Jennifer Joanna Aniston(born February 11, 1969) is an American actress, director, producer, and businesswoman. She is the daughter of actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston gained worldwide recognition for portraying Rachel Green on the popular television sitcom Friends (1994–2004), a role which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and aScreen Actors Guild Award. The character was widely popular during the airing of the series and became recognized as one of the 100 greatest female characters in United States television.

Aniston has played the female protagonist in a number of comedies and romantic comedy films. Her box office hits include Bruce Almighty (2003), The Break-Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Just Go with It (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011) and We're the Millers(2013), each of which have grossed over $200 million in worldwide receipts. Her most critically acclaimed roles were in The Good Girl (2002), for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, and the drama Cake (2014), for which she received nominations for the Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. Her other notable films include Along Came Polly (2004) and He's Just Not That Into You (2009). She is the co-founder, in 2008, of the production company Echo Films.

In 2012, Aniston received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and is one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. In 2007, she was ranked as the 11th richest woman in the entertainment industry with an estimated fortune of $110 million. She has also been included in magazines' lists of the world's most beautiful women.In 2004, Aniston was named "The Most Beautiful Woman" by People magazine, and Men's Health magazine voted her the "Sexiest Woman of All Time" in 2011.

Career

1988–93: Career beginnings

Aniston worked in Off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave,^[14] and supported herself with several part-time jobs, which included working as a telemarketer, waitress, and bike messenger.^[ In 1989, Aniston appeared on The Howard Stern Show, as a spokesmodel for Nutrisystem.That year, Aniston moved back to Los Angeles.

Aniston was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy. She then co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, and like Molloy also quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy series, The Edge and Muddling Through.Other roles included the 1993 horror film Leprechaun,the TV movie Camp Cucamonga, and guest roles on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, and Burke's Law.

1994–02: Television breakthrough and rising film career

Depressed over her four unsuccessful television shows, Aniston approached Warren Littlefield at a Los Angeles gas station asking for reassurance about her career. The head of NBC entertainment encouraged Aniston to continue acting, and a few months later helped cast her for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall lineup. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller,but Courteney Cox was considered to be better suited to the role. Thus, Aniston was cast as Rachel Green. She was also offered a spot as a featured player on Saturday Night Live, but turned it down to do Friends.She played the character of Rachel from 1994 until the show ended in 2004. The program was successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained world-wide reputation among television viewers. Aniston received a salary of $1 million per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations (two for Supporting Actress, three for Lead Actress),^[31][32] including a win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She was also nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and won, in 2003, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of Friends.

Following a four-year hiatus from cinema, Aniston returned to film work in 1996, when she performed in the ensemble cast of the independent films She's the One and Dream for an Insomniac. Aniston's first starring vehicle was the film Picture Perfect (1997), in which she starred opposite Kevin Bacon and Jay Mohr. While the film received mixed reviews, Aniston's performance was more warmly received, with many critics suggesting that she had screen presence. In 1999, she starred in the cult film Office Space for director Mike Judge.She gained critical acclaim for her performances in The Object of My Affection (1998), a comedy-drama about a woman who falls for a gay man (played by Paul Rudd),and in the low-budget 2002 film The Good Girl, playing an unglamorous cashier who cheats on her husband. The latter film opened in relatively few theaters – under 700 in total – taking $14M in the U.S. box office.

2003–09: Film career

Aniston's biggest box office success to date was her appearance in the 2003 comedy Bruce Almighty, in which she played the girlfriend of Jim Carrey's title character.Aniston then starred in the 2004 romantic comedy film Along Came Polly opposite Ben Stiller. In late 2005, Aniston appeared in two major studio films, the thriller Derailed and the rom-com Rumor Has It.... In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama Friends with Money, which was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival and received a limited release.Aniston's next film, the rom-com The Break-Up alongside Vince Vaughn, was released on June 2 and grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews. The film was successful at the box office grossing $204 million worldwide.