Jared Padalecki's Real Name: Jared Tristan Padalecki
Jared Padalecki → Jared Tristan Padalecki
Quick answer: Jared Padalecki's documented full name is Jared Tristan Padalecki. Encyclopedia.com lists that as his full name and dates his birth to July 19, 1982, in San Antonio, Texas. TV Guide independently uses the same birth name and a birth place of San Antonio, Texas (Encyclopedia.com; TV Guide).
Real name and early life
He is known professionally as Jared Padalecki. Both sources use Jared Tristan Padalecki; only Encyclopedia.com supplies the July 19, 1982, date. Encyclopedia.com says he attended high school in San Antonio and names his parents as Jerry, an accountant and tax supervisor, and Sherri, a high school English teacher. TV Guide adds that in 1998 he won the National Forensics League national championship and got a break in 1999 when he won FOX's Claim to Fame contest and presented an award at the Teen Choice Awards. Encyclopedia.com independently lists Claim to Fame and the 1999 Teen Choice Awards among his early television appearances.
Career highlights
Encyclopedia.com, in a mid-2000s credits list, records Dean Forester on Gilmore Girls (The WB, 2000-2003), Clay MacGyver in Young MacGyver (The WB, 2003), the 2000 NBC pilot Silent Witness, an episode of ER in 2001, the Disney Channel movie A Ring of Endless Light (2002), the 2001 film A Little Inside, and the 2004 film New York Minute. TV Guide's later biography quotes him discussing plans after Supernatural and lists genre-television awards from that period, including a 2014 People's Choice Award for favorite TV bromance, Teen Choice Awards for choice TV actor in fantasy/sci-fi in 2015 and 2019, a 2002 Teen Choice nomination for choice drama actor, and other Teen Choice and People's Choice nominations between 2007 and 2016, plus a 2021 Critics Choice Super Award nomination for best actor in a horror series. The biography page does not name a character from Supernatural. TV Guide also notes a 2015 T-shirt campaign supporting To Write Love on Her Arms.
Name notes for searchers
Jared Tristan Padalecki is the documented full name in both Encyclopedia.com and TV Guide; the professional name is Jared Padalecki. Searchers looking for Dean Forester on Gilmore Girls or for his later work on Supernatural are usually aiming at the same person.
FAQ
What is Jared Padalecki's real name?
Jared Tristan Padalecki, according to both Encyclopedia.com and TV Guide.
When and where was he born?
July 19, 1982, in San Antonio, Texas, according to Encyclopedia.com. TV Guide confirms San Antonio, Texas, without a date.
What was his early television break?
Encyclopedia.com and TV Guide both record the 1999 FOX contest Claim to Fame; Encyclopedia.com also lists Gilmore Girls, from 2000 to 2003.
Does this page name his Supernatural character?
No. TV Guide quotes him referring to Supernatural and lists later genre-TV awards, but the two sources used here do not name the character.