A friend for life. Ever since the early ’90s, Jennifer Aniston has been a household name. Whether she was starring in your favorite TV show or creating laughter in the latest rom-com, the actress always made a splash.
Though born in Los Angeles, Aniston moved to New York City at a young age and her father, actor John Aniston, didn’t let her watch TV. Little did he know, it became her passion. She joined the drama department at Manhattan’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts and after graduating, she took on roles off-Broadway.
It wasn’t until 1994 that she landed the role of a lifetime, playing Rachel Green in Friends, an NBC sitcom about six friends living in New York City and drinking coffee. It skyrocketed Aniston to fame — and even created a hair phenomenon. The Rachel — the name of the layered cut her character rocked in the ’90s — was one that everyone wanted to have … except Aniston.
“I love [hairstylist] Chris [McMillan] and he’s the bane of my existence at the same time because he started that damn Rachel, which was not my best look,” she told Allure magazine in 2011. “How do I say this? I think it was the ugliest haircut I’ve ever seen. What I really want to know is, how did that thing have legs? Let’s just say I’m not a fan of short, layered cuts on me personally, so I don’t love revisiting that particular era.”
Regardless, she couldn’t shake her iconic role, so much so that it held her back from different roles down the line.
“I could not get Rachel Green off of my back for the life of me. I could not escape ‘Rachel from Friends,’ and it’s on all the time and you’re like, ‘Stop playing that f–king show,’” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2020. “The Good Girl was the first time I got to really shed whatever the Rachel character was, and to be able to disappear into someone who wasn’t that was such a relief to me.”
She has since starred in dozens of films and series through the years. Scroll through the gallery below to see more highlights from her life.
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1990
Aniston landed her first TV roles in 1990, starring in Molloy, followed by Ferris Bueller, a series based on the film. She played Jeannie Bueller, Ferris’ sister on the sitcom, which only aired for one season.
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1993
Three years later, Aniston starred in the horror film Leprechaun, a role she later felt embarrassed by.
Credit: Courtesy of TV Land
1994
Aniston’s life was changed forever when she landed the role of Rachel Green on Friends after choosing the NBC show over a spot on Saturday Night Live. The series became one of the biggest sitcoms of all time and earned her five Emmy nominations (and one win).
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1997
Three years into Friends, Aniston landed her first starring role in a film, portraying a young advertising executive in Picture Perfect alongside Kevin Bacon.
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1999
Her personal life became all anyone could talk about in 1999 when she made her red carpet debut with then-boyfriend Brad Pitt at the 51st annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
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2000
The famous pair tied the knot in Malibu on July 29, 2000.
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2002
After being nominated in the supporting actress category twice in a row, Aniston won her first Emmy in 2002, this time in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series category. She beat out Sarah Jessica Parker (Sex and the City), Debra Messing (Will & Grace), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) and Patricia Heaton (Everybody Loves Raymond).
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2003
In 2003, Aniston starred alongside Jim Carrey in Bruce Almighty, which became her biggest commercial success in film.
Credit: Courtesy of TV Land
2004
After 10 seasons and 62 Emmy nominations, Friends aired its final episode on May 6, 2004.
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2005
On January 7, 2005, Pitt and Aniston announced they had split following rumors he was involved with his Mr. & Mrs. Smith costar Angelina Jolie. They finalized their divorce in October of that year.
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2006
In 2006, Aniston met Vince Vaughn while filming The Break-Up and the two briefly dated.
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2010
Aniston was also romantically linked to her Bounty Hunter costar Gerard Butler in 2010.
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2012
On February 22, 2012, she was given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Adam Sandler, Malin Ackerman and Kathryn Hahn spoke during her honor.
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2012
After more than a year of dating her Wonderlust costar Justin Theroux, the pair got engaged in August 2012.
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2015
Lisa Kudrow, Chelsea Handler and Howard Stern were among the guests in attendance at the couple’s August 2015 wedding.
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2018
Two and a half years later, the pair announced in a joint statement that they had chosen to divorce. They remained friends and went on still celebrate multiple holidays together.
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2019
In November 2019, Aniston and Reese Witherspoon costarred and executive-produced the first original series for Apple TV+, The Morning Show. The drama was renewed for a second season.
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2020
Aniston won her second Screen Actors Guild Award for The Morning Show in January 2020. Backstage, she ran into Pitt and the heartwarming reunion immediately went viral.
Credit: Fast Times
2020
The exes reunited virtually for a Fast Times at Ridgemont High table read to raise money for two different charities in September 2020.
Credit: Courtesy of HBO Max
2021
Aniston reunited with her Friends costars in a televised special for HBO Max, in which the group reminisced about their set experiences and toured the iconic apartments.
Credit: Zoey Grossman/Allure
2022
During an interview with Allure, the actress addressed her past attempts to have a child. “I was going through IVF, drinking Chinese teas, you name it. I was throwing everything at it,” she explained in November 2022. “I would’ve given anything if someone had said to me, ‘Freeze your eggs. Do yourself a favor.’ You just don’t think it. So here I am today. The ship has sailed.”
Aniston added: “I have zero regrets. actually feel a little relief now because there is no more, ‘Can I? Maybe. Maybe. Maybe.’ I don’t have to think about that anymore.”
