When you see how successful Jennifer Aniston is, it might seem like she had a wonderful childhood that led to a perfect life.
She’s 54 now and has beauty, talent, and good genes. Her dad is John Aniston, who played Victor Kiriakis in “Days of Our Lives.” But when she was young, life wasn’t so great for her.
The star of the Morning Show talked about her life and how she dealt with tough things from her past, like her difficult relationship with her mom who passed away.
Aniston talked about how it’s important to let go of harmful anger. She thanked her mom for teaching her how not to act.
Growing up, her mom would often criticize her looks even more. Aniston remembered her mom saying things like, “Take better care of yourself,” or “Put on some makeup.”
Jennifer Aniston was born February 11, 1969, to parents John Aniston and Nancy Dow, who were married from 1965 to 1980.
John, who passed away at 89 in 2022, was famous for acting in Days of Our Lives for 37 years. Jennifer’s mom, who died at 79 in 2016, had small acting parts in shows like The Beverly Hillbillies and The Wild Wild West.
When Jennifer Aniston’s parents got divorced when she was nine, it was hard on her mom. But Jennifer was happy to leave their old house in New York City because it wasn’t a nice place to live.
In a talk with her friend Sandra Bullock for Interview Magazine in 2020, Jennifer talked about how growing up in a home that wasn’t stable or safe helped her learn how to handle life when things go wrong.
“Seeing adults being mean to each other and seeing things about how people act made me realize, ‘I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to be like that. I don’t want to feel this way.’ I don’t want anyone else to feel bad either.” The star of “Just Go With It” said, “I guess I can thank my parents… You can be mad or feel sorry for yourself, or you can say, ‘If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.'”
“Outside of my family, it was tough too,” Aniston said. “I was one of those kids who got picked on, and I don’t know why.”
“I was one of those kids who other kids would pick on. It was a tough time in fifth, sixth, and seventh grades. I was a bit chubby, so I was just seen as that kid.”
A lot of the time, it felt like her mom was giving her a hard time.
“I had to work on myself, especially things from when I was little that I hadn’t dealt with,” Aniston said.
“My mom had a bad temper. I can’t deal with that. If I’m upset, I’ll talk about it calmly. I’ll never yell and get crazy like that,” Aniston said, not realizing how beautiful she is.
“My mom was very judgmental. Because she was a model and beautiful, she expected me to be like her. But I wasn’t, and I’m okay with that. She also held onto grudges over little things, which I thought was silly.”
In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the star of Horrible Bosses said she never met her mom’s expectations, and there were years when they didn’t talk.
Aniston said, “I wasn’t the perfect kid my mom wanted. It hurt because I just wanted her to notice me and love me, but she was busy with other things that weren’t important.”
Aniston stopped talking to her mom after her mom wrote a book in 1999 called “From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir.” She was really mad because her mom talked about private stuff without asking.
Aniston was so upset that she didn’t even invite her mom to her wedding with Brad Pitt in 2000. But they made up after Aniston and Pitt got divorced.
But she reportedly hadn’t seen her mother in several years prior to the death of Dow, who earlier suffered a couple of strokes.
Her relationship with her dad was different.
“He thought I was going to have a really hard life if I became an actor,” she said. “But once he realized I was acting too, we got along better.”
Aniston is more than just an actor.
Jennifer Aniston is one of the highest-paid actors. She’s won awards like a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has been called one of the most beautiful women in the world many times. She also owns LolaVie, a haircare company. She started Echo Films, a production company, and has been in movies like The Switch, Dumplin’, and Murder Mystery 2.
In June 2022, before he died, her dad John got a Daytime Emmy lifetime achievement award. Jennifer talked about how great he was in a video.
After he passed away, the comedian shared a nice picture of him holding her when she was a baby on Instagram. The Friends star wrote, “Sweet papa… John Anthony Aniston, You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace – and without pain…I’ll love you till the end of time. Don’t forget to visit.”
Before her mom passed away, she made up with her.
“I forgave my mom. I forgave my dad. I forgave my family,” she said. Aniston thinks it’s important to remember both the good and bad times.
“It’s not good to hold onto anger and resentment. I learned that from my mom who never let go of it,” she said. “I remember saying, ‘Thank you for showing me what never to be.’ So, what I mean is, even when bad things happen, we should try to find something good in them.”
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