Given Jennifer Aniston’s success, one could assume that her idyllic upbringing set the stage for her extraordinary adulthood.
Though the 54-year-old is naturally gifted and talented, she wasn’t always that lucky as a child. Her father, John Aniston, is well-known for playing Days of Our Lives mobster Victor Kiriakis.
The Morning Show actress gave a retrospective of her life, discussing how she overcame challenging circumstances in the past, such as a strained connection with her late mother.
“Thank you for showing me what never to be,” Aniston says of her mother, who she once estranged from, while discussing the significance of letting go of “toxic” emotions.
Aniston’s mother’s criticism of her beauty grew louder as she moved through her early years. “She was from this world of, ‘Honey, take better care of yourself,’ or ‘Honey, put your face on,’ or all of those odd sound bites that I can remember from my childhood,” the woman reminisced of that period in time.
Parents John Aniston and Nancy Dow, who were wed from 1965 to 1980, welcomed Jennifer Aniston into the world on February 11, 1969.
John was best known for his 37-year, on-again, off-again stint on Days of Our Lives, which he played until his death in 2022 at the age of 89. Her mother was an actress who had a few small parts in TV shows including The Beverly Hillbillies and The Wild Wild West. She passed away in 2016 at the age of 79.
The Cake actress claimed that her mother’s divorce when she was nine years old “really screwed up.” Nonetheless, Aniston “was thrilled to get out” of the New York City family’s old house, which “was not a fun house to live in.”
In an interview with friend Sandra Bullock for Interview Magazine in 2020, Aniston went on to say that she learned to cope with life’s setbacks by “growing up in a household that was destabilized and felt unsafe.”
Seeing grownups treat each other cruelly and observing specific aspects of human nature caused me to think, ‘I don’t want to do that.’” That’s not who I want to be. This sensation I currently have in my body is something I don’t want to continue having. I don’t want that to ever be felt by anyone else I interact with. The Just Go With It actress went on, “I suppose I should thank my parents for that.You have two options: express your anger or martyrdom, or just say, “You got lemons?” Let’s prepare some lemonade.
It was tough beyond the family as well.
“I don’t know why, but I was one of those kids who got kind of bullied,” Aniston remarked.
I was one of the children who the other kids chose to tease. The years in the fifth, sixth, and seventh grades were peculiar. I was just that kid because I was a bit overweight.
It seemed like her mother was throwing lemons at her most of the time.
Aniston said, “I had to do long-overdue personal work, parts of me that hadn’t healed since I was a little kid.”
She was easily angered. That is intolerable to me. If I am angry, we will talk about [things]. I promise never to scream or lose my cool like that. Unaware of her breathtaking beauty, Aniston goes on, “She was critical.” She gave me a lot of criticism. She was stunning, because she was a model. I wasn’t. I never was. To be honest, I still don’t see myself that way, and that’s okay. She was also really cruel. She would harbor resentments that seemed so trivial to me.
The Horrible Bosses actress says in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter that she never lived up to Dow’s expectations and that their communication stopped for a few years.
The small girl’s wish to be noticed and loved by a mother who was too preoccupied with unimportant things struck a chord with Aniston as she continues, “I did not turn out the model child she’d hoped for.”
Following her mother’s 1999 autobiographical book “From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir,” Aniston ceased communicating with Dow. The celebrity allegedly lost her mind over her mother’s invasion of privacy.
Aniston was actually so distraught that she neglected to ask her mother to her 2000 nuptials with Brad Pitt; but, following their divorce, they were able to get back together.
However, before Dow passed away, it was said that she hadn’t seen her mother in a number of years. Dow had previously experienced two strokes.
Her connection with her father, however, was very different.
Regarding pursuing his acting career, she added, “He thought I was going down the road of absolute destruction and heartache.” And once he had anything to talk to me about, I felt like we had a completely different relationship. It was, “You’re an actor?” I perform on stage.
Aniston is much more than a mere performer.
Aniston, one of the highest paid actors in the business, is the owner of the haircare firm LolaVie, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is the recipient of a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe, and has been named one of the most beautiful women in the world on multiple occasions. In addition, she founded Echo Films, a production firm that produces films in which she appears, including Murder Mystery 2, The Switch, and Dumplin.
John got a Daytime Emmy lifetime achievement award in June 2022, just before he passed away. His daughter gave the award in a prerecorded piece, complimenting him on his many years of acting.
And the comic shared a touching Instagram post with a nice picture of him cradling her when she was a newborn after dad passed away. “Sweet papa,” the Friends star writes.Anthony John Aniston, I’ve never met a more lovely person than you. I am incredibly appreciative that you soared into the sky in harmony and painlessly.I promise to always love you. Remember to pay a visit.
Prior to her passing, she also made peace with her mother.
“I made amends with my mother. I’m sorry to my dad. I’ve offered my family my forgiveness,” she declares, emphasizing the need of valuing every moment—good and terrible.
“It’s crucial.That bitterness, that wrath, is poisonous. Observing my mother never let go of it taught me that. “Thank you for showing me what never to be,” I seem to have said at the time. That’s what I mean when I say that we should attempt to find ways to respect the less happy times and the darker events in our life because of what they have given us,” the speaker stated.
Jennifer Aniston is such a modest yet gifted person! Finding out about a star’s past and seeing them as regular people is always fascinating. Even still, we’re sorry to learn that Aniston and her mother didn’t get along well, and we hope that she has now found some peace.
What are your thoughts on her upbringing and this story?
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