Jennifer Morrison

Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress and director born on April 12, 1979. She is best known for her television roles as Dr. Allison Cameron in the medical drama House and Emma Swan in the adventure-fantasy series Once Upon a Time. She has also appeared in notable productions such as How I Met Your Mother, Star Trek, and Warrior, and made her feature film directorial debut with Sun Dogs in 2017.

Morrison was born in Chicago, Illinois, and raised in Arlington Heights, Illinois, as the oldest of three children. Her father was a music teacher and band director named Teacher of the Year by the Illinois State Board of Education in 2003. Morrison attended Prospect High School, where she participated in choir, cheerleading, and marching band as an All-State clarinet player. She graduated from Loyola University Chicago in 2000 with a major in theatre and a minor in English, and studied at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company before moving to Los Angeles.

She began her career as a child model, appearing in advertisements for JCPenney, Montgomery Ward, Rice Krispies, and Mondo, as well as the cover of Sports Illustrated for Kids in 1992. Morrison made her feature-film debut at age 14 in Intersection (1994) and later appeared in Stir of Echoes (1999). She earned her first leading film role in Urban Legends: Final Cut (2000), followed by appearances in Grind, Surviving Christmas, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

In 2004, Morrison was cast as immunologist Dr. Allison Cameron on House, playing the character for six seasons as a series regular before returning for later guest appearances and the 2012 finale. During this period, she starred in and produced the independent film Flourish (2006). She also helped bring the project that became Glee to writer Ryan Murphy, receiving an associate producer credit on its first season.

Morrison expanded into additional television, film, and multimedia projects, including the video game Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, the 2007 television film The Murder of Princess Diana, and the 2009 film Star Trek as Winona Kirk. She played Zoey Pierson in How I Met Your Mother and Tess Conlon in the 2011 movie Warrior. From 2011 to 2018, she starred as Emma Swan in Once Upon a Time.

In 2016, Morrison launched her production company, Apartment 3C Productions, directing her feature debut Sun Dogs. Her stage work includes Broadway's The Miracle Worker and the off-Broadway revival of The End of Longing. She also appeared in Amityville: The Awakening and had a recurring role as Marine veteran Cassidy Sharp on This Is Us starting in 2019.