Ginnifer Goodwin mini-bio: Hailing from Memphis, Tennessee, Ginnifer Goodwin has quickly found a home in Hollywood. With effusive talent, she shined in the Oscar-nominated biopic Walk the Line, as Johnny Cash’s first wife, opposite Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon. Currently, she can be seen in HBO’s critically acclaimed dramatic series Big Love, now in its second season, produced by Tom Hanks’ Playtone Productions. She stars as the youngest and third of three wives in a modern-day polygamist family, with Bill Paxton as the patriarch, Jeanne Tripplehorn and Chloe Sevigny – wives one and two, respectively.
Goodwin will next be seen in the independent project DAY ZERO with Chris Klein and Elijah Woods opening in January 2008. She recently wrapped the indie comedy Laws of Motion co-starring Mathew Perry and Hillary Swank. Goodwin is currently filming the ensemble comedy He’s Just Not that In to You for New Line based on the best-selling book by Greg Behrendt.
Her breakthrough role was in her first feature film ever - Mike Newell’s Mona Lisa Smile, starring alongside Julia Roberts, Marcia Gay Harden and Kirsten Dunst. This freshman performance garnered industry buzz and critical interest, and she was considered a standout among an experienced ensemble. Soon after, she starred in Robert Luketic’s romantic comedy, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, opposite Kate Bosworth, Topher Grace and Josh Duhamel. She has also lent her acting talents to a small cameo in Jon Kasdan’s In the Land of Women. Goodwin is classically trained in English theatre. She studied at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Shakespeare Institute, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company. She also earned an “Acting Shakespeare Certificate” at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, where she played Joan of Arc, Ophelia and Jessica in The Merchant of Venice. Then a few years later, she attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. At Boston University, Goodwin performed at the Huntington Theatre, in productions such as “Dead End” with Broadway director Nicholas Martin. Subsequently, Goodwin was awarded with the Excellence in Acting: Professional Promise Award by The Bette Davis Foundation, and graduated with honors.
After her college graduation, she quickly got a small role on Law and Order. Then, at the top of its second season, NBC’s Ed welcomed Goodwin as a regular. She also starred in Comedy Central’s collaboration with Tribeca Films: Porn N Chicken.