A.J. Cook Biography
Summary
"Andrea Joy 'A.J.' Cook" (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress best known for her role as Special Agent Jennifer 'JJ' Jareau in the CBS crime drama "Criminal Minds" and her role in the short-lived series, Tru Calling as Lindsay Walker.
She has also appeared in several Hollywood films including "The Virgin Suicides", "Out Cold", and "Final Destination 2".
Early life
Cook was born in Oshawa, Ontario and spent most of her life growing up in Whitby. Her father, Mike, is a teacher and her mother, Sandra, works for a psychiatrist. She has three siblings, Nathan, Paul, and Angela. Cook is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As a devout Mormon, she accepts only roles that do not conflict with her faith. At four years of age, Cook began taking jazz, tap and ballet lessons. She danced competitively for many years, before deciding at the age of 17 that she wanted to try acting.
Career
Cook's first job was in a McDonald's commercial in 1997. She graduated to series work with a guest role on the television series "Goosebumps", and parts in two television movies, "In His Father's Shoes" and "Elvis Meets Nixon". Cook launched her feature film career as one of five captivating suicidal sisters in 1999's "The Virgin Suicides". Also that year, she took a starring role in the TV series "Higher Ground", in which Cook played Shelby Merrick, a rough-around-the-edges teenage girl dealing with abuse and heartache at a wilderness school for struggling kids. "Higher Ground" lasted one season, ending with a romance between Shelby and Hayden Christensen's character, Scott.
After "Higher Ground", Cook appeared in the 2000 TV movie "The Spiral Staircase" (alongside "Higher Ground" alum Kandyse McClure), and then captured leading roles in several films, including "Out Cold" (as Jason London's love interest), "Ripper", "I'm Reed Fish", and "Final Destination 2".
She currently stars as Jennifer 'J.J.' Jareau in the CBS drama "Criminal Minds".
Personal life
In September 2001, Cook married her long-time boyfriend Nathan Anderson, whom she met in a film class at Utah Valley University (UVU). She later moved to Salt Lake City, Utah to be with him and currently resides in Los Angeles, California.
In March 2008, it was reported that Cook and Anderson would be expecting their first child in October. The couple welcomed son Mekhai Allan Anderson on Saturday, September 13th. Weighing in at 7 lbs, 10 oz and 20 inches long, Mekhai was born at 8:50 p.m. A.J. said 'He's such a good baby. I feel so lucky that he's mine. My husband and I feel very blessed!'
External links
(A. J. Cook Bio at CBS) - Criminal Minds
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about A.J. Cook.
