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 16 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. Although she described herself as a "shy" young girl, Garner caught the attention of a talent agent while attending a friend's bar mitzvah, and was subsequently cast in an Eggo commercial. While a student at Thousand Oaks High School, Garner was cast in director Mike Mills's short film Architecture of Assurance in 2000. 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 2000, 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 Ferrera, 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. She had a minor part in the comedy Taking Woodstock (2009), and in the Disney film G-Force (2009), which she followed with a supporting role in Going the Distance (2010), opposite Drew Barrymore. Between 2011 and 2012, she had a main role as Kate Cameron on the period series Pan Am, opposite Christina Ricci.
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 Year Title Role Director(s)Notes 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 Killers2006 Dreamland Calista Return to Rajapur Samantha Hartley / Samantha Doyle2007 Normal Adolescent Behavior Billie Lars and the Real Girl Margo 2008 Red Velvet Linda2009 Taking Woodstock VW Girl G-Force Marcie 2010 Going the Distance Brianna 2011 The Lie Brianna 2013 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 2026 Misty Green Carol
Television Year Title RoleNotes 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 Year Title Role ArtistNotes 2000 "Temperamental" Teenage actress Everything but the Girl2001 "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 Year Title Role Notes 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
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