Aniston has been included in many magazines' lists of the world's most beautiful women. Her net worth is estimated as US$300 million, and her box office gross is over $1.6 billion worldwide.[4] She is the recipient of a star on theHollywood Walk of Fame and is the co-founder of the production companyEcho Films, established in 2008.
Early life
Aniston was born on February 11, 1969, in theSherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles[5][6] to Greek-born actorJohn Aniston and actressNancy Dow.[5] One of her maternal great-grandfathers, Louis Grieco, was from Italy.[7] Her mother's other ancestry includes English, Irish, Scottish, and a small amount of Greek. Her father's ancestry is from the Greek island of Crete. Aniston has two half-brothers: John Melick, her older maternal half-brother; and Alex Aniston, her younger paternal half-brother.[5] Her godfather was actorTelly Savalas, one of her father's best friends.[5][8]
Her family moved to New York City when she was a child.[5] Despite her father's television career, she was discouraged from watching television, though she found ways around the prohibition. When she was six, she began attending aWaldorf school.[9] Her parents divorced when she was nine.[10]
Aniston first worked inoff-Broadway productions such asFor Dear Life andDancing on Checker's Grave,[5] and supported herself with part-time jobs including work as atelemarketer, waitress and bike messenger.[5] In 1988, she had an uncredited minor role in the critically panned sci-fi adventure filmMac and Me. The next year, she appeared onThe Howard Stern Show as aspokesmodel forNutrisystem,[14] and moved back to Los Angeles.[15]
Her first regular television role was in the TV seriesMolloy in 1990, and she appeared in thetelevision adaptation of the 1986 filmFerris Bueller's Day Off; both series were quickly canceled. She starred as a teenage summer camp counselor in the made-for-television filmCamp Cucamonga (1990), and as a spoiled teenager followed by a vengefulleprechaun in the horror filmLeprechaun (1993).[16] A 2014 retrospective fromEntertainment Weekly identifiedLeprechaun as her worst role,[17] and Aniston herself has expressed embarrassment over it.[18]
Depressed over her four unsuccessful television shows, Aniston approached TV executiveWarren Littlefield at a Los Angeles gas station asking for reassurance. As the head of NBC entertainment, he encouraged her to continue acting, and a few months later helped cast her inFriends,[22][19] a sitcom set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall lineup. The producer wanted Aniston to audition for the role ofMonica Geller,[23] butCourteney Cox was deemed more suitable, and Aniston was cast asRachel Green. She was also offered a spot as a featured player onSaturday Night Live, but turned it down in favor ofFriends.[24] She played Rachel until the show ended in 2004, when Aniston took a 15-year hiatus from television save for occasional guest roles.
The program was a massive hit and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained worldwide recognition. Her character was especially popular.[25][26] She received fivePrimetime Emmy Award nominations (two forSupporting Actress, three forLead Actress), and won for Lead Actress.[27] She was also nominated for twoGolden Globe Awards and won in 2003 asBest Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. According to theGuinness Book of World Records, Aniston (along with her female co-stars) became the highest-paid television actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck during the final season ofFriends.[28] Her character's relationship withRoss Geller, portrayed byDavid Schwimmer, was widely popular among audiences; they were frequently voted television's favorite couple in polls and magazines.[29]
After a four-year hiatus, Aniston returned to film work in 1996, when she performed in the ensemble cast of romantic comedyShe's the One.[30] Her first starring film vehicle wasPicture Perfect (1997), where she played a struggling young advertising executive oppositeKevin Bacon andJay Mohr. It received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success;[31] but Aniston's performance was more warmly received, with many critics suggesting that she had screen presence.[32] In 1998, she appeared as a woman who falls for a gay man (played byPaul Rudd) in the romantic comedyThe Object of My Affection,[33] and the next year she starred as a restaurant waitress in thecult filmOffice Space.[34] In 1999, Aniston had the first voice acting role of her career as a single mother inBrad Bird's animatedscience fiction filmThe Iron Giant.[35][36][37] Despite receiving critical acclaim, the film was considered a box office failure upon release,[38] but has since earned acult following.[37]
Aniston appeared in thedramedyRock Star (2001) oppositeMark Wahlberg andDominic West. She starred in the independent dramedyThe Good Girl (2002) as an unglamorous cashier who cheats on her husband. The film was a commercial success in limited release, taking in over $14 million in North America.[39] Film criticRoger Ebert declared it her breakthrough:
After languishing in a series of overlooked movies that ranged from the entertainingOffice Space to the disposablePicture Perfect, Jennifer Aniston has at last decisively broken with herFriends image in an independent film of satiric fire and emotional turmoil. It will no longer be possible to consider her in the same way.[40]
Aniston's biggest commercial success in film has been the comedyBruce Almighty (2003), where she played the girlfriend of a television field reporter (Jim Carrey) offered the chance to be God for one week.[41] With a worldwide box office gross of $484 million,[42][43] it was the fifth-highest-grossing feature film of the year.[44] Aniston next starred as the old classmate of a tightly wound newlywed in the romantic comedyAlong Came Polly (2004) oppositeBen Stiller,[45] which placed number one at the North American box office, earning $27.7 million in its opening weekend;[46] it eventually made $172 million worldwide.[47]
2005–2013: Continued film success
In 2005, Aniston appeared as an alluring woman having an affair with an advertising executive in the thrillerDerailed, and as an obituary and wedding announcement writer in the romantic comedyRumor Has It.[48][49] Both films were moderate box office hits.[50][51] Aniston took on the role of a single, cash-strapped woman working as a maid in the independent dramaFriends with Money (2006), which received a limited release.[52]
Her next film was the romantic comedyThe Break-Up (2006), alongsideVince Vaughn, in which she starred as one half of a couple having a complicated split when both refuse to move out of the pair's recently purchased home. It received mixed reviews but grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend and $204 million worldwide.[53]The A.V. Club's Keith Phipps gave the film a negative review, stating, "It's like watching the 'we were on a break' episode ofFriends stretched to feature length, and without the blessed relief of commercial breaks or the promise ofSeinfeld around the corner."[54]CinemaBlend gave the film a positive review stating, "In an era of formulaic romantic movies that bear no resemblance to reality,The Break-Up offers a refreshing flipside."[55]
Aniston at the premiere ofHe's Just Not That Into You in 2009
The 2008 comedy dramaMarley & Me, starring Aniston andOwen Wilson as the owners of the titular dog, set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office sales ever with $14.75 million. It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed number one at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks.[61] The total worldwide gross was $242.7 million.[62] Her next film in wide release, the romantic comedyHe's Just Not That Into You (2009), in which she starred oppositeBen Affleck, grossed $178.8 million globally[63] and ranked number one at the United States box office for its opening weekend.[64] While it received mixed reviews, Aniston, along with Affleck,Ginnifer Goodwin, andJennifer Connelly, were praised by critics as standouts in the film.[65][66]
Aniston appeared as the former wife of abounty hunter (Gerard Butler) in the romantic comedy action filmThe Bounty Hunter (2010). The film was panned by critics, withThe Hollywood Reporter writing that "the mishmash ends up as a thoroughly unfunny adult cartoon."[67] Nevertheless, it was a box office success, garnering over $130 million worldwide.[68] A lukewarm box office reception greeted her next film, the romantic comedyThe Switch (2010), in which she starred withJason Bateman as a 30-something single woman who decides to have a child using a sperm bank. The film's opening weekend drew whatThe Hollywood Reporter dubbed "a dispiriting $8.4 million".[69] The film received generally mixed reviews, with review siteMetacritic showing 13 out of 30 critics delivering a positive verdict.[70]
Aniston in 2010
In 2010, Aniston was also a guest star on the season two premiere ofABC's sitcomCougar Town, playing a psychiatrist.[71] Her announcement that she would appear onCougar Town garnered excitement and was dubbed her return to television.The A.V. Club wrote, "[her role] is a funny bit, and it highlights just how much Jennifer Aniston is built to be a TV star."[72][73][74] In 2011, she starred oppositeAdam Sandler as an office manager posing as the wife of a plastic surgeon in the romantic comedyJust Go with It,[75][76][77] and played a sexually aggressive dentist inHorrible Bosses.[78]Just Go with It andHorrible Bosses both made over $100 million in North America and $200 million worldwide.[79][80]
Aniston appeared in the comedyWanderlust (2012) withPaul Rudd,[81] with whom she acted inThe Object of My Affection and alsoFriends, as a married couple who join a commune after losing their money and deciding modern life is not for them.[82] The script forWanderlust, bought byUniversal Pictures,[83] was produced byJudd Apatow.[84][85]Wanderlust received positive reviews but was a box office failure, grossing only $21 million worldwide, against a production budget of $35 million.[86] Aniston starred as a struggling stripper who agrees to pose as a wife for a drug deal, withJason Sudeikis, inWe're the Millers (2013). The film received mixed reviews from critics,[87] but was a financial success, grossing $269 million against a budget of $37 million.[88]
2014–present: Film roles and return to television
Aniston played the role of a stoic socialite who becomes the target of an ill-planned kidnapping plot inLife of Crime (2014), a film adaptation ofElmore Leonard's 1978 novelThe Switch.[89] The film was released in limited theaters, to positive reviews.[90] Catherine Shoard ofThe Guardian described her performance as "endearingly comic"[91] and Eric Kohn ofIndieWire wrote that "Aniston tops any of her recent performances with a spirited turn that harkens back to her neurotic days onFriends."[92] She also reprised her role forHorrible Bosses 2 (2014).[93]
InCake (2014), Aniston starred as an astringent woman named Claire Simmons who struggles with chronic pain.[94] The film received mixed reviews; nonetheless, Aniston's performance was acclaimed, dubbed by some critics as "Oscar-worthy".[95][96][97][98] TheToronto International Film Festival called her performance "heartbreakingly good",[99] Gregory Ellwood ofHitFix stated, "It's really on most people's radar for being a rare dramatic turn for Jennifer Aniston, and she doesn't disappoint." He further stated, "Aniston makes you believe in Claire's pain. She makes you believe this character is at her lowest point and only she can pull herself out of it. ... It's a complete performance from beginning to end and she deserves the appropriate accolades for it."[100] For her performance, Aniston was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama,SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, andCritics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress.[101][102] She was also nominated multiple nominations for its latter seasons.
In 2015, Aniston starred as a reluctant therapist in the screwball comedyShe's Funny That Way,[103] which received mixed reviews and found a limited release in theaters, but her performance was once again noticed.Wesley Morris ofGrantland called her "one of the great screen comedians. ... Most of her scenes here are extraneous, but her vulgarity and tartness are so sharp that the movie needs them. ... This isn't just Aniston having the best stuff. It's her having the most fun with her talent. She's funny in every way."[104]
InThe Yellow Birds, a war drama directed byAlexandre Moors, Aniston portrays the mother of a deceased soldier, alongsideAlden Ehrenreich,Tye Sheridan,Jack Huston, andToni Collette.[112] While she said she does not "normally gravitate toward being in war films", she made an exception because the film was "written so beautifully and in such a way [she] had never experienced".[113] The film, first presented at the2017 Sundance Film Festival, received avideo on demand release in June 2018.[114] TheLos Angeles Times wrote in its review: "Toni Collette and Jennifer Aniston as the soldiers' quite different but equally concerned mothers, deliver uniformly naturalistic performances".[115]
In December 2018,Netflix released the musical comedyDumplin', with Aniston as executive producer and star—marking her first project for a streaming service.[116] That year, she began work on another Netflix project,Murder Mystery, a comedy that reunited her with Adam Sandler, which premiered on June 14, 2019.[117] The two of them reunited for the sequelMurder Mystery 2, which premiered on March 31, 2023.[118]
Aniston has appeared in commercials and music videos throughout her career. After starting onFriends, Aniston and her co-starMatthew Perry shot a 60-minute instructional video for the release ofMicrosoft'sWindows 95 operating system.[129] The next year she appeared in commercials forL'Oréal hair products.[130]
Under a contract withElizabeth Arden, Inc.,[131] Aniston worked for over a year on her first perfume, which was released in July 2010.[132][133] Original plans called for the perfume to be named "Lolavie by Jennifer Aniston", but to avoid confusion with a similarly named perfume, the name was changed to simply "Jennifer Aniston".[134] In 2014, she launched her second perfume, named J,[135][136] followed by Near Dusk (2015),[131] Beachscape (2016),[137] Luxe and Chapter One (both in 2017), Chapter Two (2018), Silver and Solstice Bloom (both in 2020).[138][139] In 2021, Aniston launched the LolaVie haircare company.[140]
Since 2007, she has worked in a publicity campaign for the drinkSmartWater; on March 7, 2011, she released aYouTube video for SmartWater,Jennifer Aniston Goes Viral, which tripled online interest in the product within 24 hours of its release.[141] In 2012, Aniston co-founded hair care brand Living Proof and also became its spokeswoman. She left when the company was sold toUnilever in 2016.[142] In January 2013, she became the new spokeswoman ofAveeno Skincare.[143] Aniston is paid "eight figures" for her endorsement.[144] She became the new face of the airlineEmirates in 2015,[145] which was reportedly a success.[146] For pharmaceutical companyShire, she appeared in a 2016 campaign raising awareness aboutchronic dry eye.[147][148]
Aniston andKristin Hahn during a tour of the Inova Breast Care Center inAlexandria, Virginia, in October 2011. They co-produced the breast-cancer-related filmFive.
Aniston has been a celebrity advocate for numerous charities and received attention for her own donations. She has appeared in television commercials forSt. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, and hosted September 2008'sStand Up to Cancer show.[154] In the "It Can't Wait" campaign to freeBurma, Aniston directed and starred in a video.[155] She is a supporter of Friends of El Faro, a nonprofit organization that helps raise money for Casa Hogar Sion, an orphanage inTijuana, Mexico.[156]
On April 14, 2007, Aniston receivedGLAAD's Vanguard Award for her contributions to increased visibility and understanding of theLGBT community.[157] In 2013, she was named theEntertainment Industry Foundation (EIF) ambassador for theSaks Fifth Avenue Key to the Cure campaign, which raises funds for the EIF Women's Cancer Research Fund.[158] In 2015, she supported theComic Relief, Inc. charity.[159] Other charities that Aniston has publicly supported include Clothes Off Our Back, Feeding America, EB Medical Research Foundation, Project A.L.S.,OmniPeace, and theRape, Abuse & Incest National Network.[160]
After being honored by SmartWater in 2016 for her ongoing philanthropic work forSt. Jude's, Aniston spoke of the importance of philanthropy in her life toInStyle magazine: "We live an extremely beautiful, fortunate life being able to do what we get to do for a living. And so it's a way of being able to be in a position to do something for people who are less able. It's something that makes my heart smile."[164]
Media image
Aniston's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
The media nicknamed Aniston "America's sweetheart" while she was starring inFriends.[165] In 2019, Rachel Simon ofNBCNews.com said Aniston "has filled the role of our most beloved celebrity for nearly two and a half decades now, and there are no signs of her being replaced anytime soon", arguing that few celebrities have maintained the "America's sweetheart" title for as long as she has.[166] Aniston has been included in various magazine lists of the world's most beautiful women.[167][168][169] In 2005, she became the firstGQ (Gentlemen's Quarterly) Woman of the Year. She has frequently appeared onPeople magazine's annual list ofMost Beautiful Women, topping the ranking in 2004 and 2016.[170] She also topped the magazine's Best Dressed List in 2006. She has been a regular on theFHM (For Him Magazine)100 Sexiest Women in the World list since 1996, most recently ranking at number 79 in 2012.[171] A survey of their patients by two Hollywood plastic surgeons, reported in 2011 byThe Daily Telegraph, identified her (alongsideGisele Bündchen andPenélope Cruz) as having one of the most sought-after body shapes.[172] In the same year, readers ofMen's Health voted her as the Sexiest Woman of All Time.[173]Men's Health also included her on its 100 Hottest Sex Symbols of All Time list, explaining that "Her down-to-earth persona makes her seem attainable, ... she makes even pieces of flair look good. She rarely plays the airhead, and she seldom overplays a role: she's funny in a quiet, refreshingly human way. And her all-too-human love life off screen inspires sympathy ... throughout her career Aniston has remained sexy, funny, and unmistakably real."[174] Although Aniston disliked the hairstyle she wore during her first two years onFriends, "The Rachel" became very popular.[175][176]
Aniston was one of the world's highest-paid actresses in 2018.[177] She has been on theForbes Top Earning Actresses list for 15 years, every year since 2001—and since then also on itsCelebrity 100 list (based on "earnings and fame"), topping it in 2003.[178][179] According toForbes, in October 2007, Aniston was the best-selling celebrity face of the entertainment industry.[180] The magazine estimated her net worth at $110 million in 2007,[181] and $200 million in 2017.[182] It listed her earnings as $19.5 million in 2018.[183]
In July 2016, amidst media speculation over whether she was pregnant, Aniston penned an essay forThe Huffington Post condemning the "objectification and scrutiny we put women through". She asserted: "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. [...] We don't need to be married or mothers to be complete. We get to determine our own 'happily ever after' for ourselves."[187] The piece was supported by many celebrities and widely covered in the media.[188]
After years of aversion to social media, Aniston joinedInstagram on October 15, 2019, causing the app to "break" (for hours the "follow" button became inoperable due to an overload of web traffic to her account) with the first picture of the plannedFriends cast reunion forHBO Max (whose release was delayed until 2021 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic). She broke theGuinness World Record for fastest time to reach one million followers on Instagram, by doing so within five hours and sixteen minutes.[189]
Personal life
In 2014, Aniston became a practitioner ofBuddhism.[190][191][192] She practicesHatha yoga andBudokan karate.[193][194][195] In 2014, she spoke of herTranscendental Meditation practice.[196] The following year, she saiddyslexia had affected her education and self-esteem and that, after being diagnosed in her twenties, her outlook toward life changed. "I thought I wasn't smart. I just couldn't retain anything. Now I had this great discovery. I felt like all of my childhood trauma-dies, tragedies, dramas were explained."[197]
Aniston does not have any children. In November 2022, she appeared on the cover ofAllure for their final print issue.[202] In the accompanying interview, Aniston said she had undergonein vitro fertilization (IVF) to try to have children when she was in her thirties and forties, but the attempts did not result in any pregnancies.[203] She said, "All the years and years and years of speculation... It was really hard. I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it."[202] In July 2024, after comments about "childless cat ladies" that Republican vice presidential nomineeJD Vance made in 2021 went viral, Aniston stated on social media that:
All I can say is… Mr. Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day (...) I hope she will not need to turn to IVF as a second option. Because you are trying to take that away from her, too.[204]
In 2023, she saidAdam Sandler's family sent her flowers every year on Mother's Day.[205]
Relationships
Aniston metBrad Pitt in 1998, and their relationship was highly publicized.[206][207] After two years of dating, they married on July 29, 2000, in a lavishMalibu, California, wedding. For a few years, their marriage was considered a rareHollywood success.[5] On January 7, 2005, they announced their separation,[208] and finalized their divorce on October 2.[209] During their divorce proceedings, news media speculated that Pitt had been unfaithful to Aniston with hisMr. & Mrs. Smith co-starAngelina Jolie, with whom he began a relationship soon after the split.[210] In the months following, the public's reaction towards the divorce played out as "Team Aniston" and "Team Jolie" T-shirts appeared throughout the country.[210] In 2015, Aniston said, "Nobody did anything wrong... It was just like, sometimes things [happen]."[197]
Aniston said the divorce prompted her to reach out to her mother, Nancy, from whom she had been estranged for nearly a decade. Nancy had talked about her daughter on a television show and writtenFrom Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir (1999).[211][212]
In 2006, Aniston said she had been devastated by the death of her longtime therapist, whom she credited for helping make her separation from Pitt easier.[57] She said she did not regret her relationship with Pitt, describing it as "very intense" and "a beautiful, complicated relationship".[213]
Aniston began a relationship with actor, director, and screenwriterJustin Theroux in May 2011. The following January, they purchased a home in theBel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles for roughly $22 million.[214] They became engaged on August 10, 2012[215] and had wedding ceremony on August 5, 2015, at their estate.[216] They separated at the end of 2017.[217]
Aniston received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Golden Globe Award nominations, and nine SAG Award nominations for her role inFriends. From these, she won one of each. She also garnered a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her guest appearance in30 Rock, while her performance inCake earned her nominations at the Golden Globe and SAG awards. Aniston additionally won a SAG Award and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the first season ofThe Morning Show, and earned multiple nominations at Critics' Choice, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy and SAG awards for its subsequent seasons. As a producer, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and three Golden Globe Awards.
According to review aggregator siteRotten Tomatoes and the box-office siteBox Office Mojo, Aniston's most critically acclaimed and commercially successful films areOffice Space (1999),The Good Girl (2002),Bruce Almighty (2003),Friends with Money (2006),The Break-Up (2006),Marley & Me (2008),Just Go with It (2011),Horrible Bosses (2011),We're the Millers (2013), andDumplin' (2018).[218][47]
^Schwarzbaum, Lisa (August 7, 2002)."The Good Girl Review".Entertainment Weekly.Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. RetrievedAugust 8, 2008.
^The Numbers (1997–2012)."He's Just Not That Into You".The Numbers. Nash Information Services.Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 1, 2012.
^Gregoire, Carolyn (March 13, 2013)."10 Celebrities Leading The Wellness Revolution".HuffPost.Archived from the original on April 29, 2014. RetrievedApril 29, 2014.Jennifer Aniston is a long-time yoga practitioner – she's appeared in aYogalosophy DVD and even given Oprah a yoga mat – and she's one of the most famous devotees of TM.
^Laurence, Charles (December 15, 2006)."Not even friends..."Los Angeles National Post.Archived from the original on April 29, 2018. RetrievedAugust 27, 2007.
^Kohen, Sandy (February 15, 2018)."Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux announce separation".Associated Press.Archived from the original on March 15, 2019. RetrievedMarch 2, 2018.Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux are separating after two and a half years of marriage. ... Aniston and Theroux were engaged in August of 2012 and married in August of 2015.
^"Jennifer Aniston".Rotten Tomatoes.Archived from the original on December 1, 2018. RetrievedNovember 5, 2018.
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