Jennifer Garner offered a rare glimpse into her life when she posted about the things that make her happy.
Jennifer Garner Shows Off Secret Skills & Talents
The “13 Going on 30” actress shared the post on Instagram on Saturday, October 10. It includes multiple slides, including a video of her playing the piano, posing in her full swimming gear, working out and strength training, posing for a loving photo with family members, and a video of fresh produce from the farmer’s market.
Other slides include ghost lanterns hanging from the tree. Photos of her baked goods, a home aquarium, a full candy drawer, and dried herbs from her garden.
In the captions, she wrote, “Things making me happy: working on being a lap swimmer. Things making me happy: being a beginner at piano; things making me happy: getting stronger (we have to lift heavy, right, @bethjnicely?). Things making me happy: my family. Things making me happy: my farmer’s market.”
Other captions include, “Things making me happy: my spooky house; things making me happy: baking in the fall. Things making me happy: my fish. Things making me happy: my candy drawer is on point for Halloween. Things making me happy: drying herbs from my garden.
Fans reacted in the post’s comment section. “Things that make me happy: reading Jennifer’s posts which are always joyful,” a fan wrote. “Wow, what a nice surprise to hear you play my music this morning. Keep those wrists loose!” another fan shared.
Other reactions include, “The swimming community welcomes you with open arms,” “I love being a beginner,” and “YOU are making me happy!”
Jennifer Garner Learns New Things for Her Roles
Garner has tried many hobbies, but she has also transformed both in appearance and in learning new skills for her career. “I am grateful that my job asks me to learn bits of so many things,” she wrote in a November 2025 Instagram post, People reports. “Grateful for patient teachers. And am grateful for everyone here who plays along.”
Garner listed some of the things she has learned to do, including fighting, using weapons, learning “all the spy languages,” taking “equestrian lessons,” and learning to “turn wood.”
In June 2026, Garner spoke about her career and how it still brings her so much joy. “I feel lucky because I really come at [acting] from a place of joy,” she told InStyle. “I’m not tortured. It’s not filling a hole. I just really love to do it. And I love to be around people who love to do it. I was really, really happy when I was working in summer stock and making a hundred bucks a week.”
She continued, “To have this year and a half where I just indulged [in acting], because this job is very selfish. It’s all about your schedule; it’s not about what the kids have going on at school. It’s not about pickups and drop-offs and making it home for dinner…When I work, I don’t apologize to my kids for it. I do thank them for being so sweet about it. But that’s part of life. Working hard is part of life, and messing up is part of life. Tripping and falling—there’s room for all of it.”
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Jennifer Garner Shares Rare Glimpse Into Her Life as She Shows Secret Skills That Make Her Happy