Belfast
Texas
Jennifer Garner wants her children to grow up with the same ‘Southern values’ she had. The Draft Day actress’ stunning looks has secured her many roles and the opportunity to front campaigns like Max Mara. But despite her success now, her appearance was never high on Jennifer’s agenda growing up. ‘What my mom did that I valued so much was to not place beauty high on the list of priorities,’ she told Southern Living magazine.
‘It was a shock when I got to college to hear people say I was pretty.’ The 42-year-old is happily married to husband Ben Affleck and together the couple have three children, daughters Violet, nine, and Seraphina, six, and son Samuel, two. Despite living in Los Angeles, Jennifer hopes to bring her offspring up in the same way that she grew up in Houston, Texas. ‘It’s really important for my kids to see that everyone doesn’t have the lives they see in Los Angeles,’ she explained. ‘That doesn’t reflect the rest of the world. I want them to grow up with the Southern values I had to look at people when they say hello and to stop and smell the roses. If I could do half as good a job as my mom did, I’d be pretty happy.’
One thing the Pearl Harbor actress misses most from her time in the South is the neighbourliness. But she does her best to recreate it so her children can learn to be there for others. ‘I feel so fortunate to have grown up in a place where people look out for each other,’ she continued. ‘Community is the one thing people crave most, and it’s hard to come by. I grew up with such an excess of it that now wherever I go, the first thing I do is build my group.’