Ginnifer Goodwin (born Jennifer Michelle Goodwin) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Mary Margaret Blanchard/Snow White in the ABC series Once Upon a Time, as Margene Heffman on the HBO's Big Love, and starring in the movies Mona Lisa Smile, He's Just Not That into You, and Something Borrowed.
Goodwin changed her name from "Jennifer" to "Ginnifer" to distinguish her name, and to assist in pronunciation of her name in her regional dialect. Her younger sister, Melissa Goodwin, is a stop motion animator on shows such as the Emmy Award-winning Robot Chicken, on which Ginnifer has also appeared as voice talent.
She graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in 1996, then attended Hanover College (majoring in Theatre) for one year before moving on to earn 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. She 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 studied in England at Stratford Upon-Avon’s Shakespeare Institute, in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company. The following year she earned an "Acting Shakespeare Certificate" at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.
Goodwin first had roles in the NBC's Law & Order and Ed before appearing in the Comedy Central TV movie Porn 'n Chicken. She then 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 played a leading role as Margene Heffman, the third wife in a polygamous family, on the HBO original series Big Love. She played Gigi in He's Just Not That Into You (2009), for which she received a nomination for the People's Choice Award for Breakout Movie Actress. She appeared in the film Ramona and Beezus (2010), playing "Aunt Bea".
From 2011 to 2017, she played a leading role in the ABC fantasy drama series Once Upon a Time as both the fairy tale heroine Snow White and her real-world counterpart, schoolteacher Mary Margaret Blanchard. She married her co-star Josh Dallas, who played the role of Prince Charming. She and Josh exited the show at the end of its sixth season to move back to Los Angeles with their family and they both returned to the series for its finale at the end of the seventh season.
She 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, she was cast as Marianne in the Los Angeles production of Constellations, which 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. She played Jodie in the short-lived FOX comedy series Pivoting (2022).
