Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Joanna Aniston was born on February 11, 1969, in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles. Her father, John Aniston, is a Greek-born actor whose ancestry traces to the island of Crete, and her mother, Nancy Dow, was also an actress, with English, Irish, Scottish, Italian, and partial Greek heritage. Aniston has two half-brothers: John Melick on her mother's side and Alex Aniston on her father's side. Actor Telly Savalas, a close friend of her father, served as her godfather. The family relocated to New York City during her childhood, and her parents divorced when she was nine years old.

Aniston discovered acting at age eleven while attending a Waldorf school. She subsequently enrolled at Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music and Art and Performing Arts, where Anthony Abeson served as her drama teacher and where she performed in productions including Lorraine Hansberry's The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window and Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters. Her early professional work included off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave, during which time she supported herself through part-time work as a telemarketer, waitress, and bike messenger.

Her screen career began with an uncredited role in the 1988 science fiction film Mac and Me, followed by her first major film role in the 1993 horror comedy Leprechaun. Her first regular television role came in the 1990 series Molloy, and she also appeared in the television adaptation of Ferris Bueller's Day Off and the made-for-television film Camp Cucamonga that same year. Additional early television appearances included guest roles on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, and Burke's Law, as well as parts in the short-lived series The Edge and Muddling Through.

Aniston rose to international prominence beginning in 1994 when she was cast as Rachel Green on the NBC sitcom Friends, a role she held until the series concluded in 2004. She had been considered for the role of Monica Geller before being cast as Rachel, and she declined an offer to join Saturday Night Live as a featured player in order to take the part. During the final season of Friends, she and her female co-stars became the highest-paid television actresses of all time according to the Guinness Book of World Records, each earning one million dollars per episode. Her character's relationship with Ross Geller, played by David Schwimmer, was frequently cited in polls and magazines as television's favorite couple. Aniston received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her work on the series, winning for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also received two Golden Globe Award nominations for the role, winning Best Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy in 2003.

Concurrent with her television career, Aniston built a substantial film résumé. She appeared in the 1996 ensemble romantic comedy She's the One before taking her first starring film role in Picture Perfect in 1997. Subsequent film credits include The Object of My Affection (1998), the cult comedy Office Space (1999), a voice role in the animated film The Iron Giant (1999), Rock Star (2001), and the independent dramedy The Good Girl (2002), in which she played an unglamorous cashier who cheats on her husband. The Good Girl earned over fourteen million dollars in North American limited release. Her largest commercial film success came with Bruce Almighty (2003), in which she played the girlfriend of a television reporter offered divine powers; the film grossed approximately 484 million dollars worldwide, making it the fifth-highest-grossing film of that year. Along Came Polly (2004) opened at number one at the North American box office with 27.7 million dollars in its opening weekend and ultimately earned 172 million dollars worldwide.

Aniston continued her film work through the following decade with credits including The Break-Up (2006), Friends with Money (2006), Marley and Me (2008), Just Go with It (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011), We're the Millers (2013), the independent film Cake (2014), Dumplin' (2018), and Murder Mystery (2019). In 2008, she co-founded the production company Echo Films. She returned to television in 2019 as a producer and star of the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show, for which she received a Screen Actors Guild Award. Her accolades overall include a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. She holds a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and her worldwide box office gross exceeds 1.6 billion dollars.

On the Broadway stage, Aniston appeared in productions between 2006 and 2009 and participated in The 24 Hour Plays in 2004.