Credit: @jenniferaniston
Jennifer Aniston is synonymous with many things. She’s Rachel Green from Friends. She’s the creator of “The Rachel,” the layered bob hairstyle she made famous in the early 90s. She’s Rachel of Ross and Rachel. She’s team Jennifer of the Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie scandal (remember when she was married to Brad Pitt and they were the most adorable couple on the planet earth, and then he left her for Angelina Jolie?). She’s a little bit of everything, but what she is not is entirely open about her own parents. Jennifer Aniston’s parents are not a topic she loves to discuss, and for a good reason. She hasn’t the best relationship with her mother and father, and we’re here to break down Jennifer Aniston’s parents and the relationship she shared with them.
Jennifer Aniston’s Mother, Nancy Dow
If you didn’t know this already, Jennifer Aniston’s relationship with her mother was not the best. She’s referred to it more than a few times as a toxic relationship, and it’s the one that stands out as being the worst one. Nancy Dow is her mother’s name, and she was also an actress. Her mother was part of shows such as “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and she was famous in her own right. Her mother died in 2016. She suffered two terrifying strokes only a few years before her death. She was 79 when she died.
Jennifer Aniston’s Father, John Aniston
John Aniston, much like his daughter, has a household name. He’s starred in many different films and shows, but it is his longstanding role as Victor Kiriakis on daytime’s “Days of Our Lives,” for which he is most famous. John Aniston has played this role for decades, and he is stellar. He landed this role in 1985. For nearly 40 years, he’s played the same character and is a daytime icon.
Jennifer Aniston’s Parents’ Divorce
What she remembers the most about her childhood is that her parent chose to end their 15-year marriage when she was only nine. Following their separation and subsequent divorce, she went to live with her mother. She was with her much of the time, which was not a good situation for her. Her mother was an actress from a day when being perfect, being ‘on’ at all times, and being ‘together’ all the time was accurate. She was a perfectionist, and she pushed that off on her daughter. She wanted Jennifer Aniston to be perfect, and the struggle was real for the child Aniston was at the time. Imagine being a little girl whose mother is always telling you that you need makeup and a nice outfit and being casual or running out without being perfectly made up is a terrible thing. Imagine never feeling good enough about yourself as a result. That’s what Aniston felt as a child.
In addition to not accepting her daughter’s imperfections, Aniston also spoke up about the fact that her mother did not forgive. She held a grudge, and many of her grudges were over small, petty, stupid things. It was a problematic household in which to grow up. The two did not have a great relationship, and then her mother went and wrote a book about their relationship. The two did not speak to one another for more than a decade. Aniston was hurt. She didn’t want to deal with the toxicity. However, she eventually learned to forgive her mother. She eventually realized that her mother was not setting out to hurt her on purpose. She was raising her how she knew to raise her. She was doing what she was taught to do, and that’s all she knew as a mother. The two eventually began speaking again, and they worked on their relationship before her mother’s death.
Dealing with Dad
Her father left her mother. It was difficult for a child of 9 to deal with. Watching as her father remarried and had another baby was difficult. Their own relationship was strained. She did not see her father often, and she struggled. She felt abandoned, and her own father didn’t attend her wedding. The two also spent more than a decade not speaking to one another. They’d go periods of time without conversation throughout the years, too. It wasn’t until after her mother died that she and her father began to work on repairing their relationship.
Sometimes, life is hard. It’s difficult, and parents make it more difficult. In a happy household, a parent is there for their kids, they are kind and loving, firm and understanding, and they are a safe place. For Jennifer Aniston’s parents, this was not the story. She’s worked through a lot, and we wish her the best as she continues a relationship with her father.