Whatever Happened To Jenna Fischer Since The Office Ended?

"The Office" is one of the most notable and watched television shows in history. The series, adapted for the United States from the British sitcom of the same name, won five Emmys during its run, and it's responsible for the careers of some of the biggest names in entertainment. This includes friends Steve Carell and John Krasinski, but "The Office" also launched Jenna Fischer's career. Although she isn't one of the only "Office" characters to show up in every episode, Fischer played one of the main characters, Pam Beesly (later Pam Halpert), throughout the show's entire run, and she's responsible for one half of one of the greatest will-they-won't-they couples in all of television.

Being part of the cast of "The Office" was huge for Fischer, but it's not all she's done as a creative. The actor has plenty of other credits to her name, and she's involved herself in creative projects outside of acting. Here's what Jenna Fischer has been up to since "The Office" ended.

The end of a long-running television show can be scary for an actor. With a series finale comes the end of a steady paycheck — a rarity in the world of entertainment — and lots of questions as to when the work will return. Luckily for the stunning Jenna Fischer, it didn't take long after "The Office" wrapped for her to line up her next gig. In fact, it was announced that Fischer would be starring in the off-Broadway production of "Reasons to Be Happy" before the 2013 series finale of "The Office" even aired. Fischer joined Greg Hamilton, Leslie Bibb, and Fred Weller on the stage, and she was praised for putting on a performance that showed her range when compared to her performance in "The Office."

Fischer's new gig brought her an entirely new ensemble to work with, and it took her away from some of the last moments the entire "Office" cast spent together, but her old co-stars were still there for her in her transition. "My cast was all back in Los Angeles watching the series finale together, but BJ Novak [who plays Ryan] was in town and came to the preview, so we were together. He was very supportive and sweet," Fischer shared about the first showing of "Reasons to Be Happy" in an interview with Theater Mania. "It was terrifying. I just tried to set the bar very low for myself the first night: Just say the lines and don't fall down. I managed to do both things. I didn't fall down and I remembered my words," she said.

2014 brought about new changes in Jenna Fischer's personal life. The actor announced early in the year that she was expecting her second child with husband Lee Kirk. Ahead of giving birth, Fischer shared that she was craving salads and fruit and that she and her husband knew the sex of their baby. "I've been nesting like crazy but I've been doing things that are sort of zany, like I became obsessed with cleaning my basement. You'd think I'm putting the baby down there. I'm not! But it's very clean and organized," Fischer also told E! News before delivery.

In May 2014, Fischer had her baby. "We are pleased to announce the birth of our daughter Harper Marie Kirk, born May 25, 2014. The family is doing great. We are happy, healthy and sleepy," Fischer and Lee shared in a statement to E! News. Harper joined the couple's older child, Weston Kirk, who was two years old at the time. While Fischer took some time to enjoy her new addition rather than talking to the press, it was assumed the family was in baby bliss, especially given the actor's comments after becoming a mother for the first time. "I love being a family. I love going from two people to three people, and it has deepened the bond between me and my husband. We love being together, the three of us. Our little unit," Fischer told Us Weekly after Weston was born.

After giving birth to her second child, Jenna Fischer didn't stay on maternity leave forever. The actor got back to work, finding herself cast in a variety of projects from 2014 to 2016 (though some were filmed prior to Fischer's pregnancy). Among her gigs was the film "Kiss Me," and she had roles in a variety of television shows, including "The Mysteries of Laura," "The Grinder," and "Drunk History" — marking Fischer's official return to the small screen for the first time since "The Office."

Perhaps Fischer's most notable project was the 2015 miniseries "You, Me and the Apocalypse," which was her first gig after her second pregnancy. Fischer starred alongside Mathew Baynton, Joel Fry, Rob Lowe, and Megan Mullally in the sci-fi dramedy thriller, and she was almost immediately drawn to the script. "It was like how you meet somebody at a party and you have a small conversation with them and you can't stop thinking about them — I got a little crush on this show," Fischer said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times. Fischer also liked that the project didn't require as much work as "The Office." "When I was younger and single and not a mother, I would pick work that was most exciting to me on a creative level. Well, now, for me, the first filter is, is this a healthy, exciting choice for me and my family, and then is it an exciting, creative opportunity," Fischer said of her decision-making process when it came to work.

Jenna Fischer clearly enjoyed her time starring in the off-Broadway play "Reasons to Be Happy." Or so it seems, because the actor returned to the theater just a few years later. This time, Fischer had a part in "Meteor Shower," a comedic play written by Steve Martin that featured Greg Germann, Alexandra Henrikson, and Josh Stamberg in the first production. The play debuted at The Old Globe, a theater in San Diego, California, and early reviews suggested that it still needed a little workshopping. Still, "Meteor Shower" managed to make its way to the Broadway stage in 2017, though Fischer was not part of that cast.

Though Fischer's return to the theater was only the second time she had been on stage professionally (i.e. making money for her work), the actor was already plenty familiar with stage work. Fischer studied theater in college, and it was her theater work that got her signed by an agent. "I had been living in LA for about 2 years. A friend wrote a TV script and wanted to do a live stage version as a way of attracting TV producers. He asked me to play a small role. It meant lots of rehearsal for very little stage time and no pay," Fischer said in a blog post about the beginning of her career. It was that production that brought Fischer both her manager and her agent, setting her on the path to a role in one of the greatest television series of all time.

Throughout the late 2010s, Jenna Fischer continued acting, but she also released another major project: her first book, "The Actor's LIfe: A Survival Guide." Per the name, the book, which was published at the end of 2017, gave insight into life as an actor and a creative, and Fischer shared advice on becoming an actor and continuing to find work based on her own experiences, as well as the experiences of friends she's made in the industry.

Writing the book gave Fischer even more insight into the creative process, and she was happy to share even more of what she had learned with anyone pursuing a similar career path. "My big piece of advice is to create your own work. That can be in the form of anything. It doesn't have to be directly acting related ... Create any type of expression of art in your life while you're pursuing acting. All of it helps. It will give you perspective on parts of the business that are important as well," Fischer said in an interview with Master Chat. "Ultimately, you can't control all of your opportunities, but you can control your readiness ... Eventually [opportunities] will come and you will be ready," she added. As for Fischer's readiness, the actor balanced the release of her book with the release of other projects. In 2017, she appeared in the film "Brad's Status," as well as two episodes of the TV series "The Guest Book."

Jenna Fischer knows her way around a television comedy. She proved herself time and again while on "The Office," and she got back into that specific part of the business in 2018 when she starred in "Splitting Up Together," a sitcom about a couple who fall in love again after getting divorced. The series was created by a seasoned television writer and featured Oliver Hudson as Fischer's counterpart.

"Splitting Up Together" was Fischer's first time co-starring in a television series since "The Office" (aside from her aforementioned 2015 miniseries), and it featured children as part of the main cast, making for a unique acting challenge. Fischer welcomed it, though. "I really liked working with the kids, and everybody. We did out [sic] first table read, where we all met each other, and then we had this cast lunch planned for afterwards, to be a first step in bonding. That was really the only step we needed," the actor said in an interview with Collider. 

Fischer has also noted that she chooses projects that are filmed in Los Angeles, and it's important for her to like the people she'll be working with. "I really just want to work with great people. I feel like the more often you get to work with really, really good people, it makes you better," Fischer told Master Chat. Unfortunately for Fischer, "Splitting Up Together" only lasted two seasons. However, 2018 also brought the release of the film "The 15:17 to Paris," a thriller further showing the actor's range.

Jenna Fischer's career has been defined by her work on "The Office," and she's continued to find ways to make it relevant in her life. At the end of the 2010s, Fischer and her former "Office" co-star and best friend, Angela Kinsey, joined forces to milk more from the beloved sitcom by launching a rewatch podcast called "Office Ladies." "Each week, [Angela Kinsey] and I will watch an episode of The Office and give you all the stories and behind-the-scenes scoop...as well as some BFF banter about our lives," Fischer said of the podcast on X, formerly Twitter, ahead of its release.

"Office Ladies" premiered in October 2019, and it's been a huge success as of this publication. The show moved from a weekly podcast to dropping two episodes per week in 2024, and it's won some awards, including Podcast of the Year at the 2021 iHeartRadio Podcast Awards. Fischer and Kinsey created an animated series called "Office Ladies Animated Series" based on the podcast, and they've had members of the sitcom's cast and crew — including Rainn Wilson, John Krasinski, Steve Carell, Mindy Kaling, BJ Novak, and more — on as guests. "We were always being chatty in the corner and I think now we get to be chatty together," Fischer told People of her excitement for the podcast ahead of its start. "It's our love letter to the fans of 'The Office' because they are just amazing. Their love for the show and how it keeps continuing to find a new audience is so special to us," Kinsey said.

Seriously, Jenna Fischer has an uncanny ability to continuously make new content about a show that hasn't been on the air for over a decade. In 2022, Fischer and her aforementioned best friend and former co-star, Angela Kinsey, carried the success of their "Office Ladies" podcast over to a book they co-wrote called "The Office BFFs: Tales of The Office from Two Best Friends Who Were There." Per the title, the book told of Fischer and Kinsey's time on the set of "The Office," and like the podcast, the book was a major success, instantly topping The New York Times Best Sellers list.

Fischer had written a book before and included stories from her days on "The Office," but this one went a little deeper. "The book is our opportunity to be even more personal and it's also our opportunity to bring visuals to our stories," Fischer told People. "We journaled all through 'The Office' about everything. So, we're able to go back and track the journey of both our friendship and of our time on the show." The book was also meaningful because, like the podcast, Fischer was able to work on it with her close friend. "What's great is that we can put our values into how we do business. And we have a shorthand because we're best friends," Fischer said of working with Kinsey. And Fischer was seemingly satisfied with the "Office" work she was doing, because from 2019 until 2024, the actor concentrated solely on the podcast and the book and didn't take on any acting jobs.

Jenna Fischer clearly wanted to get back to acting eventually. After taking about five years off to focus on both a podcast and a book about her time on "The Office," Fischer returned to acting in one of the most highly-anticipated screen adaptations of the decade. The actor was cast in the 2024 film "Mean Girls," the screen adaptation of the musical stage adaptation of the 2004 Tina Fey film of the same name. Fischer played Ms. Heron, the main character's mother, who was played by Ana Gasteyer in the 2004 film and by Kerry Butler in the original Broadway production. "I was so excited about the reaction to that movie because the people in that movie were so genuinely kind and wonderful and talented. That young cast was just outstanding," Fischer told People of the project, adding that she had a great time filming.

2024 didn't pass by for Fischer without anything "The Office"-related, though. The actor continued her podcast with Angela Kinsey, and she teamed up with some other "Office" co-stars — Rainn Wilson, Brian Baumgartner, Kate Flannery (who played an "Office" character that we almost lost early in the series), Creed Bratton, and Craig Robinson — for an AT&T commercial. "It was so much fun and totally seamless. We locked into our chemistry together immediately. It was so thrilling. It was over too fast. I wish it had gone longer," Fischer told People of reuniting with her old co-stars.

While 2024 did bring the actor plenty of fun in her career, it also brought Jenna Fischer some tragedy and triumph in her personal life. In the fall, Fischer shared a harrowing message to her followers on Instagram. "October is breast cancer awareness month. I never thought I'd be making an announcement like this but here we are. Last December, I was diagnosed with Stage 1 Triple Positive Breast Cancer," Fischer said. In the post, the actor detailed what led her to seeking a diagnosis, her journey through treatment, and some good news. "After completing surgery, chemotherapy and radiation I am now cancer free," Fischer added.

Fischer was flooded with messages of support from friends, former co-stars, and fans, and she added that she shared her story in hopes of encouraging someone else to pay closer attention to their own health. The actor noted how supportive the people in her life had been throughout her diagnosis and treatment, too, adding that work was a positive outlet for her throughout the process.