Ginnifer Goodwin

Goodwin was born in Memphis, Tennessee. Her mother, Linda (née Kantor), is a former educator and stay-at-home mom who later worked for FedEx and Apple. Her father, Tim Goodwin, formerly owned and operated a recording studio. Goodwin changed her name from "Jennifer" to "Ginnifer" to distinguish her name, and to assist in pronunciation of her name in her regional dialect. Her younger sister, Melissa Goodwin, is a stop motion animator on shows such as Robot Chicken, on which Ginnifer has also appeared as voice talent.\n', '

Ginnifer\'s mother is of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry. Goodwin was raised attending synagogue on Saturdays and Unitarian church on Sundays. She was both baptized and had a Bat Mitzvah service. In her youth, Goodwin was affiliated with the North American Federation of Temple Youth, and was active in BBYO at the Jewish Community Center in Memphis. She went to school at St. M…