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Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner put a lot of effort into raising well-adjusted children amid the obstacles imposed by their A-lister status. But regardless of what they did, their three kids could never escape the attention. As such, the public got to witness Violet Affleck transform from a baby to a young adult. Despite her young age, the eldest Affleck kid has made headlines throughout the years for the subtle ways she’s found to express her opinions.
Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Violet became known for being one of the few people in Hollywood to continue wearing a mask long after mandates were lifted. Without uttering a word, she showed her continued concerns over the long-lasting effects of the coronavirus. Violet transformed into a politically engaged young woman, a spirit she had shown when she was as young as 5. Her activist side blossomed even though Garner was a bit too controlling in her early years.
“I was such a first-time mom. [My eldest daughter] didn’t have a shot. She couldn’t have a free thought — I was all over her,” Garner told Allure in 2023. “I was a nightmare for everyone around me.” In hindsight, she realized she likely had little control over who Violet would end up being. “Your kids will really figure out who they are and what they are when they’re older, and most likely they will hew toward lovely,” she added. She was probably right, as Violet turned out to be a strong, independent thinker.
Violet Affleck was born in the spotlight
When Violet Affleck was born in December 2005, her mother was at the peak of her career. Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, already a well-established mega movie star at the time, had been dating for just over a year, and interest in the power couple was also at an all-time high. Violet came along six months after Garner and Affleck quietly tied the knot in June 2005. “Mother, father and baby are doing great,” their reps told Today. They didn’t share any other details.
Given their fame, Garner and Affleck set out to protect their child’s privacy from the get-go. But their goal proved a lot harder to concretize. Paparazzi followed them everywhere, and pictures of baby Violet made the pages of magazines early on. While she vowed to keep Violet out of the spotlight, Garner was a lot more open about sharing her experience as a first-time mom in interviews. In 2007, she gushed over Ben’s parenting skills.
It turned out Violet was a total daddy’s girl. “You know how as a kid you picture yourself with a tall, handsome husband, and you imagine him cuddling your baby? Ben is like that, like, on crack,” she told InStyle (via People). Garner fell in love with their bond and never got tired of watching the two of them together. “Nothing makes me happier than to see the two of them together and her little hands on his face. He has a prevailing calm,” she said.
Violet Affleck was never afraid to speak her mind
Violet Affleck has been standing up for what she believes in since before she could pronounce her Rs. The paparazzi didn’t just bother Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck. Their constant presence scared Violet and prevented her from having a normal childhood. So when Garner organized a meeting with local authorities to request heightened protection for her children circa 2010, her eldest didn’t hesitate to share her views. “Violet’s hyper-articulate — she is Ben Affleck’s daughter,” Garner told The Hollywood Reporter in 2021.
The then-kindergartner climbed onto a chair, looked the authority figures in the eye, and told them how she felt. “We didn’t ask for this. We don’t want these cameras, they’re scary. The men are scary, they knock each other over and it’s hard to feel like a kid when you’re being chased,” she said, as Garner recalled. They got in the way of her hobbies, like sports. “My one daughter tried to play soccer, and it was such a zoo for the families that they just said, ‘Can you please not?'” she said on “Tell Me More With Kelly Corrigan” in 2020.
That’s why the COVID-19 pandemic brought respite to the family. Even though it was a hard time for all, Garner told The Hollywood Reporter she and her kids could enjoy some normalcy outdoors for the first time. When they asked their mom why they hadn’t played at the beach before, she responded: “We’d try to go and we’d just get chased away [by the camera scrum].”
Violet Affleck grew up with restricted access to technology
In their quest to give their children a normal childhood, Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck limited their access to technology. Violet Affleck didn’t get a laptop until she was in fifth grade. And even then, Garner still thought it was too early. During a back-to-school event in 2016, teachers advised that the tweens needed access to a computer for homework. The “Alias” alum balked at the idea but then realized Violet was the only kid in her class without one.
Shortly after, Garner relented. “I found an old laptop this weekend for her, and I am kind of panicked about it,” she told Today. But just because she was allowing Violet to have a computer didn’t mean she would get to do whatever she wanted with it. “She’s not on social media yet — her school has a no social media policy until 6th grade — but I know it’s coming soon,” Garner said. However, she continued to exert her authority as a parent, even after Violet’s school allowed social media.
In 2019, Garner still hadn’t allowed Violet to join Instagram. “I just say, ‘When you can show me studies that say that teenage girls are happier using Instagram than not, then we can have the conversation,'” she said on the “Next Question with Katie Couric” podcast. But it was a personal conflict for Garner because she used it. “I am modeling the opposite of what I want for her to do,” she admitted.
Violet Affleck remained close with both parents following their divorce
Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck got divorced in 2017, when their eldest was 11. Despite the break up of her family, Violet Affleck remained close with both parents. Violet has been seen walking around with her mother frequently over the years, but the teenager is also known for spending quality time with her father. She felt comfortable enough with him to poke fun at his work. “[For] my oldest daughter, I’m already embarrassing, you know what I mean?” he told ET in 2017. “I’m like, ‘How can I be embarrassing? I’m Batman. That embarrasses you?’ She’s like, ‘Dad, pick me up down the street.'”
Violet also teased him over his texting abilities — or lack thereof. When she learned he had been added to a group text with his much younger co-stars, she informed her father he was showing his age. “My daughter is so funny, she teases me, she’s 14 and she’s like ‘Why do they let you on this group chat? You don’t know what you’re talking about. Don’t pretend you have any idea what’s going on,'” he said during a screening of “The Way Back” in 2020 (via People).
Even though she teases him, Ben’s close relationship with his daughter Violet has been evident in their outings. In 2022, father and daughter strolled the streets of Savannah, Georgia, with arms locked. And Violet was always close by on Ben and Jennifer Lopez’s honeymoon in Paris, which neither seemed to mind.
Violet Affleck turned into a politically involved young adult
Violet Affleck may live out of the spotlight, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t use her voice to stand up for what she believes in. Violet’s willingness to share her experiences with authorities didn’t stop in kindergarten. As a teenager and young adult, she continued to bring attention to social and political issues. At a July 2024 Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting, she shared her experiences with a post-viral condition to advocate for mask mandates in government buildings, healthcare facilities, and jails.
But she doesn’t only share her stances in direct ways. Violet has also propagated her ideas indirectly through her clothes and accessories. In May 2024, she was photographed walking with Jennifer Garner while carrying Steven Thrasher’s “The Viral Underclass,” a book that discusses health crises from an inequality perspective (seen above). Around the same time, Violet was also captured donning a pro-Palestinian T-shirt.
Violet’s parents may not agree with her every opinion, but they’re proud of the strong woman they raised. “I thought, ‘I’m going to live a life of which my daughter can be proud’ — which is ironic because she’s a Marxist and I’ve now disgraced her by becoming a capitalist,” Ben Affleck said at a New York Times 2022 Dealbook conference, referring to his decision to launch a production company, Artists Equity (via Gawker). It’s unclear what Violet will go on to do, but the Yale student is certainly a force to be reckoned with.
