All About Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston was born on February 11, 1969 in Sherman Oaks, California. Both of her parents were actors; her father, John Aniston, was on the long-running soap opera, Days of our Lives, and her mother, Susan Dow, was a film actress in the ‘60s. Aniston grew up in New York City, but when she was a child she stayed for a year in Greece with her family.
Even as a child Aniston was interested in acting, and she went to attend the Fiorella H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in Manhattan. After that she went to work on a couple of Off-Broadway productions, while also working part-time as messenger and telemarketer. At age 20, she decided to try her luck and moved to Los Angeles, California.
Just a year after moving to Hollywood, she was cast in a role in a television series, “Molloy”. Unfortunately for Aniston, “Molloy” did not turn out to be Aniston’s big break because it got cancelled. Another series that she starred in, “Ferris Bueller,” was also cancelled. Aniston did not give up, and continued to appear in comedy shows. After a string of cancelled TV shows, she got a part on the horror movie, “Leprechaun”, which was ridiculed by critics.
Aniston was discouraged and wanted to quit acting after doing “Leprechaun”. However, when she auditioned for a TV series called “Friends”, she changed her mind. At first she was considered to play the role of Monica Geller, the neat freak friend. The producers thought Courtney Cox fit the role better, so Aniston got the role of Rachel Green.
“Friends” turned out to be Aniston’s big break. It became so popular in the ‘90s, and Aniston became a household name. In the show, Aniston sported a layered hairstyle that eventually became the widely-known “Rachel” hairstyle. The show lasted for ten years, from 1994 to 2004. Aniston won many awards for her performance in “Friends” as Rachel Green.
Because of her skyrocketing career, Aniston starred in successful movies, including 1999’s “The Object of My Affection”. After “Friends” ended she appeared in blockbuster romantic comedy films, such as “Bruce Almighty”, “Rumor Has It”, “Along Came Polly” and “The Break-Up”. In 2002 she starred as Justine Last in the independent film, “The Good Girl”. This has been her most critically-acclaimed role so far.
Last year Aniston starred in “Marley & Me,” a comedy film with Owen Wilson. It earned $200 million worldwide. This year she appeared in the romance comedy, “He’s Just Not That into You,” along with huge Hollywood stars, Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Ben Affleck, and Scarlett Johansson.
In 2000, Aniston married actor Brad Pitt. They divorced in 2005. Aniston has been in long and short-term relationships, most recently with on-off musician, John Mayer. In March 2009 they had broken up.