Jenna Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an Emmy Award-nominated American actress, best known for her role as Pam Beesly in the U.S. adaptation of The Office.

Fischer and the rest of the cast from The Office received Screen Actors Guild Awards in 2006 and in 2007 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.


Personal life

Fischer was born Regina Marie Fischer in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the daughter of Anne and Jim Fischer, and was raised in St. Louis, Missouri. She attended Pierremont Elementary School, and later attended Nerinx Hall High School in suburban Webster Groves. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre from Truman State University.

On October 7, 2000, Fischer married Hollywood filmmaker James Gunn, the brother of Fischer's lifelong friend Sean Gunn.

In May 2007, while attending the NBC upfronts for her role in The Office, Fischer fell down a flight of stairs in a Manhattan bar and fractured her back. She returned to the set in time for the fourth season's first episode.

On September 5, 2007, Fischer and Gunn announced they were separating after nearly seven years of marriage.


Career

Television and feature films

Fischer’s television credits prior to joining the cast of The Office include guest-starring roles on Six Feet Under, That '70s Show, Cold Case, Miss Match, Strong Medicine, Undeclared, What I Like About You, Off Centre and Spin City.

Her film credits include Employee of the Month, Slither, Lucky 13, The Specials, The Brothers Solomon, Blades of Glory, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, and The Promotion.

Fischer talked about her career aspirations in an April 2005 interview with The Index, the student newspaper at Truman State University, her alma mater:

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

In a more recent interview with MySpace, Fischer commented on her desire to focus on comedic roles:

I’m not sure I want to do a straight drama. I like finding the comedy in people and situations and characters. But I am interested in doing something heavier. I’ve been doing a lot of light comedy. I mean, there are so many different kinds of comedy. Once I finish exploring all of that, maybe I’ll move to drama.

LolliLove

Fischer wrote, directed, and starred in the mockumentary LolliLove, co-starring her ex-husband James Gunn, Linda Cardellini, Judy Greer, Lloyd Kaufman, and Jason Segel. For her role in the film, Fischer was awarded a Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actor Award. Her experience on the low-budget film (principal photography cost $1500, mostly for food) discouraged her from any future directorial aspirations, as she told a St. Louis arts and entertainment magazine:

The directing was exhausting and the writing was painful. It was very difficult to direct and star in a movie. We also had a very small crew so I did a lot of things a normal director doesn’t have to do, like make the props and serve lunch. I was simultaneously getting into character, going over my lines, set dressing the next shot, coaching an actor, and brainstorming with my D.P. I’m good at multitasking, but that was too much for me. I couldn’t enjoy any one part the way I would have liked. I think I’ll stick to acting.

Other work

Prior to The Office, her short subject work includes the 2002 film Les Superficiales, a Peter Alton film; Alton later co-wrote and narrated LolliLove. Fischer had a starring role in a 2003 Instant Films short subject called The Girl's Guide to Summer, directed by Instant Film's cofounder (and camera operator) Charles Papert.

She also appeared on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, appearing in the show's eighth tournament, shot in New Orleans, Louisiana and first broadcast in June 2006.

She starred in a music video for Willie Wisely's single, "Through Any Window"; the opportunity arose because she knew Wisely from work he had done on soundtracks for LolliLove and Tromeo and Juliet, one of her husband's films.

In December 2007, during the Hollywood writer's strike, she appeared at Sacred Fools Theatre in episode 25 of Darque Magick, a serialized play written and directed by Jenelle Riley.