I began this post fully prepared to call Jennifer Garner out for fibbing about whether she’s had lip injections. Then I looked at old photos of her and I couldn’t see a big difference in her mouth at all. I’ve always assumed her lips were fake, but I can’t find any “before” pictures that would show it.

Anyway, Garner covers the new issue of Southern Living. The magazine features a photoshoot and interview with Garner, her mom and her two sisters. You can see that here. Garner’s mother, Patricia, has the same full lips as she does, but of course grandma Garner’s lips could be fake, which could be throwing the whole thing off. Her sisters are just as pretty as she is. Inside, Garner talks about family values, with an emphasis on her upbringing in West Virginia. Here are some excerpts, with much more at the source:

On Family Resemblance…
“We are doing this shoot so people can finally stop asking if my lips are real.”

On What Defines Her…
“Being the middle sister of these three girls is the relationship that defines me more than anything else. More than being my kids’ mother, more than being my husband’s wife, I’m first and foremost the middle Garner girl.”

On Her Appearance…
“What my mom did that I valued so much was to not place beauty high on the list of priorities. It was a shock when I got to college to hear people say I was pretty.”

On What She Won’t Wear…
“Although I adore it on others, you won’t see me wearing many one-shoulder, asymmetrical, cool things. I can’t feel like I’m wearing a costume.”

On Raising Her Kids…
“It’s really important for my kids to see that everyone doesn’t have the lives they see in Los Angeles. That doesn’t reflect the rest of the world. I want them to grow up with the Southern values I had–to look at people when they say hello and to stop and smell the roses. If I could do half as good a job as my mom did, I’d be pretty happy.”

On Her Upbringing in the South…
“I feel so fortunate to have grown up in a place where people look out for each other. Community is the one thing people crave most, and it’s hard to come by. I grew up with such an excess of it that now wherever I go, the first thing I do is build my group.”

[From Southern Living]

It’s true that people look out for each other in the south. I was raised in New York and moved down south, and people here are much more friendly and welcoming. (People in NY are awesome too, they just keep to themselves more.) I see my neighbors more here, and I keep in touch with them more than I did when I lived in the northeast. Plus people usually say hi. I love that. When I go to visit relatives or when I go overseas I have to force myself not to look everyone in the eye and say hello. However there are drawbacks too, like how religious and conservative people can be in the south and how it can seem kind of cloying when you want privacy and space.

I have to admit that I am buying Garner’s small town persona. She seems genuine to me, and that’s part of the reason I like her. I’m still not convinced about her lips, but her kids have the same full lips too so she’s probably telling the truth. Just look at the photo below. She and Samuel have the same facial expressions, same lips.

photo credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com