Regina Marie “Jenna” Fischer (born March 7, 1974) is an American actress and director. Fischer was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, but raised in the St. Louis, Missouri suburb of Manchester, the daughter of Jim, a plastics engineer, and Anne, a history teacher. Fischer attended Pierremont Elementary School in Manchester, Missouri, and Nerinx Hall High School, a private all-girls Catholic school, in Webster Groves, Missouri. Fischer met Alton at the Zoo District Theatre group, and he later co-wrote and narrated her self-produced film, Lollilove. “I wasn’t working much, getting little guest-star roles months away from each other,” Fischer explained in 2006. Before her initial audition, casting director Allison Jones advised Fischer, “Dare to bore me.” Fischer herself spent several years working as a receptionist and administrative assistant in Los Angeles offices, much like her television counterpart, while struggling to achieve success, and thus felt she was well-suited to the role.
