In the cover story of the July/August 2026 of BETTER HOMES & GARDENS, Jennifer Garner opens up about the family traditions that ground her, the lessons she’s learned from her parents about kindness and self-forgiveness, and why making time for the people you love (even if it’s at 6 a.m!) matters most.
On her one unique request for Mother’s Day this year:
For Mother’s Day this year, Jen asked her kids for something simple: to pile into the upstairs reading nook and let her read aloud from their favorite childhood books one more time. “They’re like, ‘Mom.’ And I’m like, ‘I know, but I think I need that. You have to let me.’”
On making time for her female friendships, even at 6am:
“I feel like I’m usually kind of the buzzkill— ‘sorry, I’m busy.’ But if I’m home and there is free time, I will find time for my ladies. It may be like 6 in the morning, but I will see my friends.”
On feeling like a ‘visitor’ in her own home during busy work periods:
“When I’m working, I can almost feel like a visitor in the house. I’m gone before [the kids] are awake. I give them a kiss when I come home. I might have dinner with them, and then I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry, I have to learn lines and go to bed.’”
On life after her oldest daughter left for college:
“We miss her a lot. When Violet calls or FaceTimes, we’re all crowded around the phone.”
“I remember when my big sister left, my little sister and I connected in a different way. My mom and I connected in a different way. I see that happening [with Fin and Sam], and there’s sweetness in that.”
On what she hopes her children will take from their childhoods:
“I hope they value humor. Laughing your way through it, loving people through it, finding what’s funny. And I hope they take music and books [with them].”
On what she learned from her parents:
“They met people assuming the best, assuming they will love them and receive love from them. I think that’s a gift.”
“If you mess up, if you got out of shape, if you burned something, if you forgot to pick your kid up—which I did the other day—just say, ‘Whoops.” Get past beating yourself up as quickly as possible. It doesn’t help.”
On where she finds her tribe:
“[I’ve] never been somebody who’s been at the center of a social group. The only place where I truly have a tribe is on set because I’ve worked with the same group of people for 25 years. And I’m just one of the cogs in the wheel. We roll onto a new production and we’re like, ‘What’s up?’”
On her approach to balance:
“You can’t live a balanced life day to day, but you can if you look at it through seasons.”
On choosing the right projects:
“I feel like the projects that are meant for me are the ones that come my way. So it’s usually pretty clear what I should lean into and what is not going to be best suited for me.”
[Photo Credit: Celeste Sloman/BHG]
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