13 Going on 30 turns 15 today and the iconic rom-com’s leading lady Jennifer Garner celebrated with a sweet Instagram post. The actress paid tribute both to the movie’s anniversary and to all of the empowered women she worked with in the film’s production, including its three female producers (“before it was cool to be led by women!”), the “Six Chicks,” and what she lovingly refers to as “the slumber party crew.”
Garner included clips from the movie showing her and her young costars casting off all inhibitions as they jam to Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” in their pajamas and discussing why boys won’t “jump their bones.” In the caption, Garner included her fond memories of filming, and the inspiring message, “Imagine if every 13-year-old girl had an opportunity to dance and feel beautiful like the girls in this film.”
The lighthearted throwback videos are followed by a short gallery of side-by-side headshots of the slumber party crew (Maddy Sprung-Keyser, Gia Mantegna, Catherine Combs, Sydni Beaudoin, Sara Swain, and Renee Olstead) then and now. Garner applauded their achievements and highlighted how the women have each evolved since, both physically and in their careers.
“I feel so, so lucky to have had the experience of making this joyful movie. And even luckier to be part of something that, all of these years later, can still make people smile,” Garner noted in the post, which also includes a shout out to Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next” music video, which included a salute to one of the film’s sadder scenes.
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