (2005) co-star, Angela Kinsey, and is Godmother to Kinsey's daughter, Isabel.

Got engaged to Lee Kirk on June 30, 2009.

Personal Quotes

"She goes, 'Dare to BORE me.' And I'm like, 'Really?' I'm like, 'I'll bore you. I will seriously, I will go and I will be ugly, and I will bore you.' Am I selling my show? Ugly, boring people - check it out!" - on receiving the casting call for "The Office" (2005).

"All the rehearsals were in this guy's penthouse. And I swear - I kept going to rehearsal. And I learned my song, and it was about a truck stop...and I noticed that none of the other girls were singing with me, but they did walk by in lingerie...and I'm like, 'Huh, weird!'" - on being the sixth member of the International Spice Girls, which turned out to be a front for a call-girl service

"I had this crazy job, though, when I first got to Los Angeles...I answered this ad in the back of the newspaper to be a telephone psychic, and I did that for two days. I called up this guy, and...this is how hard it was to get this job: He said, 'So, uh, do you feel intuitive from time to time?' And I was like, 'Yea, sure, I feel intuitive.' He said, 'Do you read Tarot cards?' And I said, 'I DO!' and I didn't." - on her stint as a telephone psychic

I had real potential. But my goal was to be...adequate. I didn't want to be an extraordinary receptionist, because I didn't ever want to be promoted, or be given more work. My time was really valuable to me. For example, I could type 80 words per minute, but I wouldn't tell people that, so when my boss would give me work, he would think it'd take two hours, but it would really only take about thirty minutes. So I'd have, like, ninety minutes of fun time. I got it all done, I just did it...real slow.

Honestly it would be great to get to play Pam for a long, long time...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.

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