Uh, Did You Know That Julia Garner Is Married to the Lead Singer From Foster the People?
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Between Inventing Anna, Ozark, and The Assistant, Julia Garner has had a *very* busy couple of years…but somehow, she’s managed to keep her private life out of the spotlight. You may not even realize that she is married (!!) and has been since 2019. Julia Garner’s husband, Mark Foster, isn’t just some rando either—he’s a singer and musician best known as the front man for indie pop band Foster the People. (Remember when the song “Pumped Up Kicks” was playing legit e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e back in 2010? Yeah, you can thank Mark for that. Music vid incoming, yw!)
Although they first met all the way back in 2013, it took several years for them to start dating. Once they did, however, things moved FAST, and in a matter of 18 months, the two got engaged and then married in a fabulously low-key ceremony. Here’s everything you should know about Julia’s hubs, including how he met the actor and how he rose to fame with Foster the People.
He just joined Julia at the 2023 Golden Globes
Cute pics? We got you:
Though honestly nothing compared to their Emmys vibe:
He cofounded his band in 2009
After graduating from his Cleveland high school in 2002, Mark decided to move in with an uncle in Los Angeles to pursue a music career. During that time, he worked several odd jobs, played with a few different bands, and even had a brief career as a commercial jingle writer before Foster the People was finally born. “I felt like an 18-year-old Hunter S. Thompson,” Mark told the Los Angeles Times when asked about that time in his life. “I was just diving into this Hollywood Hills subculture and taking it all in. I wasn’t shy about taking my guitar out at a party. I wanted to be the center of attention.”
Mark eventually founded Foster the People (initially called Foster & the People) with drummer Mark Pontius and producer Zach “Reazon” Heiligman, and they played their first show in October 2009. His longtime friend Cubbie Fink later joined as bassist, and in late 2010, the group hit it big after their single “Pumped Up Kicks” became a viral success. Today, the band is composed of Mark, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis, and since its inception, Foster the People has released three albums: Torches, Supermodel, and Sacred Hearts Club.
He struggled with drug addiction
During his first few years in Los Angeles, Mark struggled with addiction while balancing several jobs and attempting to launch his music career. “It got pretty dark,” he told Rolling Stone. “My friends thought I was going to die. I was blind to it. When I was 19 years old, it got to a point where I said, ‘Enough is enough.’…I saw time was just passing me by. I wasn’t being productive.”
According to Mark, it was a run-in with an old friend that convinced him to reevaluate his life. “…My friend ran into me and he just—he started crying,” Mark explained to NPR. “And that kind of—that was the first thing that shook me up, ’cause this was, like, a kid that partied with me for a lot of it, you know. And I was like, wow, it must be serious if he’s worried—just ’cause I was so skinny.”
He loves to travel solo
At the end of the world tour for Foster the People’s debut album, Torches, Mark decided he wasn’t ready to end his travels…so he went on a solo trip through North Africa and India, among other places. “Traveling alone was like laundry for my thoughts,” he later told Metro. “I traveled around Africa, also India, Israel, Turkey, Italy, Greece…all over, I guess. Then when I got back to L.A., I jumped back in the studio.”
Since then, he’s done even more bouts of solo travel, including a two-week trip to Nepal, where he helped construct a school with the nonprofit organization BuildOn, and an expedition to Uganda, where he participated in the inauguration of a well in a remote Kirasa village.
He *may* have dated Nina Dobrev
Julia isn’t the first celeb Mark has romanced. He also apparently dated Nina Dobrev for, like, a month back in 2014. Ofc, the two never actually confirmed the relationship, so it’s unclear how long they dated (or if they even dated at all). Regardless, pls enjoy this photo of them together from 2012 with Nina’s ex Ian Somerhalder, with whom Mark is apparently also friends:
Mark also sparked dating rumors with Michelle Trachtenberg for a hot minute in 2012, but again, rumors were never confirmed and they were short-lived.
He’s currently writing a horror film
Mark’s talents aren’t just limited to writing, producing, and performing music. As he told W during a 2020 interview, he’s also trying his hand at screenwriting. “I’ve always been a cinephile, since I was in high school and since I’ve lived in L.A.,” he explained. “I’ve always been on the fringes looking in, like, I really want to do that one day. Last year, I decided to take the plunge and teach myself how to use Final Draft.” Now he’s writing a horror film with a friend, and apparently, Julia helps him out by providing feedback.
“When she reads something, she brings a perspective that I never would’ve considered, really,” Mark said of Julia. “She truly is really talented with human psychology and the way that people think and feel. She’s a savant when it comes to that. In terms of character development, she’ll say one thing to me that’ll completely flip my perspective on something and help guide the rest of the process.”
He’s collaborated with Taylor Swift
If “Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version)” from the rerecorded Red album is one of your faves, then consider yourself a fan of Mark’s, lol. Back in 2012, the singer spoke about writing a song with Tay, whom he gushed about as being “super talented.” “It’s a really cool song, you know?” he commented to Fuse. “We kind of just went into it casually, like, ‘Yeah, let’s just jam and just, like, have fun,’ and something really cool came out of it.”
He slid into Julia’s DMs after they met
In January 2013, Mark met his future wife at the Sundance Film Festival, where her horror film We Are What We Are was making its debut. The two bonded over the fact that Julia’s grandma lived in the same small town outside of Cleveland that Mark’s dad lives in, as she later told Vogue. But they didn’t exchange info at the time, and they didn’t speak again until Mark found Julia on Instagram.
Julia told the Hollywood Reporter that Mark started Liking all her pics after giving her a follow. “I was like, ‘Who’s this guy Liking all my photos? Is this a stalker?’” she joked. “I clicked on him and I was like, ‘Oh, Mark. Oh, he’s cute. I’m going to follow him back.’ Then he DM’d me.”
They got married after one and a half years of dating
In April 2019, during a cross-country RV trip before Julia left to begin filming season 3 of Ozark, Mark decided to pop the question. The two had been dating for about 10 months at that point, and as Julia told Vogue, the proposal went down in Flathead Lake, Montana, where Mark read her an original poem before asking her to marry him.
After they got engaged, Julia and Mark debated between having a big wedding or simply eloping. Initially, they’d planned on a June 2020 celebration, but luckily, they ended up tying the knot before the COVID-19 crisis became global. “For some reason, I was like, ‘You know what? Let’s not wait until June. Let’s just do it, because who knows?’” Julia explained to the Hollywood Reporter. In December 2019, the two had a quiet ceremony at New York’s City Hall, where Julia’s parents had gotten married 40 years earlier. The next day, they held a reception at Public Hotel, where Mark surprised Julia with an original song, “Lovers in a Stream,” for their first dance.
He seems to be Julia’s biggest fan
Although their schedules keep ’em busy, Mark and Julia still seem to make *plenty* of time for each other (and cheering each other on). Mark has shared TONS of mushy posts in honor of his wife and her accomplishments, and he raves about her in interviews too. When she won her Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2019 for her work in Ozark, Mark had a major Proud Partner Moment™ on IG.
“Congratulations, you beautiful angel of a human,” he gushed in a lengthy post. “It brings me immeasurable joy to see you lifted up and recognized by your peers, your industry, and your fans. You deserve every bit of love and respect. You’re so incredibly special. I consider myself the luckiest guy on the planet to be able to watch whatever you do from the front row, with a bag of popcorn and your hand wrapped in mine.” Um…😍.
Pls keep on being adorable, you two.
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