Kelli Garner

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title: "Kelli Garner" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["1984-births", "20th-century-american-actresses", "21st-century-american-actresses", "actresses-from-bakersfield,-california", "actresses-from-thousand-oaks,-california", "american-child-actresses", "american-film-actresses", "american-stage-actresses", "american-television-actresses", "living-people"] description: "American actress (born 1984)" topic_path: "arts" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelli_Garner" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary American actress (born 1984) ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox person"]

Field	Value
image	KelliGarnerTorontoFilmFestival2007 Crop.jpg
name	Kelli Garner
caption	Garner in 2005
birth_name	Kelli Brianne Garner
birth_date
birth_place	Bakersfield, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years_active	2000–present
::

| image = KelliGarnerTorontoFilmFestival2007 Crop.jpg | name = Kelli Garner | caption = Garner in 2005 | birth_name = Kelli Brianne Garner | birth_date = | birth_place = Bakersfield, California, U.S. | occupation = Actress | years_active = 2000–present

Kelli Brianne Garner (born April 11, 1984) is an American actress who has appeared in a variety of independent and mainstream films, television, and theater.

A native of Southern California, Garner made her feature film debut at age 17 in Larry Clark's thriller Bully (2001), followed by a supporting role as Faith Domergue in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004). In 2005, she made her New York stage debut in an off-Broadway production of Dog Sees God. Over the following several years, Garner had lead roles in the independent film Thumbsucker (2005), the studio comedy Man of the House (2005), and the comedy-drama Lars and the Real Girl (2007). She returned to theater in 2008, appearing in an off-Broadway production of The Seagull opposite Dianne Wiest.

Garner subsequently had a supporting role in the Disney animated film G-Force (2009), and from 2011 to 2012, had a lead role on the short-lived period drama Pan Am, portraying a flight attendant. She later co-starred in Alexandre Aja's fantasy horror film Horns (2014) opposite Daniel Radcliffe. In 2015, Garner portrayed Marilyn Monroe in the television film The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, opposite Susan Sarandon. She subsequently guest-starred on the series Looking (2014–2015) before starring as the lead on the NBC drama series The Enemy Within, which ran for one season in 2019. She also had a minor role in the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).

Early life

Garner was born on April 11, 1984, in Bakersfield, California, and spent her early childhood in Newbury Park before her family settled in Thousand Oaks. Garner was a talented soccer player in high school, and had planned on pursuing it as a career before she began working as an actress.

Career

Garner had appeared in several short films before being cast in a supporting role in the television film Time Share in 2000. In 2001, she was cast in Larry Clark's controversial crime thriller Bully (2001), in which she portrayed Heather Swallers, a teenager who participates with her friends in an orchestrated murder of one of their peers; Clark cast Garner in the film after seeing her performance in Architecture of Assurance. The film, which was based on the real-life 1993 murder of Bobby Kent, received critical acclaim.

Her next major role came at age 19 in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004), in which she portrayed actress Faith Domergue, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio as Howard Hughes. According to Garner, she wore brown contact lenses to her audition to further embody Domergue; she has said that she tripped and fell when entering the audition room in front of Scorsese and DiCaprio. "I thought I'd lost the job," she recalled, "But I think it was that moment that made it work [because] the character was someone who was trying to be much older than she was." The next year, she appeared in the comedy Man of the House, and the independent teen drama Thumbsucker (2005), opposite Lou Taylor Pucci and Vince Vaughn. She had supporting parts in the independent films London (2005) and Dreamland (2006), the latter of which earned her a Best Actress award at Method Fest Independent Film Festival, shared with co-star Agnes Bruckner.

In December 2005, Garner starred in the off-Broadway production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead at the Century Center for the Performing Arts, co-starring with America Ferrara, Eddie Kaye Thomas, and Ari Graynor, among others. She later appeared in the Green Day music video "Jesus of Suburbia" (with Thumbsucker co-star Lou Taylor Pucci).

In 2007, Garner appeared in a lead role in the critically acclaimed drama Lars and the Real Girl as Ryan Gosling's co-worker and love interest. In 2008, she appeared again onstage in an off-Broadway production of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull opposite Dianne Wiest, as Nina. Ben Brantley of The New York Times, though critical of some elements of the production, praised Garner's performance among her younger co-stars.

Garner was next cast in Alexandre Aja's horror-fantasy Horns (2014) with Daniel Radcliffe, and played the title role in the Lifetime miniseries The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe, opposite Susan Sarandon as her mother. She also appeared in the independent film One More Time (2015) with Christopher Walken and Amber Heard. Between 2014 and 2015, she had a guest-starring role on the gay-themed series Looking, playing the sister of the lead character, Patrick Murray. In 2019, Garner had a supporting part in the action film Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and also starred as a lead opposite Jennifer Carpenter and Morris Chestnut on the series The Enemy Within.

Filmography

Film

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Director(s)	Notes	Ref.
2001	Bully	Heather Swallers
2002	Love Liza	Huffer Girl
Hometown Legend	Josie
Outside	The Girl
2004	**	Faith Domergue
2005	**	Bride
Thumbsucker	Rebecca
Man of the House	Barbara 'Barb' Thompson
London	Maya
Piggy Banks	Archer		Also known as: Born Killers
2006	Dreamland	Calista
Return to Rajapur	Samantha Hartley / Samantha Doyle
2007	Normal Adolescent Behavior	Billie
Lars and the Real Girl	Margo
2008	Red Velvet	Linda
2009	Taking Woodstock	VW Girl
G-Force	Marcie
2010	Going the Distance	Brianna
2011	The Lie	Brianna
2014	Horns	Glenna Shepherd
2015	Americana	Kate
One More Time	Corinne
2019	Godzilla: King of the Monsters	USS Argo Officer Cross
2021	What Josiah Saw	Mary Milner
2023	V/H/S/85	Dr. Sara Greyson	, ,
, ,
Segment: "Total Copy"
Walden	Emily Duperon
TBA	Misty Green		Filming
::

Television

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2000	Time Share	Kelly, The Beach Girl	Television film
2001	Buffy the Vampire Slayer	Kirstie	Episode: "The Body"
2001–2002	Grounded for Life	Tracey	2 episodes
2002	Da Möb	Melanie Spores	Voice role; episode: "Lo Fidelity"
2003	Regular Joe	Nikki	Episode: "Boobysitting"
2004	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Brittany O'Malley	Episode: "Mean"
2009	American Dad!	Waitress	Voice role; episode: "Stan Time"
2010	My Generation	Dawn Barbuso	Main role
2011–2012	Pan Am	Kate Cameron	Main role
2013	Two Wrongs	Jenny	Television film
2014–2015	Looking	Megan Murray	2 episodes
2015	The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe	Marilyn Monroe	Miniseries
2019	The Enemy Within	Kate Ryan	Main role
2022	American Gigolo	Claire	2 episodes
::

Music videos

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Artist	Notes
2000	"Temperamental"	Teenage actress	Everything but the Girl
2001	"Epiphany"	N/A	Staind
"Provider"	Girlfriend	N.E.R.D.
2005	"Jesus of Suburbia"	Whatsername	Green Day
"Whatsername"	Whatsername	Green Day	Unreleased
2019	"I Don't Want to be Your Love"	Unknown	Joseph Shabason
::

Stage credits

::data[format=table]

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Ref.
2005	Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead	Tricia	Century Center for the Performing Arts, New York City
2008	The Seagull	Nina	East 13th Street Theater, New York City
::

References

References

1. "Kelli Garner". Ask Men.
2. (July 22, 2009). "Today's Girl: Kelli Garner".
3. (2023-12-11). "Bakersfield’s Kelli Garner tackles complicated role in ‘Walden’".
4. (2024-04-19). "New DVD ‘Walden’ stars Bakersfield’s Kelli Garner".
5. Dransfeldt, Jeffrey. (January 20, 2008). "Kelli Garner of T.O. reaches for intriguing film roles". [[Ventura County Star]].
6. Ebert, Roger. (July 20, 2001). "Bully Movie Review". Chicago Sun-Times.
7. (October 28, 2014). "Lifetime Casts 'Pan Am,' 'The Aviator' Actress Kelli Garner As Marilyn Monroe In Upcoming Miniseries". Beauty World News.
8. Garner, Kelli. (May 22, 2015). "Kelli Garner on ''The Talk''".
9. (November 13, 2006). "Screen World Film Annual". Hal Leonard Corporation.
10. (October 12, 2007). "'Lars and the Real Girl' is a Whimsical Fable". New York Daily News.
11. Petski, Denise. (August 1, 2019). "Kelli Garner Signs With More/Medavoy For Management". [[Deadline Hollywood]].
12. Sullivan, Kevin P.. (March 26, 2015). "First look: Kelli Garner in The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe".
13. "Kelli Garner Credits". [[TV Guide]].
14. (2006). "Unscripted: Dreamland - Kelli Garner & Justin Long - Full Interview". [[AOL]].
15. "Kelli Garner Filmography". [[AllMovie]].
16. Hernandez, Ernio. (November 1, 2005). "Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead's Starry Cast Complete". [[Playbill]].
17. Brantley, Ben. (March 14, 2008). "On a Russian Estate, Dormant Passions, Art and Self- Consciousness". [[The New York Times]].

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