Fans Are Convinced Julia and Jennifer Garner Are Secretly Related

Anytime two actors share a similar resemblance or surname, folks tend to wonder if they’re related. Take Billy McFarland and Seth MacFarlane, for instance, their smiles and eyes might look a bit alike, but nope, they’re not family.

The same goes for Drew Tarver and Jason Bateman, who don’t appear to have any connection beyond both working in Hollywood.

But what about Jennifer Garner and Julia Garner? With the same last name and features that could pass them off as relatives, fans have been curious. Are they actually related? Here’s what we know about their relationship, if there is one.

No, Julia Garner and Jennifer Garner are not related. The only things they share are a last name and the fact that they’re both highly successful actors in Hollywood.

Julia, best known for her roles in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Ozark, and for portraying Anna Delvey in Netflix’s Inventing Anna, was born on Feb. 1, 1994, in New York. She has one sibling, Anna Garner.

Her mother, Tami Gingold, is a therapist who previously worked as a comedian in Israel decades ago, which explains Julia’s Israeli heritage, per The New York Times. As for her father, Thomas Garner, he is an art teacher, reportedly from Ohio.

Perhaps what further drives home the point that Jennifer and Julia Garner aren’t related is their difference in religious backgrounds. Julia comes from a Jewish family on her mother’s side, while Jennifer was raised in the church. "I grew up in such a lovely church — the United Methodist Church," Jennifer revealed during a 2023 interview with Allure.

Faith played such a big role in her life that she admitted if she hadn’t gone into acting, she would have wanted to become a minister. "My mom thinks I still will be," she said. "What I like about the study of religion is that it reminds me of the study of theater — it’s really a liberal arts education," Jennifer explained.

Although religion doesn’t completely rule out a family connection, their family trees certainly do. Jennifer is the daughter of William and Patricia Garner. Together, they raised three daughters — Jennifer, Melissa Lynn Garner, and Susannah Kay Garner — in West Virginia. Her father sadly passed away in 2024.

Julia, meanwhile, hasn’t been linked to either Melissa or Susannah — making it pretty clear that Jennifer and Julia simply aren’t related.

Neither Julia nor Jennifer Garner has actors in their families, though Julia's sister works in the arts, and her mom was a comedian. Julia's sister has experience as a producer, writer, and artist, according to Julia’s IMDb page.

Jennifer, on the other hand, has sisters who took entirely different career paths. Melissa, for example, was the valedictorian of her class, per People. Her mom once shared with Southern Living, "I have one daughter who has an MBA, one who is a CPA, and one who is an actress."

So, aside from their last name, nothing really ties Jennifer and Julia together. In fact, they haven’t even appeared in any projects together.