Jennifer Garner Glamour December Cover & Interview

GLAMOUR: Your press is impeccable. Your fans adore you. Do you have a dark side, or are you a goody-goody?

JENNIFER GARNER: You totally called me out. I am a bit of a goody-goody. Not that there aren’t times when I think, I was kind of an asshole today. I work in a world in which people are really catered to; someone will come up to me and say, “Is it OK if this person’s makeup is done before yours for the premiere?” Right now Ben’s in Africa studying malaria and visiting slums with a lack of potable water and maternity wards where many women have HIV. So would I really put my energy into worrying that I’m second to get my makeup done? When you think about the bigger picture, it’s hard to not have some perspective.

GLAMOUR: Is being in Hollywood hard on a relationship?

JG: We’ve worked really hard not to be one of those couples who are constantly in the limelight. In the past we’ve both been the kind of people who go along with things—if you’re supposed to be photographed together, you don’t question it. But how does that help your relationship? So now we refuse to walk the red carpet together: It’s a way of not condoning the attention. Plus, it just feels silly to be in that situation with him: Ben was nominated for a Golden Globe [for 2006’s Hollywoodland]. I remember being photographed next to him and thinking, This is ridiculous. You’re not some actor; you’re my husband.

GLAMOUR: J.J. Abrams [creator of Alias] said you were “raised right.” Why do you think younger women in Hollywood, like Britney Spears, are having such a hard time figuring out how to behave?

JG: My heart just goes out to those girls, especially Britney. After her performance at the VMAs [MTV’s Video Music Awards, where Garner was a presenter], I wanted to go backstage and mother her. The way everyone was celebrating [her shaky performance] was so unfair. If I’d experienced that level of scrutiny at her age—even with my background—I don’t know if today you’d be saying I was “raised right.”

GLAMOUR: Do you ever worry that Violet is growing up in the spotlight?

JG: It’s not my favorite thing, but it’s a fact of life. It’s important to us that she remain a kid. If she wants to do theater someday, OK. But as far as making a living from it, that’s not a kid’s job. We won’t allow it.

GLAMOUR: So do you see yourself having another child?

JG: I always wanted to have several. And Violet needs a sibling. But I’m not pregnant, and we’re not trying yet. [Laughs.]