Jennifer Aniston is a Hollywood icon, but she wasn't always a famous actress with a
big net worth. Here's how the "Friends" star has transformed over the years.
Jennifer Aniston was born to be a star, but it probably didn't hurt that her father, John
Aniston, was in the entertainment biz as well. Her father is an Emmy award-nominated actor
just like she is. John is best known for his role as Victor on the NBC soap "Days of Our
Lives," and he was nominated for an Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a
Drama Series for his work on the show in 2017.
However, Aniston, who moved from Los Angeles to New York City soon after she was born,
has been open about the fact her family life was anything but picture-perfect. In February
2020, she told Interview that her childhood was a tumultuous one, and the kindness people
now feel when they meet her was the result of a choice she made. Aniston said,
"It comes from growing up in a household that was destabilized and felt unsafe, watching
adults being unkind to each other, and witnessing certain things about human behavior that made
me think: 'I don't want to do that.'"
A college degree isn't exactly required to become a Hollywood star, but Jennifer Aniston
did receive plenty of schooling before hitting it big. The actress attended LaGuardia High
School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, which also happened to be the inspiration
for the school in the film "Fame." As the school's official website points out, they
have a long list of notable alumni. Aniston is in good company with the likes of Ansel
Elgort, Robert De Niro, Sarah Paulson, and more.
In a 2011 interview with Allure, Aniston provided some insight into what her high school days
were like. She told the outlet she was friendly with Cher and Sonny's son Chaz Bono, and they
would have get-togethers at his house.
Jennifer Aniston's fame from "Friends" made her a household name, but her life, of course,
wasn't always this way. Aniston had relatively humble beginnings, and she took whatever odd
jobs she could to make ends meet in the earliest stages of her career. According to The Mirror,
her career was a slow burn.
"I worked at an ice cream place. And then, I waitressed for about two and a half years.
All the while, I was auditioning . . . I couldn't even get a commercial."
When appearing on Chelsea Handler's Netflix talk show in 2017, Aniston revealed
"I worked at an advertising agency as a receptionist, then I wasn't allowed to do that anymore."
[coughs]
Other short-lived gigs included being a bike messenger and working at a New York City salon.
Aniston also remarked that if she wasn't an actress, she would have become a psychologist,
but thankfully for her devoted fans, it doesn't sound like she'll be making a career change
anytime soon.
When she was 20 years old, Jennifer Aniston took off for the West Coast in search of bigger
career opportunities. She soon found out the actors in L.A. were a different breed. As
she told Interview magazine, she was taken aback by how these actors behaved, saying
"I'd never had a circle of women who got together and talked forever. I was like, 'God, these
California people don't shut up. They talk about their feelings and cry in front of each
other.'"
Aniston even went so far as to compare Los Angeles to another planet.
"Here I am, a girl who grew up in New York City, and now I find myself in Laurel Canyon,
wearing a flowery dress and someone put a crystal around my neck and is burning sage
around my head. I have landed on Mars."
Jennifer Aniston struck gold in 1994 when she signed on for "Friends." The series premiered
on September 22, 1994, and it would go on to air for a decade. The NBC sitcom was wildly
successful and soon became Aniston's most career-defining role. Fans fell in love with
Aniston's character, Rachel Green, and the show even inspired a haircut craze. It seemed
like women everywhere sprinted to their local salon to ask for "The Rachel."
The impact the show had on fans didn't go over Aniston's head. When many years later
she took the stage at the 2019 People's Choice Awards to accept the People's Icon Award,
she credited the long-running show for much of her success.
"If I have any claim to this word 'icon,' it's only because I was able to be on an iconic
show with an iconic cast and an iconic haircut. Friends' was truly — it was the gift of
a lifetime, and I would not be standing up here without that amazing show, without those
amazing five other actors, and [without] an audience who stuck with us."
Few TV accolades hold as much weight as an Emmy Award, and Jennifer Aniston has seven
nominations and one win to date. The star received her first Emmy in 2002, for her role
in "Friends." Her portrayal of Rachel Green landed her the award for Outstanding Lead
Actress in a Comedy Series that year, and she couldn't have been more grateful.
Aniston held back tears as she delivered a moving acceptance speech that night.
"I just have to say thank you from the bottom of my heart. This has been the greatest nine
years of my entire life. To work with this cast who make me better every day, who inspire
me every day. Our writers, the most brilliant writers in television — I would not be here,
any of us would not be here without you guys."
Aniston went on to receive many more awards throughout the course of her career, notably
winning a Golden Globe in 2003.
What do you get when Hollywood's biggest actress falls in love with everyone's favorite hunk?
A media sensation. Jennifer Aniston's marriage to fellow actor Brad Pitt became one of the
biggest cultural moments of the early 2000s, and fans and the tabloids couldn't get enough
of their relationship. As People reported, the pair officially tied the knot in a ceremony
in Malibu, California on July 29, 2000.
Aniston and Pitt never had kids, but they did have a five-year marriage full of red
carpet moments and sweet words about one another. But all good things must come to an end and.
As People reported, Aniston filed for divorce in 2005, citing irreconcilable differences.
As fans soon found out, there appeared to be larger factors at play. It wouldn't be
long before Pitt's romance with Angelina Jolie, who had been his "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" co-star
during the last year he was married to Aniston, went public.
As much as Jennifer Aniston was grateful for her role on "Friends," she also had fears
of being overshadowed by it. That was until 2002's "The Good Girl" came along. Aniston
portrayed a woman named Justine in the feature film and finally put some distance between
herself and Rachel Green.
Speaking during a roundtable for The Hollywood Reporter, Aniston revealed she was relieved
to see people appreciated the movie.
"I could not get Rachel Green off of my back for the life of me. I could not escape, and
I was just Rachel from 'Friends.'"
Despite being typecast for years due to the sitcom, "The Good Girl" was a turning point.
"Getting older, there is such a freedom in the work because you just stop giving a crap
after a certain amount of time. I guess it was 'The Good Girl' that was the first time
I got to just sort of really shed whatever this little Rachel character was."
In February 2012, Aniston was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and all of her
closest friends and family came out to celebrate. The Los Angeles Times covered the occasion,
and shared photos that revealed Adam Sandler was in attendance, as well as Aniston's then-boyfriend,
Justin Theroux, and her father.
Sandler, who starred with Aniston in "Just Go With It," wrote a lengthy speech for the
occasion, remarking that Aniston has found "a permanent place in America's heart." He
went on to say,
"I love this girl, my wife loves this girl, the entire world loves this girl."
As with most big-name celebrities, Jennifer Aniston's personal life is talked about almost
as much as her acting roles. After a number of tabloids speculated about whether or not
she was pregnant in 2016, Aniston hit back. The actress made it clear she is a whole person
whether she has kids or not, and she's sick of people talking about her decision to hold
off on starting a family. She said in a 2016 personal essay for HuffPost,
"We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child. We get to decide for ourselves
what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone. Let's
make that decision for ourselves and for the young women in this world who look to us as
examples."
Aniston added that kids aren't entirely out of the question, but she's certainly not going
to have children to make herself feel more complete.
A decade after her marriage to Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston remarried. She tied the knot
with Justin Theroux in August 2015, in a secret ceremony with close family and friends. The
ceremony took place after a three-year engagement, and they caught everyone off guard with their
spur-of-the-moment nuptials.
As a source told People,
"Guests were told it was a birthday party for Justin. Jen and Justin wanted to surprise
guests, and guests were certainly surprised."
Unfortunately, Aniston's marriage to Theroux would lead to her second divorce. The pair
called it quits in 2018.
Jennifer Aniston's wildly successful career has resulted in her making big bucks. Yep,
the actress is worth an estimated $300 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. How exactly
did she wind up with such a massive net worth? Much of Aniston's fortune was amassed while
she was filming "Friends." The star was said to be making more than $1 million per episode
by the sitcom's final season.
Even after "Friends" ended, she made good money. Forbes claimed Aniston was the fifth-highest-paid
actress in the globe in 2017. She's also been part of a slew of box office mega-hits, making
a pretty penny with her roles. Aniston may be known for her down-to-earth, girl-next-door
vibes, but her net worth proves she's a member of Hollywood's elite.
For years, Jennifer Aniston was notorious for keeping a low profile, particularly when
it came to social media. Finally, in October 2019, the actress decided to start sharing
more tidbits of her life online. She shared her first Instagram post on October 15, 2019,
and she nearly broke the internet while doing so. There was so much excitement about her
joining the app that, when her fans rushed to follow her, the app crashed. Notably, Aniston
quickly broke Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's record for fastest IG account to hit 1 million,
as Harper's Bazaar reported.
So, what was her first post? A snapshot featuring the cast of "Friends." In the caption, she
wrote,
"And now we're Instagram FRIENDS too. HI INSTAGRAM."
She later apologized to her fellow Instagrammers for momentarily breaking the app. she wrote
in another post,
"I swear I didn't mean to break it... Thank you guys for the kind, glitchy welcome,"
At least it wasn't a fridge.
"What the hell am I doing?"
"You just broke my fridge!"
In 2020, "Friends" fans received the news they had been waiting years for: a reunion
was in the works. Since the show went off air in 2004, fans of the sitcom have had their
fingers crossed waiting to see the whole cast reunite on the show's New York City apartment
set. Then fans got a date: May 27, 2021.
As much as the "Friends" reunion special means to fans, it means just as much to the cast.
As Aniston told People magazine in an interview, she could barely hold back tears while on
set with her former co-stars. She recalled thinking,
"Oh God, how are we going to get through this alive, without just crying our faces off?"
And while a lot has changed in the years since the series ended, Aniston knows exactly what
her character would be doing in 2021.
"I would like to have maybe started a clothing line of my own, and it's sort of a small franchise."
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