Jennifer Anistan
Nobody thinks of themselves as sexy, really. Some days you go,
'Hey, I'm not going too bad today.' But if you try and be sexy,
you'll never be sexy.
-Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer Aniston, one sixth of the ensemble cast of NBC's
stellar sitcom Friends, has practically become a friend to the
millions of viewers tuning every Thursday night. Born on
February 11, 1969 in Sherman Oaks, California and raised in
New York, Aniston was no stranger to the world of acting. She
was the daughter of John, a regular on the daytime soap
Days of Our Lives and Nancy, an actress and model, as well as
goddaughter of the late Telly Savalas. In high school,
Aniston was a member of the drama club, which sparked her
decision of pursuing a career as an actress. Among her acting
talent, one of Aniston's passions is painting, and one of her
creations was even displayed in New York's Metropolitan
Museum of Art when she was 11.
A graduate of New York's High School of Performing Arts,
Aniston worked in the off-Broadway productions For Dear Life
and Dancing on Checker's Grave. Her first television break
finally came in 1989, when Aniston got a part as a regular on
Molloy. It took a while for Aniston to get roles, until her agent
suggested she lose some weight. Unfortunately, none of her
television gigs were anything worth catching, as most of the
shows were not big hits. Does anybody remember catching
The Edge and the television adaptation of Ferris Bueller on the
boob tube? Among the more successful shows that featured
Aniston included a recurring role on Herman's Head, as well as
an appearance on The Larry Sanders Show, Partners, Burke's
Law, and Quantum Leap.
Aniston's big break came in 1994, when she was cast as
Rachel Green on the sitcom Friends, part of NBC's "Must See
TV" line-up. The always fashionable, sometimes ditzy and
loyal friend, Rachel became a household name, as viewers
(mostly female) would anxiously watch to see if Ross and
Rachel would finally get together. Aniston became known for
her hairstyle, which eventually became known as the Rachel
'do and became practically the standard hairstyle among
women.
Jennifer Aniston web sites and shrines cropped up all over
the Internet, dedicated to the actress who was even revered
by Beavis and Butt-head. Aniston's other "digital" role include
a role on an interactive CD-ROM directed by Steven Spielberg
and co-starring Quentin Tarantino, titled Movie Maker.
Joining the trend of Friends' cast members working on the big
screen (Aniston boasts the most movie roles of the cast),
she starred in small low-budget films, including She's the One,
co-starring Cameron Diaz and which required Aniston to work
on the film on weekends off from taping Friends; 'Til There
Was You; Dreams for an Insomniac; and Picture Perfect,
co-starring Kevin Bacon. Paul Rudd was Aniston's gay
roommate and the object of Aniston's affection in 1998's The
Object of My Affection, which was her first lead role, and to
date her most successful among moviegoers. She most
recently starred in the comedy Office Space, directed by the
creator of Beavis and Butt-head and King of the Hill.
Joining the ranks of fellow beauties Tyra Banks and Rebecca
Romijn-Stamos, Aniston and fellow Friend Lisa Kudrow proved
they Got Milk by showing off their milk moustaches for the
famous milk ad campaign, promoted education in a public
service announcement for NBC, and joined the rest of the
cast of Friends to promote Diet Coke. Aniston has been
romantically liked to Tate Donovan and is presently the envy
of many women as Brad Pitt's love.