A. J. Cook (actress)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Andrea Joy Cook (born July 22, 1978) is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
crime drama ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
'' (2005–2020, 2022–). Cook has also appeared in ''
The Virgin Suicides ''The Virgin Suicides'' is a coming-of-age thriller novel and the debut novel by American writer Jeffrey Eugenides, published in 1993. The story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sis ...
'' (1999), ''Higher Ground'' (2000), ''Ripper'' (2001), '' Out Cold'' (2001), ''
Final Destination 2 ''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis from a screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and Jeffrey Reddick. It is the sequel to ''Final Destinati ...
'' (2003), and ''
Tru Calling ''Tru Calling'' is an American Supernatural fiction, supernatural Drama (film and television), drama television series which aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Original episodes aired between October 30, 2003, and April 21, 2005; however, t ...
'' (2003–2004).


Early life

Cook was born in
Oshawa Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario, approximately east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of the Greater Toronto Area and of the Golden Horseshoe. It ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
. She spent most of her early life in nearby
Whitby Whitby is a seaside town, port and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is on the Yorkshire Coast at the mouth of the River Esk, North Yorkshire, River Esk and has a maritime, mineral and tourist economy. From the Middle Ages, Whitby ...
, where she attended
Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute (Anderson CVI, Anderson Collegiate, Anderson, or ACVI) is located in Whitby, Ontario within the Durham District School Board. Established in 1960, the school has students in grades 9–12 and offers a wid ...
. She has three siblings: Nathan, Paul, and Angela. Cook was declared legally blind in the second grade because of severe
astigmatism Astigmatism is a type of refractive error due to rotational asymmetry in the eye's refractive power. The lens and cornea of an eye without astigmatism are nearly spherical, with only a single radius of curvature, and any refractive errors ...
, but wore contacts and thick "Coke bottle" glasses to correct her vision. Talking about her childhood, Cook recalled how other kids were "cruel" and that she "really couldn't see" and "everything looked like a smear of colour with no shapes". She also said that at the time of her diagnosis, she was not doing well in school. At first, people thought she had a learning disability because she could not read. In reality, she could not see the board, which affected her ability to recognize letters and know the sounds they made. In 2007, a surgical lens implant corrected the impairment. A dancer from age four, Cook began taking
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, tap and
ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
lessons. She said that dance kept her engaged growing up as she did not have to recite or read anything. She danced competitively for many years, before deciding at the age of 16 that she wanted to try acting. Cook also taught dance when she was younger and has stated that if she hadn't become an actress, she would most likely have set up a small dance studio somewhere. In an interview, she said that she still tap dances.


Career

Cook's first job was in a
McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...
commercial in 1997. She graduated to series work with a guest role on the television series ''
Goosebumps ''Goosebumps'' is a series of children's horror novels written by American author R. L. Stine. The protagonists in these stories are teens or pre-teens who find themselves in frightening circumstances, often involving the supernatural, the p ...
'' and parts in two television movies, ''In His Father's Shoes'' and ''
Elvis Meets Nixon ''Elvis Meets Nixon'' is a 1997 Canadian-American mockumentary film directed by Allan Arkush and starring Rick Peters, Bob Gunton, and Alyson Court. It is an embellished account of the true story of American singer Elvis Presley meeting Pre ...
''. Cook launched her feature film career as one of five suicidal Lisbon sisters in 1999's ''
The Virgin Suicides ''The Virgin Suicides'' is a coming-of-age thriller novel and the debut novel by American writer Jeffrey Eugenides, published in 1993. The story, which is set in Grosse Pointe, Michigan during the 1970s, centers on the lives of five doomed sis ...
''. Also that year, she took a starring role in the TV series '' Higher Ground'', in which Cook played Shelby Merrick, an adolescent girl dealing with abuse and heartache at a wilderness school for struggling teens. ''Higher Ground'' lasted one season, ending with a romance between Shelby and
Hayden Christensen Hayden Christensen (born April 19, 1981) is a Canadian actor. He gained recognition for his portrayal of Anakin Skywalker / Darth Vader in the ''Star Wars'' media franchise. He first appeared in the prequel trilogy films, '' Star Wars: Episod ...
's character Scott. After ''Higher Ground'', Cook appeared in the 2000
TV movie A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a terrest ...
'' The Spiral Staircase'' (alongside ''Higher Ground'' alum
Kandyse McClure Candice McClure (born 22 March 1980), known professionally as Kandyse McClure, is a Canadian actress. She gained prominence through her roles in the Fox Family Channel, Fox Family series ''Higher Ground (TV series), Higher Ground'' (2000), the N ...
), and then captured leading roles in several films, including '' Out Cold'' (as
Jason London Jason Paul London (born November 7, 1972) is an American actor, known for his roles as Randall "Pink" Floyd in director Richard Linklater's film '' Dazed and Confused'' (1993), Jesse in '' The Rage: Carrie 2'' (1999), and Rick Rambis in '' Out Co ...
's love interest), '' Ripper'', ''
I'm Reed Fish ''I'm Reed Fish'' is a 2006 American romantic comedy film based on a story by Reed Fish. It was first released on April 25, 2006 at the Tribeca Film Festival, then released theatrically on June 1, 2007, and on DVD on September 4, 2007. The film ...
'', and ''
Final Destination 2 ''Final Destination 2'' is a 2003 American supernatural horror film directed by David R. Ellis from a screenplay by J. Mackye Gruber and Eric Bress, based on a story by Gruber, Bress, and Jeffrey Reddick. It is the sequel to ''Final Destinati ...
''. In 2003, Cook guest starred in ''
Dead Like Me ''Dead Like Me'' is an American comedy-drama television series starring Ellen Muth and Mandy Patinkin as grim reapers who reside and work in Seattle, Washington. Filmed in Vancouver, British Columbia, the show was created by Bryan Fuller for ...
''. She was also in Season One of ''
Tru Calling ''Tru Calling'' is an American Supernatural fiction, supernatural Drama (film and television), drama television series which aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox. Original episodes aired between October 30, 2003, and April 21, 2005; however, t ...
'' as Lindsay Walker. Beginning in September 2005, she starred as Jennifer "J.J." Jareau in the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
drama ''
Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created by Jeff Davis that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005. It follows a group of criminal profilers who work for the FBI as members of its Behavioral ...
''. On June 14, 2010, it was announced that her contract option would not be picked up for season six as a series regular reportedly due to budget cuts on the show, but she returned for two episodes to wrap up her character's storyline due to thousands of letters and petitions written to the show's producers. She also returned for one episode for the departure of
Paget Brewster Paget Valerie Brewster ( ; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress. She first received recognition for her recurring role as Kathy on the fourth season of ''Friends''. She gained wider recognition as FBI Supervisory Special Agent Emily Pre ...
from the series. Former executive producer of ''Criminal Minds'', Ed Bernero, later claimed that CBS executives called him one day and asked him to get rid of Cook and Brewster. Brewster also mentioned in a separate interview that someone from CBS called Bernero and said they wanted "new women" which led to their firing. She said that it was not due to budget cuts as their replacement was paid twice what they were paid. In April 2011, it was reported that Cook had signed to reappear for two more seasons of the show. In 2013, Cook and her ''Criminal Minds'' co-star Kirsten Vangsness managed to negotiate salary raises but not parity after years of being paid less than half the salary of fellow co-stars Matthew Gray Gubler and Shemar Moore. In 2017, both women held out on signing new contracts as they sought pay parity with Gubler. They eventually succeeded and closed new deals to return. Cook would continue to star in the series until it ended in 2020 after 15 seasons. After the show wrapped, Cook decided to take a break from acting and in 2022, she guest-starred on the show ''
9-1-1 911, sometimes written , is an emergency telephone number for Argentina, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Fiji, Jordan, Mexico, Pakistan, Maldives, Palau, Panama, Iraq, the Philippines, Sint Maarten, the United States, and Uruguay, as well as ...
''. It was also announced that she would be returning for the ''Criminal Minds'' revival.


Other ventures

In 2013, it was announced she was hired as a spokeswoman for
Proactiv Proactiv is an American brand of skin-care products developed by two American dermatologists, Katie Rodan and Kathy A. Fields, and launched in 1995 by Guthy-Renker, a California-based direct marketing company, that was endorsed by famous cele ...
. She appeared in the January/February 2014 issue of ''
Maxim Maxim or Maksim may refer to: Entertainment *Maxim (magazine), ''Maxim'' (magazine), an international men's magazine ** Maxim (Australia), ''Maxim'' (Australia), the Australian edition ** Maxim (India), ''Maxim'' (India), the Indian edition *Maxim ...
'' magazine. She was ranked at 88 on the Maxim Hot 100 2014 list. She was the Grand Marshal for the
STP 500 The Cook Out 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car racing, stock car race held at the Martinsville Speedway in Ridgeway, Virginia. It is the first of two Cup Series races at the track, the other one being the Xfinity 500 in the NASCAR pla ...
at
Martinsville Speedway Martinsville Speedway is a oval Oval track racing#Short track, short track in Ridgeway, Virginia, United States, a community of Martinsville, Virginia. The track has held a variety of events since its opening in 1947, primarily events sanctione ...
in
Martinsville, Virginia Martinsville is an Political subdivisions of Virginia#Independent cities, independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 13, ...
on April 3, 2016.


Personal life

Cook was raised in
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
(LDS Church), although she is no longer a practicing member. She also did not limit her acting solely to roles reflecting LDS Church beliefs. On August 3, 2001, she married her long-time boyfriend, Nathan Andersen. The two met in a film class at
Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...
, and she later moved to
Salt Lake City Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in the state. The city is the core of the Salt Lake Ci ...
, Utah, to be with him. They reside in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, California, with their two sons. In September 2008, their first son, Mekhai Allan, was born. He appeared as Henry LaMontagne throughout the ''Criminal Minds'' series. The couple's second son, Phoenix Sky, was born in July 2015. Cook and her husband named him Phoenix because they were told that they couldn't have any more children but Phoenix was a surprise and "just rose up". He also appeared in ''Criminal Minds'', as Jareau's second son, Michael.


Filmography


Film


Television


Director


References


External links

* *
A. J. Cook Bio at CBS
€”''Criminal Minds'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, A. J. 1978 births Canadian expatriate actresses in the United States Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Living people Actresses from Oshawa People from Whitby, Ontario 20th-century Canadian actresses 21st-century Canadian actresses Utah Valley University alumni Former Latter Day Saints Canadian former Christians Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute alumni