As Pam Beesly, the receptionist on NBC’s hit series The Office, Jenna Fischer is admirably efficient and punctual—and cute and lovable. So I demanded to know why she was late phoning me in real life. Here’s her wonderful excuse:

“I just moved and was showing my cat around the new garden,” she explained. “He got away from me, and I knew I was supposed to call, but I was terrified I’d lose him in a neighborhood he didn’t know. He’s 15 years old and weighs 15 pounds, and that’s why I was late.”

This is quite a gal. When I asked Jenna why she’d just moved, she surprised me with her candor. “ My husband and I recently separated,” she said. “It’s sad, but we remain close. My husband got the dog, and I got the cat. But the dog and cat miss each other, so we must have a sleepover one of these days.” Which was my cue to suggest that maybe she and her husband might also reunite. “ Everything is possible,” she said brightly. “That would be the best!”

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Her parents, a schoolteacher mother and an engineer dad, still live in the St. Louis area, where Jenna grew up. But her new house is in the San Fernando Valley, convenient to where they shoot The Office.

When Jenna first moved to California and was adding increasingly ripe roles to her résumé, she continued to work as a secretary in the L.A. office of a Boston investment firm.

“I had a great boss who covered for me whenever I had an audition,” she said. “My husband said, ‘ Why don’t you quit?’ but I was still struggling, and I stayed on the job. There’s not a real generosity of spirit among actors in L.A., and my boss was so supportive. Now he delights in getting pickled while watching me on TV.

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Brady's Bits

Jenna’s last big film role was in Blades of Glory, the ice-skating flick. “It was my first big studio film, and I felt like the country mouse visiting the city mouse,” she said. But soon she’ll appear in Walk Hard, a Forrest Gump-like story of a fictional musician, played by John C. Reilly. “ I play the wife as a blend of Priscilla Presley and June Carter Cash,” said Jenna. “More June, but with Priscilla’s sexy fashion sense.” How was Reilly? “I’d worked before with John in a small film called The Good Life,” she said. “We were having dinner one night, and I told him I’d been sent a script for Walk Hard, and he said, ‘But I’m going to do that. You’ve got to do it too.’”

Personal

Born March 7, 1974, in Fort Wayne, Ind. Married to James Gunn since 2000 (separated).

Why You Know Her

She plays the lovestruck receptionist on The Office. She had her first major film role in Blades of Glory (2007) and even made an appearance in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005).

What You Don’t Know

Having worked as a real-life receptionist, she can type 85 words a minute with 90% accuracy. She also once answered an ad to work as a telephone psychic.

 

Related Links

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