Violet Affleck may have grown up in the spotlight as the daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, but she’s quietly carved her own path outside of Hollywood. Now an emerging voice in public health and climate activism, Violet has gained attention not for her red carpet appearances or reality TV cameos, but for speaking out on disability justice, environmental policy and pandemic preparedness.
Who Is Violet Affleck?
Violet is the eldest child of Ben and Jennifer and was born on December 1, 2005. Despite growing up in the limelight, she has largely maintained a private life and stayed out of the spotlight.
Violet was raised in Los Angeles alongside her younger siblings, Finn and Samuel, and she experienced the challenges that come with media attention from an early age. Both of her parents have been vocal about protecting their children’s privacy, and Jen even notably advocated for legislation to shield celebrity kids from paparazzi harassment.
In the fall of 2024, Violet moved across the country and began her college career at Yale, something Jen was candidly emotional about at the time.
“Tell me you have a graduate without telling me you have a graduate. (bless our hearts),” the 13 Going on 30 star wrote alongside a carousel of photos showing her shedding tears at Violet’s graduation via Instagram.
Violet Affleck Is a Climate Change Activist
Even though Violet avoided the spotlight when she was younger, she recently emerged as a voice in public health and climate advocacy. In May 2025, she published an academic research paper in Yale’s Global Health Review titled “A Chronically Ill Earth: COVID Organizing as a Model Climate Response in Los Angeles” and opened up about her experience with the Los Angeles wildfires in January of that same year.
“I spent the January fires in Los Angeles arguing with my mother in a hotel room,” Violet wrote in the paper, adding that her mom was “shell-shocked” and “astonished at the scale of destruction,” and admitted that Jen’s reaction surprised her. “I was surprised at her surprise: As a lifelong Angelena and climate-literate member of generation Z, my question had not been whether the Palisades would burn but when.”
Violet Affleck and Jennifer Garner
She added, “And we know that it’s anthropogenic, driven by unsustainable consumption patterns concentrated among the wealthiest citizens of the wealthiest countries, all of which have already subjected most of this country and the world to deadly temperatures, fire-flood cycles, rising seas, and dying crops. But our bewildered response to crises like the L.A. fires tell us we may still be accustomed to addressing the climate crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic: as a question of how fast we can get back around to pretending like the problem is gone.”
Violet Affleck Is a Public Health Advocate
Violet’s commitment to societal issues like climate change and public health isn’t new. In July 2024, she advocated against mask bans and for the availability of masks and COVID-19 testing in government facilities like detention centers. She shared her personal experience with a post-viral condition in 2019 and highlighted the importance of protective measures for vulnerable populations.
“I contracted a post-viral condition in 2019,” Violet revealed during the public comment segment of a Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting. “I’m OK now, but I saw first-hand that medicine does not always have answers to the consequences of even minor viruses. The COVID-19 pandemic has thrown that into sharper relief.”
