‘Criminal Minds’ Season 11's A.J. Cook: 5 Must-Know Facts About CBS Crime Drama’s JJ Actress Ahead Of Show’s Fall Premiere [PHOTOS]

By Quadey Humile

Sep 17, 2015 06:00 AM EDT

"Criminal Minds" is returning two weeks from now for its 11th season run on CBS. Ahead of the crime drama's fall premiere, here are five must-know facts about Jennifer "JJ" Jareau actress A.J. Cook.

1. Cook started her acting career in her late teens

The "Criminal Minds" actress, who is born Andrea Joy Cook, started her career in acting at the age of 17, according to her IMDb profile. The Canadian actress proved to be a gem in the entertainment industry in her early years as a rising star. In fact, she has appeared in almost a dozen of TV shows and films in a span of eight years since she began acting. What's more interesting was her first acting stint was for a McDonald's commercial back in 1997.

2. She is a competitive dancer

Unknown to many of "Criminal Minds" fans who just know A.J. as the badass special agent in the series, the actress actually has a talent in dancing. CBS has even learned that Cook danced competitively in jazz, ballet and tap before she pursued her acting career. And get this: she actually started dancing at the young age of 4. With her experience in joining dance competitions, A.J. engaged in a stint as a dancing instructor in the past.

3. She is married and has two kids

BTW: this photo is from 16 years ago. A photo posted by @ajcook on Aug 3, 2014 at 6:24pm PDT

Sorry boys! The "Criminal Minds" star is not only taken she also has a wedding band on her finger. A.J. tied the knot with Nathan Andersen way back in 2001 after the two established a connection when they met each other in film class. The now 37-year-old actress has two kids. His first child, Mekhai Allan, is already 7 years of age, while his second baby is just seven weeks old.

In July, Us Weekly ran a story about Cook and Andersen welcoming their second son Phoenix Sky Anderson, with their rep revealing that the couple's second baby weighed 7 pounds and 6 inches upon birth.

4. Her acting son on "Criminal Mind" is her real-life son

There is no denying that A.J. Cook and her "Criminal Minds" onscreen son Henry LaMontagne look alike. The secret is no camera trick. The actor playing JJ's son on the show is indeed A.J.'s first son, Mekhai, who is now 7. Just last Sunday, the proud mom took to Instagram and Twitter to share a snap of her two sons which she captioned "Can (sic) believe I have a 7 year old and a 7 week old. Happy birthday Mekhai!!"

Can believe I have a 7 year old and a 7 week old. Happy birthday Mekhai!!! A photo posted by @ajcook on Sep 13, 2015 at 5:30pm PDT

5. She used to be blind

A.J. used to be considered legally blind when she was still young as she was diagnosed with severe astigmatism. She even admitted in 2011 that she had to wear contacts when she joined dance competitions since she could not dance on stage without her glasses.

Nevertheless, thanks to a procedure called Visian ICl, Cook's eyesight was repaired through lens implants. "It's essentially a contact implant they insert in your eye, and it has been the best thing I have ever done. It's such an easy procedure, easier than Lasik," she told Health Bistro. "The recovery is nothing. I really cannot say enough about it. It's changed my life...it really has...not having to deal with contacts and glasses. It's been great. I love every second of it."