As Anna Faris tells it, she has a pretty humble origin story, albeit a bit idyllic. Her mother, a special education teacher, and her father, a college administrator, moved their family from Maryland to Washington State when she was a kid (via People). There she had, as she told Women’s Health, “a very healthy upbringing” alongside her brother, who grew up to become a sociology professor at UC Davis.
While her brother followed in their father’s footsteps, by age 6, Faris was exploring her creative side. That’s when her mother signed her up for some drama classes, which kick-started her lifelong love of acting. As People noted, just three years later, Faris “was performing onstage with a Seattle repertory company, in nationally broadcast radio plays.”
Faris remembers being quite awkward as a child. “I was a quiet, weird kid who wore headgear, and I think most people can relate to that awkwardness,” she told Men’s Journal. She even had a relationship with her retainer. “I used to imagine that it would talk to me,” she told People.