It is expected that growing up is a time of learning and playing. However, this was far from the case for many of Hollywood's A-listers! Some famous people have endured unimaginable situations. Some have experienced much worse than others, but the majority of them have made the most of their traumatic pasts to create something wonderful. One such person is FRIENDS actress, Jennifer Aniston, who once talked about how she felt "unsafe" as a child.

The actress is one of the few famous people in Hollywood, who have enjoyed universal acclaim throughout their entire careers. She remains one of today's busiest celebrities with her streaming shows, and film projects.

But life was not at all that beautiful for the 54-year-old actress.

She has once discussed her parents' careers in show business in the past, in which she provided some insight into her upbringing in an interview with Sandra Bullock. 

Jennifer Aniston Grew Up In A Home Where She 'Felt Unsafe'

Jennifer Aniston performed dual roles in the 2018 Netflix movie, Dumplin', serving as both the star and producer of the film. She played a former pageant queen who struggled to accept her plus-size daughter as she competed in a beauty pageant to make a point about what beauty really is.

Two years later, on the occasion of her 51st birthday, Aniston, who is now 54, gave an interview in 2020, where she reflected on things that made her so beloved. Moreover, she shared startling details about her upbringing, letting it be known that it was not all roses and sunshine for her.

Sandra Bullock, who was interviewing the actress said of her, "a way of pushing joy and positivity," and then inquired:

"What is it that allows you to stay buoyant and keep from getting discouraged when things don't go the right way?"

To which, Just Go with It actress replied:

"I think that it comes from growing up in a household that was destabilised and felt unsafe, watching adults being unkind to each other, and witnessing certain things about human behaviour that made me think: 'I don't want to do that. I don't want to be that. I don't want to experience this feeling I'm having in my body right now. I don't want anyone else that I ever come in contact with ever to feel that.'"

For the unversed, when Aniston was nine years old, her parents, actors– Nancy Dow and John Aniston, got divorced.

She 'Did Not Come Out the Model Child' Her Late Mother Wished

Jennifer Aniston previously talked openly about the difficult relationship she had with her mother, drawing comparisons between it and the relationship she portrayed in the 2018 Netflix film, Dumplin'. In the film, she played a former pageant queen who forced unattainable beauty standards on her teenage daughter.

As she stated (via PEOPLE):

"One of the reasons I really loved the mother-daughter aspect of it was because it was very similar in a way to what my mother, and our relationship, was." 

The actress further explained that because her mother was an actress who had roles on shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and The Wild Wild West, she felt her mother had expectations of her that she did not meet.

"She [Nancy Dow] was a model and she was all about presentation and what she looked like and what I looked like. I did not come out the model child she'd hoped for and it was something that really resonated with me, this little girl just wanting to be seen and wanting to be loved by a mum who was too occupied with things that didn't quite matter."

The Huffington Post noted that the mother and daughter had reconnected in 2005 after a decade of separation. Aniston revealed:

"She [Nancy Dow] was critical. She was very critical of me. Because she was a model, she was gorgeous, stunning. I wasn't. I never was. I honestly still don't think of myself in that sort of light, which is fine."

Well, Dow passed away in Los Angeles, California, USA, on May 25, 2016.

Source- Interview Magazine