Ever since she wormed her way into our hearts playing the iconic Rachel from Friends, Jennifer Aniston has kept us entertained with her antics, from love feuds to topless sunbathing.
Through two marriages (and subsequent divorces), Aniston has remained in the spotlight, captivating us all with her girl-next-door charm. Here are some things you might not know about the 90s star.
20. In school she was known as the ‘class clown’
Although not officially diagnosed until her 20s, Aniston suffers from dyslexia.
Due to this she found school work hard and used humour as a distraction, much to the amusement of her classmates.
Despite her ‘popular girl’ image, Aniston recalls being bullied throughout her time at school.
She is apparently still haunted by the time a group of girls reenacted the classic ‘Carrie’ moment by rigging up a bucket of paint to fall on Aniston as she walked into the classroom.
It seems what comes around goes around, because look who’s laughing now.
19. She worked as a waitress and telemarketer
Much like her on-screen alter-ego Rachel, Aniston has worked several menial jobs whilst waiting for her acting career to take off.
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This includes telemarketing and waitressing, which she described as ‘horrible’.
It seems Aniston was not much better at waiting tables than Rachel was, and was known to have dropped burgers in customers’ laps on more than one occasion.
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Aniston’s affiliation with waitressing doesn’t stop at Friends; her characters in Along Came Polly and Office Space also made a living as waiting staff.
I think we can safely say they were more successful in their attempts than Aniston and Rachel.
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18. She originally auditioned for the role of Monica in Friends
Although we couldn’t imagine the duo any other way, Aniston originally auditioned for the role of Monica whilst Courteney Cox was offered the part of Rachel.
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However, Cox turned down the part as she felt she was more suited to play Monica.
As luck would have it, Aniston agreed.
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It appears that teenage Aniston had more in common with a young Monica Gellar than you might think, describing herself as the ‘uncool, fat girl’ at school.
Those days are far behind her now, and we can’t help but admire 50-year old Aniston’s svelte figure.
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17. She hated the famous ‘Rachel’ haircut
Known as one of the most iconic hairstyles in history, it seems Aniston didn’t like her ‘do as much as the rest of us did.
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Describing it as the ugliest hair cut she’d ever seen, Aniston explained that it was too hard to style without professional assistance.
She has since explained she prefers her hair in long, beachy waves which she feels is more ‘authentic’.
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It later emerged that her stylist Chris McMillan was actually high when he created the cut.
This perhaps goes a long way to explain its ‘experimental’ style.
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16. She was originally meant to play Mariane Pearl in A Mighty Heart
It seems that as well as being love rivals in the well documented love triangle between Aniston, Jolie and Brad Pitt, the two stars have competed professionally too.
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Aniston was scheduled to play the lead role of Pearl in the 2007 movie, until the real Mariane Pearl specified that she wanted Jolie for the role.
She explained her decision, saying she felt a sense of ‘kinship’ with her.
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It’s safe to say that Jolie was the winner in both of these feuds.
However, Aniston and Pitt were recently spotted together at her 50th birthday party, so watch this space.
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15. She has directed several well-known movies
Not content with her on-screen career, Aniston turned her hand to the action behind the camera in 2006 when she directed the short film Room 10.
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After this success, Aniston was asked to direct a segment of a five-part anthology called Five.
The series explores people’s experiences with fighting breast cancer.
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Aniston enjoyed her foray into the world of directing, saying ‘I love acting, but being an actor for hire only serves so much, and then you want to fill your well up again and be charged by something else’.
We hope the star isn’t done with acting for good; we’re not ready for her to disappear off our screens just yet.
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14. She has appeared in various music videos
Aniston’s debut music video role was in ‘Walls’ by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, alongside a star-studded cast consisting of Maxine Bahns and Edward Burns.
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Since then she has featured in The Rembrant’s ‘I’ll Be There For You’ video with the rest of the Friends.
Ranked by Blender in a list of the ‘worst songs ever’, the video is brought to life by the star’s energetic performance.
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Her most recent music video role was back in 2001 when she starred as a girl at a party in Melissa Etheridge’s ‘I Want to be in Love’.
A fitting song for a star who has experienced her fair share of heartbreak, don’t you think?
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13. At school she was a goth
A far cry from the preppy beauty queen we all know and love, Aniston was a self-proclaimed ‘goth nightmare’ in her teens.
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She experimented with several unique looks, including a shaved undercut and dressing head-to-toe in black.
“I wasn’t going for most beautiful”, the star explained.
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“It was, how can I be the most rebelliously unattractive?”.
However, she soon out-grew her awkward goth phase to become one of the most prolific style-icons of our time.
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12. She’s best friends with Friends co-star Courteney Cox
As well as being on-screen BFFs, the duo remain close friends to this day. On set, the two would hang out every day, often joined by Lisa Kudrow.
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The trio would watch screenings of the show and eat a ‘Rachel Salad’-a Cobb salad with the addition of turkey and garbanzo beans.
“We just have fun, we laugh, and it’s great”, Cox told TV Week. Cox has been there to offer support throughout Aniston’s two divorces, with Aniston being named as Godmother for Cox’s daughter, Coco, in 2004.
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The pair have even holidayed together, and still meet up regularly for catch-ups over lunch.
In June 2019, Aniston and Cox were reunited with Kudrow, posting an instagram snap captioned ‘girls night’ and looking just as close as they had done 20 years ago.
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11. She had to lose 30 pounds before starring in Friends
After her audition, Aniston was pulled aside by her agent who told her she needed to lose 30 pounds if she wanted to join the cast.
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Aniston immediately agreed, and described feeling grateful that her agent had been direct with her.
Now, 20 years later Aniston is vocal about her disgust at the unrealistic body expectations placed on women.
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“It’s just old,” the star was quoted saying.
“We’ve been there, let’s move on”.
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10. If she hadn’t made it as an actress, she wanted to be a therapist
In a 2017 interview with Chelsea Handler, Aniston revealed that in another life she would have been a therapist.
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She went on to explain that she has always been the friend people go to for advice and that she enjoys trying to understand people’s behaviour and thought processes.
With her coy smile and soft Californian twang, we can understand why she’s the go-to girl for a heart to heart.
9. Her wedding to Brad Pitt cost over $1 million
The extravagant event included 4 live bands, including a 40-strong gospel choir, fireworks and 200 guests, all of whom were required to sign a confidentiality agreement.
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Aniston even hired the Los Angeles County Sheriff to provide traffic control and, incredibly, airspace above the venue was restricted to prevent unwanted attention from the circling helicopters.
The ceremony also took place under a huge marque as a further precaution.
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The couple spend a whopping $75,000 on flowers alone, with guests dining on shrimp, caviar, crab and lobster.
Sounds like a very fishy affair.
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8. Their wedding ring designer started selling ‘Brad and Jennifer’ knockoffs
In 2002, the newly-weds were left incensed when Damiani International Jewellers started producing engagement and wedding rings identical to the ones custom-made for Aniston.
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In fact, Pitt even designed the ring he used to propose himself, making it even more personal.
The pair ended up taking the company to court, filing a $50 million lawsuit against the jewellers.
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Luckily, they were able to come to an agreement, with Pitt promising to design an exclusive jewellery collection for Damiani.
Aniston also agreed to appear in their advertising campaign.
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7. She used to co-own her own hair-product company
We all had hair-envy after seeing Aniston’s iconic shiny locks, but did you know you could buy the very same products used to achieve her golden tresses?
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The company Living Proof sold their range of beauty tools at Ultra Beauty for around $20 a pop, including shampoos, conditioners and styling products.
Unfortunately, in 2016 retail giant Unilever purchased a 100% stake in the company, with Aniston announcing she would no longer be affiliated with them shortly after.
The star does however still have her own range of perfumes, described as a ‘sweetly tropical and refreshing scent for women’.
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6. She is constantly the target of tabloid rumours
Okay, so you might have known this one already, but there has been constant speculation over Aniston being pregnant ever since she married Brad Pitt way back in 2000.
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‘I have been pregnant so many times, it’s ridiculous’, the star stated, expressing her annoyance at the endless Hollywood rumour mill.
Ever since she was seen with Pitt at her 50th birthday party in February this year, fans have been hoping for an official reunion, with some tabloids even announcing the pair have got engaged. Again.
Although neither have commented on these claims, there appears to be no actual evidence of such an event ever taking place.
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5. As a child she cleaned toilets to earn pocket money
Although we can’t imagine the bronzed beauty being anything other than glamorous, before she hit the big time Aniston polished porcelain to earn some quick cash.
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According to the actress, she grew up with ‘absolutely no money’, but insisted she was just as happy before she found fame.
Yeah, right.
Aniston was quoted saying she was ‘pretty good’ at the task, although we’re guessing she hires someone else to clean her toilet these days.
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4. She’s a fan of ‘trashy’ reality TV
Aniston made this scandalous confession to People in 2015, saying ‘I sadly am very much interested in the Kardashian-Jenner thing, that’s a guilty pleasure for sure’.
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A year later, she went on to reveal that she’s also a huge fan of The Bachelor, likening the addictive trash TV to ‘really great junk food’, adding that ‘it’s a train wreck’.
However, the star refuses to feel guilty over her viewing pleasure, saying ‘you can’t feel bad for them, they’ve done that to themselves just to entertain us’.
Who knows, maybe Jen will turn to The Bachelor on her quest for love?
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3. She once lived in a haunted house
In December 2018, Aniston revealed that when she first moved to Los Angeles, she lived in a ‘haunted’ house.
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Of course, she wasn’t aware of the house’s unwelcome visitor at first, until strange happenings started to occur. The actress revealed how the dishwasher and coffee machine would appear to turn themselves on, or the stereo would suddenly blast out at full volume.
However, instead of calling an electrician as one might expect, the star turned to a spiritualist to deal with the problem.
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The medium reportedly told Aniston that her ghostly inhabitant did not like her housemate, prompting her to move out sharpish.
Quick thinking Jen, although we can’t help but feel for the housemate she left behind.
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2. It’s speculated she started dating Justin Theroux before he split from his then-partner Heidi Bivens
Before their relationship began in 2011, Theroux had been living with stylist Bivens, whom he was together with for 14 years.
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The pair deny the claims, and after the whole Brangelina saga, it’s hard to believe that Jen would put another woman in the same position.
Theroux and Aniston enjoyed a 7-year relationship, getting engaged in 2012 and marrying at a small ceremony at the couple’s home in 2015.
Ever unlucky in love, Aniston announced her split from the actor in February 2018, with inside sources claiming this was a result of mismatched personalities and unresolved tension between the pair.
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1. She’s a ‘home girl’ who prefers a quiet night in to partying
The star has been quoted saying there’s nowhere she’d rather be than in her own home, preferring a night in front of the TV over the extravagant parties of her past.
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In furnishing the $42 million Beverly Hills mansion, Aniston revealed that she ‘put comfort first’, saying that ‘sexy is important, but comfort is essential’. Her love for her home in Los Angeles may have also contributed to her and Theroux’s split in 2018.
The actress apparently tried to move in to her then-husband’s New York bachelor pad but ‘couldn’t deal with the pokey apartment’.
It seems that the city’s high paced lifestyle just didn’t suit the free-spirited Californian.
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