An unhappy childhood and two divorces, Jennifer Aniston learned to accept herself.
Bringing laughter to audiences through her role as Rachel in the classic comedy Friends , the 54-year-old star has experienced many pains in life. According to AFP , she said it took her a long time to learn to accept the misfortune that happened to her.
Aniston was born to parents who worked in the arts. Her father, John Aniston, played Victor Kiriakis on the hit NBC series Days of Our Lives for 37 years. Her mother, Nancy Dow, was a model and actress.
The star had a troubled childhood when her parents divorced when she was 10 years old. In 1978, after returning home from a friend’s birthday party, Aniston’s mother said her father was busy outside and would be back soon.
However, John did not return home. “It was a sad time in my life,” the actor said in a 1999 interview with Rolling Stone .
Dow tried her best to make her daughter love modeling, even though all the star wanted was her mother’s attention. In an interview with Allure in December 2022, she said: “I think the divorce changed my mother. There was no counseling back then, and my mother lived with constant pain. Even though I was still hurt from the past, I forgave my parents.”
The star spent nearly a decade not speaking to her mother, and did not invite her to her wedding to actor Brad Pitt in 2000. In September 1999, Dow released her memoir From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir, which recounted the conflict between her and her daughter.
According to US Magazine , the star and her mother reconciled in 2016. That same year, Dow died of complications from strokes. Four years later, Aniston’s father passed away.
Like her parents, Aniston did not have a perfect marriage. She and Brad Pitt divorced after seven years of marriage, when Pitt was rumored to be having an affair with Angelina Jolie. Aniston was also rumored by the media to not want to have children.
The star married actor Justin Theroux for the second time in 2015. Three years later, the two divorced due to lifestyle differences, according to ET .
Aniston at the premiere of Murder Mystery in Los Angeles in June 2019. Photo: AFP
Aniston at the premiere of “Murder Mystery” in Los Angeles in June 2019. Photo: AFP
Despite her troubled personal life, Aniston continued to develop her career. After playing several small roles in her early days, in 1994, Aniston was given the role of Rachel in the TV series Friends , a turning point that made her one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.
In 2019, the star returned to television after 15 years when she appeared in The Morning Show. At the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards, she won for Best Actress in a Drama Series.
At the age of 54, instead of following new lifestyle trends, the star chose her own path, finding meditation. According to Aniston , meditation helps people’s minds relax and have faith in life.
When asked if she was still ready to accept love, the star said: “I’m no longer interested in love, although I still want someone to comfort me when I’m tired. I went through bad things when I was 30-40 years old. However, I’m grateful because those things helped me become the person I am today.”
Aniston dislikes social media because she believes it has a negative impact. She told Vogue in 2017: “I’m afraid of the insecurity and anger I get when I read comments.”
Currently, Jennifer Aniston has a peaceful life with two dogs named Clyde and Chesterfield in Los Angeles, USA. She told Allure : “For years, I hid my IVF treatment in the hope of having children. I kept to myself because I was afraid of scrutiny. This world is full of lies, so I decided to tell the truth. Now, I feel like I’ve just woken up from hibernation. I have nothing to hide.”
