Jennifer Garner Makes First Public Appearance Since Ben Affleck Split

Newly single Jennifer Garner stepped back into the spotlight for a good cause in Santa Monica Friday night. The actress was one of the many A-listers who turned out for Think It Up, a telethon put on by the Entertainment Industry Foundation to raise funds for educational projects in public schools.

Clad in a casual tee and skinny jeans, Garner smiled for photos with Jessica Biel, Justin Bieber and Gwyneth Paltrow:

At first, Garner and Paltrow may seem like an unlikely pair -- considering they both dated Ben Affleck -- but Paltrow had nothing but kind words for Garner and her then-husband Affleck in a Howard Stern interview earlier this year.

"I like [Affleck], I'm friends with him still. He settled down and his wife is awesome. Not only is she beautiful, but she's so warm and she cooks and is so into her kids -- she's really great and she's hilarious," Paltrow said. "I had a girls' dinner before the summer and she came over, she's my neighbor. I really like her a lot."

Garner and Affleck announced their split in late June after 10 years of marriage. Together they have three children: Violet, 9, Seraphina, 6, and Samuel, 3.

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