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Jennifer Aniston: 5 Facts You Didn't Know About the 'Friends' Star
2023/08/31

She may be one of Hollywood's most famous stars, but  Jennifer Aniston considers herself an ordinary woman at heart. She's come a long way since her Friends days in the 1990s, and there's so much more to know about the iconic Hollywood actress.

Jen first got her start in acting at age 11 when she joined the Rudolf Steiner School's drama club, according to IMDb. The We're the Millers star, who was born to actors  John Aniston and  Nancy Dow in 1969, followed in her parents' footsteps as she began appearing in Off-Broadway productions including 1987's For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave.

Three years later in 1990, Jen landed her first TV role on the comedy sitcom Molloy, which ran for one season.

She also appeared in Ferris Bueller that same year, as well as 1991's Herman's Head and 1992's The Edge.

Although she was having a hard time finding gigs around 1983, everything changed for the California native when she landed the role of Rachel Green in Friends. Jen portrayed the beloved character throughout the iconic series' 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004.

With the success of Friends, Jen was catapulted into a life of fame and superstardom. Her most impressive film credits include 2003's Bruce Almighty, 2004's Along Came Polly, 2008's Marley and Me, 2011's Just Go With It, 2013's We're the Millers and many more.

Aside from appearing in more than 45 films and TV shows throughout her decades-long career, Jen — who was was married to  Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005 and  Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2017 — also took home tons of accolades. So far, she's won two SAG awards, an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe and more.

Although the Horrible Bosses star has been a household name for more than 30 years, her status as a Hollywood star is challenging at times. In fact, Jen told the New York Times she can relate to her The Morning Show character, Alex, who struggles with fame.

"There's similarity to my life," she revealed in September 2019.

"I relate in ways of feeling like, when you don't want to be seen, and you don't want to go out of the house, and you want to just scream, and you don't want to walk on a red carpet. I don't want to stand behind a podium, I don't want to have my photograph taken, I just want to cry today. You know?"

Even though she might feel like straying from the limelight, fans have been lucky to know and love Jennifer for as long as she's been killing it in her showbiz career!

Scroll through the gallery below to learn five facts you might not know about Jen.

She Was a Real-Life Coffee Shop Waitress

"I waitressed for years in New York before I got any [acting jobs]," Jennifer told Instyle in October 2019. "And I was a telemarketer selling time-shares in the Poconos. I didn't make one sale. I was terrible at it. I was like, 'Why do we have to call people at dinnertime?' "

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She Almost Didn't Get the Part on 'Friends'

Jennifer was contractually bound to a CBS sitcom, Muddling Through, when NBC first cast her as Rachel Green. Fortunately for Friends fans, CBS canceled its low-rated show, but before that, "I had phone calls from girlfriends saying, 'I'm auditioning for your part in Friends,'" Jen recalled while attending the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in January 2015.

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Reese Witherspoon Is One of Her Best Friends

"Even before  Reese [Witherspoon] played my lovely, albeit somewhat spoiled sister Jill on Friends, she somehow felt like family to me," Jennifer once gushed of her costar in Apple TV's The Morning Show. "Her amazing talent professionally and personally has long made her a very strong and welcome presence in my life."

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She's Happy Being Single

Divorced from Brad and Justin, "I don't feel a void," she told Elle in December 2018. "My marriages, they've been very successful, in my opinion. And when they came to an end, it was a choice that was made because we chose to be happy, and sometimes happiness didn't exist within that arrangement anymore."

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She Embraces Her Age

"Fifty was the first time I thought, Well, that number," Jennifer, who celebrated the milestone in February 2019, told InStyle. "I don't know what it is, because I don't feel any different. Things aren't shutting down in any way. I feel physically incredible."

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