Jennifer Aniston

The Short Story: Jennifer Aniston

Birthday: February 11, 1969
Hometown: Sherman Oaks, California
Famous For: Her 10-year stint as Rachel Green on the hugely popular NBC sitcom Friends; her high-profile marriage and divorce to Brad Pitt; her dating life since the divorce
Quick Scoop: Aniston's movies have grossed over $900 million in the United States; was recently nominated for an Emmy for her guest spot on NBC sitcom 30 Rock; is still best friends with her Friends co-star Courtney Cox Arquette

Awards: 2002 Emmy Awards: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy; Friends. 2003 Golden Globe Awards: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Musical or Comedy, Friends. 2001 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female Television Performer, Friends. 2002 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female Television Performer, Friends. 2003 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female Television Performer, Friends. 2004 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female Television Performer, Friends. 2007 People's Choice Awards: Favorite Female Movie Star. 1996 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, Friends. 2002 Teen Choice Awards: TV- Choice Actress, Comedy, Friends. 2003 Teen Choice Awards: TV- Choice Actress, Comedy, Friends; Choice Movie Actress - Drama/Action Adventure, The Good Girl. 2004 Teen Choice Awards: TV- Choice Actress, Comedy, Friends. 2006 Teen Choice Awards: Movies - Choice Chemistry, The Break Up (shared with Vince Vaughn.) 2002 Hollywood Film Festival: Actress of the Year.

Biography

Jennifer Joanna Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California on February 11, 1969 to actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston's father John is Greek and her mother is Italian-Scottish. Aniston has two siblings, half brother John Melick and half-brother Alex Aniston. Aniston's father is most known for his roles on soap operas, particularly Days of Our Lives and Love of Life.

Aniston realized early on she wanted to act and attended Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She also participated in some off-Broadway productions before moving to Los Angeles at the age of 20 to really pursue her acting career.

Jennifer Aniston on the red carpet

About a year after she arrived, Aniston started landing roles. Unfortunately, many were on short-lived sitcoms that never made it past the first season. These included Molloy, Ferris Bueller, The Edge, and Muddling Through. She also guest-starred on Burke's Law, Quantum Leap, and Herman's Head. She also starred in the 1992 horror film Leprechaun.

Aniston's huge breakthrough was the role she landed on the NBC sitcom Friends. While she originally auditioned for the role of Monica, it was instead given to Courteney Cox and she became Rachel Green. The show debuted in 1994 and became a huge hit. Her co-stars on the hit show were Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, David Schwimmer, and Matt Leblanc. The show ran for a total of 10 seasons with each of the lead cast members earning $1 million an episode the last two seasons.

It was during the course of Friends that Jennifer Aniston first garnered notice for her hair and style. In the first few seasons, her haircut was universally adopted as "The Rachel", a popular and frequently requested haircut.

For her work on Friends, Aniston won many awards including an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actor's Guild award. She also won several Teen Choice Awards and People's Choice Awards.

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During her time on Friends, Aniston also filmed several movies. In 1998, she filmed The Object of My Affection with Paul Rudd that garnered her some critical praise. She starred in the 2002 indie film The Good Girl that showcased her ability to do drama. 2003 brought one of her biggest box office openings of her career in the Jim Carrey-helmed Bruce Almighty.

After her time on Friends, she was able to do more movies. From 2004 to 2006 she starred in multiple movies: Along Came Polly with Ben Stiller, Derailed with Clive Owen, Rumor Has It with Kevin Costner, the indie film Friends With Money with Joan Cusack and Francis McDormand, and The Break Up with Vince Vaugn.

In 2008 and 2009, Aniston starred in two more hugely successful films, Marley and Me with Owen Wilson and He's Just Not That Into You with Ben Affleck and Scarlett Johansson. Both opened #1 at the box office the week they were released and both went on to make over $150 million worldwide (Marley & Me made over $240 million.) Aniston is currently working on The Bounty with Gerard Butler and The Baster with Jason Bateman that will be released in 2009 and 2010 respectively. She's also in early stages of pre-production on The Goree Girls about a group of incarcerated female country-and-western performers.

John Mayer and Jennifer Aniston at the 2009 Oscars

Garnering as much as attention as her acting career, Aniston's personal life has been chronicled on the covers of tabloid magazines for years. Since the beginning of her romantic relationship with uber American movie star Brad Pitt, she's been followed and photographed every day of her life. She and Pitt met, dated for two years, and were married on July 29, 2000 in Mailbu, California. After several years of marriage, it was rumored that Pitt was having an affair with his current co-star Angelina Jolie on the set of their film Mr. and Mrs. Smith. While everyone denied the allegations, it wasn't long before Aniston and Pitt parted ways. On January 6, 2005, the couple announced their separation. The divorce was final on October 2, 2005. Since their divorce, Pitt and Jolie have gone on to adopt and have children together. They have not married.

Since her divorce from Pitt, Aniston's dated a handful of guys. Soon after the separation, she began dating her Break Up co-star Vince Vaughn. They dated for just under two years before calling it quits. She quietly dated model Paul Sculfor for a short time before beginning an on-again/off-again relationship with John Mayer that officially wrapped up in March of 2009.

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