Photo: Rachel Murray/Getty
Julia Garnerhas been married to her husbandMark Fostersince 2019.
While theOzarkstar is one of Hollywood’s fastest-rising stars, the actress isn’t the only famous face in her household: Foster is a Grammy-nominated musician and the frontman of the band Foster the People.
The couple first crossed paths at the Sundance Film Festival nearly seven years beforetying the knot in an intimate courthouse weddingin December 2019. “We went back and forth from having a big wedding to eloping in Vegas,” Garner toldVogue. “We ultimately decided to get married atCity Hallin New York City, just like my parents did 40 years ago.”
Here’s everything you need to know about Julia Garner’s husband, Mark Foster, and their sweet relationship.
He wrote the song “Pumped Up Kicks”
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Foster is behind the catchy tune “Pumped Up Kicks,” which was released in 2010.
“I wrote that song in eight hours, and for me it wasn’t necessarily more special than any other song,” he revealed toBillboardin 2019. “The thing that made that song special was the public, and the fact that people thought it was special, and it resonated and it created a conversation. And I’m proud of the conversation that it created.”
He grew up in Ohio
Foster grew up in Cleveland, perNPR. The singer is a graduate of Ohio’sNordonia High School. While Garner was born in New York, Ohio was a topic of conversation after she and Foster met outside of the Eccles Theater during Sundance in2013.
“In our first conversation, we realized that my grandmother lived in the same small town that his dad lives in, just outside of Cleveland,” the actress revealed toVogue. The magazine noted that “after that, they ended up seeing each other in Cleveland at Christmas time, year after year” before they were officially dating. Garner added, “It kind of became a tradition.”
He got his start writing commercial jingles
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Foster ended up leaving Ohio and moving to Los Angeles in2002. Before his music hit the radio, Foster worked at the music production company Mophonics composing jingles for commercials, including Muscle Milk’s “Spring Break It Down.” While working there, Foster also wrote songs for his band. “Foster the People wouldn’t exist without Mophonics,” the songwriter previously toldBloomberg. “Mophonics is kind of a creative home for me.”
The aspiring artist would stay back to write after others went home. “For about eight months, I would just show up there every day. Stephan Altman, the head composer there, took me under his wing and kinda mentored me as a composer, but really, I was learning how to produce. When everybody else would go home at 6 p.m., I would stay back. That’s really where I started writingTorches,” he said in an interview withAmerican Songwriter.
In fact, Foster wrote and produced the band’s hit tune “Pumped Up Kicks” in a “little writer’s room at Mophonics.”
Reflecting on his commercial days, the composer toldInterview Magazine, “When I wasn’t composing for commercials, I would write. Four months later, I started the band, and eight months later, we were signed. I went from one of the lowest places that I have been in my life and within a year was in the best place I’ve ever been.”
He’s been nominated for Grammys
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Along with his band, Foster has scored multipleGrammy nominations. The group was nominated for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance and Best Alternative Music Album at the 54th annualGrammy Awardsin February 2012.
“We’re up against some pretty stiff competition,” Foster toldThe Plain Dealerahead of the ceremony. “Just being there will be an honor. I’m not really worried about it.”
Although they didn’t win that year, Foster the People was nominated again at the 55th Grammys for Best Short Form Music Video for “Houdini.”
He collaborated with Taylor Swift
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Taylor Swiftreleased a collaboration of hers and Foster’s—“Forever Winter (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault)"— on herrerecorded albumRed (Taylor’s Version)in 2021.
Back in 2012, Foster spoke about writing a song withSwift, whom he called “super talented.” “It’s a really cool song, you know?” he toldFuse. “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 Garner’s DMs
While they met at Sundance in 2013, the couple did not start dating off the bat, according toThe Hollywood Reporter. The pair, who had not exchanged contact information, reconnected via Instagram before Garner started working onOzark.
She toldTHR, “I was like, ‘Who’s this guy liking all my photos? Is this a stalker?’ 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.”
He proposed to Garner with a poem he wrote
No surprise, the songwriter has a way with words. When it came to popping the question during a 2019 trip to Montana, Foster read the Netflix star a poem. Garner later revealed toVogue, “He read me a poem he had written to me, and when he finished, he dropped to a knee and asked me to marry him.”
The musician also wrote his bride a song, titled “Lovers in a Stream,” for their first dance at their wedding celebration. “It was a surprise,” Garner toldVogue. “Mark wrote, produced, and sang it. It was very surreal, and the most beautiful present I’ve ever received. It felt like I was floating up in the air — it was the most magical moment I’ve ever had.”
In December 2021, the couple celebrated two years of marriage. Foster posted a wedding photo onInstagramand penned a poem to mark the day.
He wrote:“Two years agoour hearts became oneon a cold winter night in NYCwe found warmthhappy anniversary my sweet bride.”
A year later, Garner celebrated their third anniversary with her own post onInstagram. The photo — another throwback from the couple’s wedding — showed theOzarkactress holding Foster’s hand as she toted around her bouquet of white roses.
He supported Garner when she won her Emmys
The musician raved about Garner’s big victory onInstagram, writing, “It took me time to process the last twenty four hours and find a quiet moment of thought after an incredibly surreal weekend. I’m beyond proud of this girl,” alongside photos of the actress holding her trophy.
He continued, “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.”
Foster wassitting next to Garnerwhen she accepted hersecond Emmy in 2020. At the end of her speech, Garner grabbed Foster’s shoulder as she thanked her husband and her family.
Then in 2022, Garner won her third Emmy for her role inOzarkand Foster was present to once again celebrate her victory. The proud husband walked thered carpet with Garnerin a black suit while the actress was seen in a dramatic black down with a cut-out in the middle. Garner even gave Foster a shoutout in heracceptance speech, thanking her family and husband for their support.
He supported her when she won a Golden Globe
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During heracceptance speech, Garner thanked her husband for his support.
“I want to say thank you to my team who has been with me for years, my husband, Mark, I love you,” she said.
He and Garner have attended many high-profile events
In February 2023, Foster and Garner attended theSAG Awardsin Los Angeles. The musician looked handsome in a black tuxedo with a gold chain detail, while Garner, who was nominated for three awards, stunned in a mermaid-inspired Gucci gown.
He scored the Netflix seriesUnstable
Foster, alongside composer Sven Faulconer, created the music for Netflix’s original seriesUnstablestarringRob LoweandJohn Lowe.
“I had the best time scoring this series. Hand percussion polyrhythms, flute, clarinet, vocals, with a hint of technology,” Foster wrote onInstagram.
source: people.com
