Profile of Jennifer Aniston on Famous Like Me

Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969 in Sherman Oaks, California, USA) and is an Emmy-winning American actress best known for playing Rachel Green on the television sitcom Friends.

Personal life

Her parents are John Aniston and Nancy Dow. Her Greek-American father, an actor best known for his role on the soap opera Days of Our Lives, made his best friend Telly Savalas (TV's "Kojak"), her godfather and also changed the family name from their original Greek surname "Anastassakis" to the more American sounding Aniston, which he discovered while traveling through Alabama. After spending a year living in Greece, the family returned to the States, settling in New York where her father John Aniston (Yannis) won a part on the U.S. soap opera Love of Life and later Search for Tomorrow. In 1985, the family moved to Los Angeles when John Aniston started on Days of Our Lives. She is currently estranged from her mother Nancy.

Aniston previously dated Adam Duritz and Tate Donovan in low-profile relationships. Her pairing with actor Brad Pitt was very high-profile in the media. She married Pitt on July 29, 2000, in a Malibu wedding. They separated on January 7, 2005, and Aniston officially filed for divorce on March 25, 2005 citing irreconcilable differences. In a September 2005 interview with Vanity Fair Aniston revealed that Brad Pitt became "emotionally unavailable" when he began filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith and that she was very hurt when pictures later surfaced of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie cavorting together on a beach in South Africa. However, she also asserted that she did not think he cheated on her when they were married. She was enraged when she saw the photo shoot of Pitt and Jolie looking like a family, and was even more upset when she found out the photo shoot was her ex-husband's idea

On August 25, 2005, David Hesterbey was arrested for trespassing after allegedly entering Aniston's Malibu home.

Acting career

Attending Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts during 1987, Aniston was a member of the drama club. Her desire to become an actress grew as she worked in off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave. She moved to Hollywood and appeared in her first television roles in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in the short-lived Ferris Bueller the same year, a television adapatation of the classic 1986's teen flick Ferris Bueller's Day Off (it barely lasted a season). Aniston then starred in two more failed sitcoms, The Edge and Muddling Through and guest-starring on shows such as Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, and Burke's Law. After this string of flops, especially her appearance in the critically-derided horror movie Leprechaun, Aniston seriously considered giving up acting, until a script for a new sitcom on NBC's 1994-1995 fall line-up came her way.

In 1994, the producers of the new NBC show called Friends originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but she persuaded them that the role of Rachel Green was more suited to her character. She played the character until the show ended in 2004.

Since the ending of Friends, Aniston's film career has flourished.

TV Work

• Camp Cucamonga (1990)
• Molloy (1990) (cancelled after a few weeks)
• Ferris Bueller (1990-1991)
• The Edge (1992-1993)
• Sunday Funnies (1993)
• Muddling Through (1994) (canceled after a few episodes)
• South Park (1999) (as a special guest)
• Friends (1994-2004)

Filmography

• Leprechaun (1993)
• Dream of an Insomniac (1996)
• She's the One (1996)
• Picture Perfect (1996)
• 'Til There Was You (1997)
• Waiting for Woody (1998) (short subject)
• The Object of My Affection (1998)
• Office Space (1999)
• The Iron Giant (1999) (voice)
• Rock Star (2001)
• The Good Girl (2002)
• Bruce Almighty (2003)
• Abby Singer (2003) (Cameo)
• Along Came Polly (2004)
• Rumor Has It (2005)
• Derailed (2005)
• Friends with Money (2006) (currently in post-production)
• The Break Up (2006) (currently filming)
• Running with Scissors (2006) (currently filming) (also producer)
• Diary (2006) (currently announced start of production)
• The Senator's Wife (2006) (currently announced start of production) (also producer)
• Wanted (2007) (currently announced start of production)

Awards

• 1995: Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Series, Friends
• 2002: Emmy Award: Best Actress in a Comedy Series, Friends
• 2003: Golden Globe Award: Best Actress in a Comedy Series, Friends

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