A. J. Cook

 Andrea Joy Cook, born on July 22, 1978, is an Canadian actress. She is best known for her role in the role of the Supervisory Special Agent Jennifer "JJ" Jareau on the CBS crime drama Criminal Minds (2005-2020, 2022to 2022). Cook has also appeared on The Virgin Suicides (1999), Higher Ground (2000), Ripper (2001), Out Cold (2001), Final Destination 2 (2003) as well as Tru Calling (2003-2004).Cook was born in Oshawa, Ontario. She lived most of her early life in the nearby town of Whitby and attended Anderson Collegiate Vocational Institute. Cook is mother to Nathan, Paul, as along with Angela. Cook was declared legally blind in second grade due to severe astigmatism. She wore contacts and thick "coke bottle" glasses to improve her vision. In 2007 she underwent surgery , where a lens implant corrected the impairment.Talking about her childhood, Cook recalled how other kids were "cruel" and she "really was unable to see" and "everything seemed like a smear of color without any shapes". Cook also said that she was not doing very well at school when she was diagnosed. The initial thought was that she may have an intellectual disability because she was unable to read, however she couldn't see the board. This meant she wasn't able to identify letters and pronounce the sounds.