Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She starred as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011), Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fantasy series Once Upon a Time (2011–2018), Judy Hopps in Zootopia (2016) and Beth Ann Stanton in Why Women Kill (2019). Goodwin appeared in films, including the drama Mona Lisa Smile (2003), the musical biopic Walk the Line (2005), the romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You (2009), the family comedy Ramona and Beezus (2010), the romantic comedy Something Borrowed (2011), and the biopic Killing Kennedy (2013). She also voiced the lead role of Fawn in the Disney animated fantasy film Tinker Bell and the Legend of the NeverBeast (2014).

Early life and education

Goodwin was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Her mother, Linda (Kantor) Goodwin, is a former teacher who also worked for FedEx. Her father, Tim Goodwin, formerly owned and operated a recording studio. Goodwin changed the spelling of her name from "Jennifer" to "Ginnifer" to distinguish her name, and to assist in how her name is pronounced in her Southern regional dialect. Her younger sister, Melissa Goodwin, is a stop-motion animator on shows such as Robot Chicken. Goodwin's mother is Jewish. Goodwin was raised attending both the First Unitarian Church and Temple Israel. As a child, she attended the Henry S. Jacobs Camp, a summer camp for Reform Jewish children in Utica, Mississippi. She was baptized as a child and also studied to have a bat mitzvah service, in the Jewish custom of recognizing her coming of age. In her youth, Goodwin was affiliated with the North American Federation of Temple Youth. She was active in BBYO at the Jewish Community Center in Memphis. She attended the private St. Mary's Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee. She graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996. She attended Hanover College (majoring in theater) for one year before transferring and completing her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Boston University. While a student at BU, she performed in numerous student short films, as well as several college and local stage productions. Goodwin was given the "Excellence in Acting: Professional Promise Award" by the Bette Davis Foundation, and graduated with honors. After her time at Boston University, she lived for a time in England and studied at Stratford on Avon's Shakespeare Institute, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The following year, she earned an Acting Shakespeare Certificate from London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

Career

Goodwin first had roles in the NBC television programs Law & Order and Ed before appearing in the Comedy Central television movie Porn 'n Chicken. She later had substantial roles in the films Mona Lisa Smile, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, Walk the Line—in which she portrayed Vivian Liberto, Johnny Cash's first wife—and Birds of America. She also played Dori Dumchovic in the dark comedy Love Comes to the Executioner. Goodwin played a leading role as Margene Heffman, the third wife in a polygamous family, on the HBO original series Big Love, which concluded on March 20, 2011. Goodwin has done voice work in the Adult Swim series Robot Chicken, where her younger sister Melissa works as an animator. In 2008, Max Mara honored Goodwin with a "Face of the Future" award, an award recognizing up-and-coming women in film. Goodwin played Gigi in He's Just Not That Into You (2009). For this role, she received a nomination for the People's Choice Award for Breakout Movie Actress. In April 2009 she began filming Ramona and Beezus, playing "Aunt Bea". The film was released on July 23, 2010. From 2011 to 2017, Goodwin played a leading role in the ABC fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time. She played both the fairy tale heroine Snow White and her real-world counterpart, schoolteacher Mary Margaret Blanchard. Goodwin and husband Josh Dallas left the show at the end of its sixth season to move back to Los Angeles with their family. They both returned to the series for its finale at the end of the seventh season. Goodwin voiced Judy Hopps, the protagonist rabbit police officer in Disney's Zootopia, as well as Fawn in Disney's animated film Tinker Bell and the Legend of the Neverbeast. She also voiced Gwen, a kitchen maid who wants to be an inventor, in the animated series Sofia The First. In January 2017, Goodwin was cast as Marianne in the Los Angeles production of Constellations. The play ran from June 14 to July 23, 2017, at the Geffen Playhouse. In 2019, Goodwin appeared in episodes of the anthology series The Twilight Zone and Heartstrings. Also in 2019, she starred as Beth Ann in the first season of the CBS All Access dark comedy-drama series Why Women Kill. Goodwin played Jodie in the Fox comedy series Pivoting, which premiered on January 9, 2022. The show was cancelled after one season. Goodwin will reprise her voice role as Judy Hopps in Disney's Zootopia 2, set for release in November 2025.

Personal life

Goodwin dated actor Joey Kern and they became engaged in December 2010. They ended the engagement in May 2011. Goodwin subsequently began dating her Once Upon a Time co-star Josh Dallas in late 2011. They got engaged in October 2013 and married on April 12, 2014, in California. They have two sons, born in May 2014 and June 2016. In 2013, Goodwin said that after leaving Memphis, she "up and left Judaism for a very long time," and that "for 10 years, there was nothing. No ritual. No tradition. No community." She later reconnected with her faith, and has said, "I was a Jew by birth, and now I'm a Jew by choice." Following the October 7 Hamas-led attack on Israel in 2023, Goodwin has been vocal about her support for Israel on Social Media, calling for the return of kidnapped child hostages on her Instagram account. Goodwin also filmed a video for the American Jewish Committee in which she claimed that the phrase "Globalize the Intifada" called for Jews worldwide to be attacked. In February 2024, Goodwin signed an open letter by Creative Community for Peace rejecting calls for Israel to be banned from Eurovision 2024 amid the ingoing Israel-Hamas war. In September 2024, Goodwin attended Zionist activist Hen Mazzig's seminar Jews Talk Justice Laboratories in Los Angeles.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Theater

Awards and nominations