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Role : Special Agent Jennifer “JJ” Jareau
Gender : Female
Birthday : 22nd July 1978
Birth Name : Andrea Joy Cook
Birth Place : Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
Height : 5′ 6½” (1.69 m)
Recent Role : Special Agent Jennifer “JJ” Jareau on Criminal Minds

A.J. Cook was born as the daughter of Sandra and Mike. Her father works as a teacher while her mother is an employee of a psychiatrist. Her three siblings are named Nathan, Paul, and Angela. She is devout Mormon and a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As such, she takes up only those roles that are not inconsistent with her religious beliefs.

A.J. was only four years old when she started taking lessons in jazz, tap and ballet dancing. Prior to making up her mind about giving acting a try, she participated in various dance competitions for many years, before she turned 17. She even worked as a dance teacher in Oshawa.

A.J. is married to Nathan Anderson, who had been her boyfriend for a long time. The two met for the first time when they were attending a film class at the Utah Valley University. They got married in September 2001. The couple welcomed their first child, a baby boy whom they named Mekhai Allan Anderson, on 13 September 2008.

A.J. started her career in 1997 when she appeared a commercial for McDonald. This led her to getting a guest appearance role in the series Goosebumps. She then moved on to appear on other shows like, In His Father’s Shoes, PSI Factor, The Spiral Staircase, First Wave, Higher Ground, Dead Like Me, Tru Calling and Vanished etc.. However, the role for which she earned much recognition and popularity was that of Jennifer “JJ” Jareau, for the series Criminal Minds.
Besides proving acting talents on the small screen, A.J. has also impressed the movie fanatics with her histrionics. Some of the movies in which she has appeared in are Laserhawk, The Virgin Suicides, Out Cold, Wishmaster 3: Beyond Gates Of Hell, Ripper: Letter from Hell, The House Next Door, Final Destination 2, Bloodsuckers, Night Skies, I’m Reed Fish and Misconceptions.

Role In Criminal Minds

In Criminal Minds, she has portrayed the character of Jennifer “JJ” Jareau. She is the team’s link with the media and local police agencies. During her senior year at the Georgetown University, she saw a speech given by David Rossi that inspired her into taking up a career with the FBI. Although she holds the qualifications necessary to become a federal agent, but she has herself said that she is not interested in becoming a criminal profiler. The pregnancy of the A.J. Cook was written into the plotline of the show, due to which JJ was shown giving birth to a baby boy fathered by William LaMontagne, in season 4 of the show. JJ has since then, resumed her job with the team.