Kelli Garner

A petite and bright-eyed actress, California native Kelli Garner stumbled into acting in her teen years, making fast inroads into the worlds of film, television and music videos. Creating a name for herself through bad girl roles in early works like the indie drama "Bully" (2001) and TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (The WB/UPN, 1997-2003), Garner branched out into music video appearances for the likes of rappers N.E.R.D. and punk rockers Green Day. With a longtime collaborator in director Mike Mills and a fan in director Martin Scorsese, Garner charmed a wider audience in career-boosting work such as in Scorsese's Golden Age tale, "The Aviator" (2004) and in Mills' contemplative "Thumbsucker" (2005). Garner balanced out work in indie efforts like "Lars and the Real Girl" (2007) with such mainstream fare as the family adventure-comedy "G-Force"(2009), in addition to joining the cast of the retro-drama series "Pan Am" (ABC, 2011-12). More focused on projects that interested her than in landing an attention-grabbing role in the next blockbuster, Garner avoided typecasting in an industry known for its fondness for easy categorization.