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- I love work, I love my job.
I love to work.
I love to work when things are going great
and I love to work when things are going crappy.
I just sort of love my work.
(upbeat music)
- [Presenter] Jennifer Aniston is one
of the biggest names in the entertainment industry today.
Rising to fame in the 1990s and maintaining her popularity
with fans, she is still as relatable as the girl next door,
Rachel Green, her character best loved by her fans.
- I was just grateful to work.
I honestly knew that to be an actor is tough.
To be a working actor is even harder
but I was just happy working.
And I think that as I grew older,
I started to get more focused on the parts
that I wanted to play
and I just knew I wanted to break out
and do other things, you know and
this was great and I love all this
but I know that there's more than I wanna do
and that I'm capable of.
- [Presenter] Going from unknown actress
to worldwide sensation overnight,
Jennifer Aniston influenced fashion
with her stylish outfits and classic hair style
throughout her time on "Friends" continuing to turn heads
over 20 years later.
Her popularity has never declined proven
by her record breaking Instagram account
and her roles in television and film
are becoming more refined as years go by.
A consistent fan favorite.
Jennifer Aniston is a Hollywood household name
who will always be there for you.
- A little bit about myself.
Well, I was born in Sherman Oaks, California.
Grew up in New York City,
went to the high school, performing arts.
Then I moved to California after school
and became an actress.
- [Reporter] Became an actress of a little TV show.
- Got a little TV show.
I like dogs, I like skiing.
I like Mexican food, I'm not a fan of flying
but I'm getting better at that.
- [Presenter] Jennifer Aniston was born February 11th, 1969
in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Sherman Oaks.
With her father being a popular actor
on the daytime drama series, "Days of our Lives",
Jennifer already had high hopes of showbiz fame.
As a child, she moved to New York City.
Despite her father's television career,
she was discouraged from watching television
but found ways around the prohibition.
Aged six-years old,
she began attending Waldorf School where she discovered
her love for acting.
- Everybody who watches soaps of any kind in the States,
knows her dad, John Aniston for that character.
So she had a really famous dad and she had a mom
who was also an actress, not very well known,
called Nancy Dow but who she'd been a model.
So she was very pretty and attractive.
Jennifer has spoken openly about her childhood
and that she never felt pretty.
Her mom actually, who she had
a very somewhat contentious relationship
with over the years.
Jennifer says, flat out told her,
you're not pretty or your nose is too big
or you're never gonna be able to be an actress.
You're not pretty enough.
And that dynamic had a massive impact on Jen.
I think it still does actually kind of growing up
with a beautiful picture, perfect mom and a dad
who's a famous actor and feeling a little bit unsure
of what your position is.
- [Presenter] She attended LaGuardia High School of Music,
Art and Performing Arts where she joined
the school drama society and performed in some shows.
- Jennifer from a very early age,
had incredible comedic timing.
She's a natural in film.
She's a natural personality.
And she went to a performing arts high school in New York
which is very famous.
It's like the school that they made this TV show "Fame"
about, LaGuardia High School.
- [Presenter] After finishing school,
Jennifer Aniston first worked as an actress
in off-Broadway productions.
She supported herself with part time jobs,
which included a telemarketer, waitress
and a bike messenger.
- There are some people in Hollywood who are so gifted
at what they do and they almost immediately find work.
Now, of course, the fact that Jennifer's dad
is a famous actor would have helped her to get an agent
or manager, maybe opened some doors to get some auditions
but Jennifer managed to start working almost straight away
after she came to Hollywood.
- [Presenter] After moving back to Los Angeles,
Jennifer landed a role in the 1990 horror film "Leprechaun"
which was considered a major career move at the time.
However, it has been identified now
as her most questionable role and Jennifer herself
has expressed embarrassment over it.
She obtained her first regular television role on "Molloy"
in 1990 and appeared in "Ferris Bueller",
a television adaptation of the 1986 film
"Ferris Bueller's Day Off".
However, both series were quickly canceled,
leaving Jennifer questioning her acting career.
Depressed over her four unsuccessful television shows,
Jennifer Aniston approached Warren Littlefield
at a Los Angeles gas station asking for reassurance.
The head of NBC Entertainment encouraged her
to continue acting and a few months later,
helped cast her for "Friends",
a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC 1994/1995 fall lineup.
- It was after the movie "Leprechaun" of course
that she auditioned for both "Saturday Night Live"
and the show "Friends".
And she actually got the part on "Saturday Night Live".
She was invited to be one of the players which by the way,
is really hard to get.
I mean, you have to understand like every comedian,
like standup comic around the world is auditioning
for "Saturday Night Live".
And Jennifer was such a natural comedian
that she got invited to be one
of the "Saturday Night Live" players.
She's not a stand-up comic
but she just has fantastic timing.
I think a lot of people don't give Jennifer enough credit
for the natural comic that she is.
And the fact that "Saturday Night Live" wanted
to hire her as a comic,
says a lot about her natural ability to make people laugh.
Of course, right when she gets "Saturday Night Live",
she also gets invited to be on "Friends".
I think it was called "Friends Like Us" at the time
and she had a big decision to make
but ultimately she decided to take the role on "Friends"
and turn down "Saturday Night Live" in hopes that
this pilot would in fact be picked up.
And we now know it's one of
the most successful TV franchises
in the history of television.
- What's really interesting is that Jennifer Aniston
is known as a more serious actress,
as a more versatile actress
but really comedy was what she came up in
and what I think she saw herself as originally
because when she accepted the role of Rachel Green
in "Friends", she also had been offered a slot
on "Saturday Night Live" so comedy and being that kind
of person and play all different kinds of roles.
Even though now I think people are like,
look at this wide array of, spectrum she can play.
I think that was part of the DNA of who she was
from a very early time.
- [Presenter] "Friends" was extremely successful.
And Jennifer Aniston, along with her co-stars,
gained worldwide recognition among television viewers.
Her character, Rachel Green, was widely popular
and was later recognized as one
of the greatest female characters in American television.
- When Jennifer first read for "Friends",
they wanted her to read for Monica Geller
which is interesting because they wanted Courtney
to be the part of Rachel Greene.
Both actresses looked at that and said, actually,
I'm more that person than the other.
Courtney Cox was the big star
when "Friends" was commissioned.
She was gonna be the star and they wanted her
to be Rachel Green.
But when Courtney read the script, she said,
actually I'm much more like Monica Geller.
I am the kind of type A, obsessive, compulsive, neat person.
I'm not Rachel Green.
Jennifer Aniston was the perfect Rachel Green.
And so with her comic timing,
the way she looked, kind of this all American, every girl,
individual, it just worked magic.
- Surprise! (audience laughing)
- What? - Don't get mad
'cause look, this is what happened.
So, I started packing and then I realized, what am I doing?
I am lousy at packing, right?
But you love packing.
So as a gift to you on our last night, ta-daa.
(audience laughing)
- I'll be coordinator.
I'm so sorry, I didn't get you anything.
- [Presenter] The role also got her nominated
for two Golden Globe awards
and won in 2003 as best actress, television series,
musical or comedy.
- Jennifer has talked about in her childhood,
not feeling pretty enough.
And of course she is beautiful.
However, it was the fact that she wasn't supermodel looking
that made Rachel Green so lovable and believable.
If you think about it,
if Rachel Green had looked like Gisele Bundchen,
the character just wouldn't have been believable
or funny or real.
The fact that Rachel Green looked like a really pretty girl
that maybe works in your office is part of what gave her
that kind of magic X-factor.
Jennifer's long time collaborator,
Chris McMillan, has been her hairdresser ever since
she first stepped foot on the soundstage for "Friends".
Chris McMillan and she have developed a lifetime friendship
but it was he who initially came up with the Rachel-haircut.
Now Jennifer has made no secret of the fact
that she hated that haircut.
She has said, I thought it was the ugliest haircut
I've ever seen.
So she never loved the hair
but of course the rest of the world fell in love with it.
- You feel beautiful, you feel sexy,
you feel alive and then you feel screwed
because no one has the ability to actually do
what Chris did to this haircut.
And I've used to call it the Rachael years
when I got that haircut, that was like,
wow, this is amazing.
And then I was totally left with this like Greek frizzy mop
on my head 'cause I had no idea how to do what he did.
No one seems to know how to do what Chris does.
- I think every woman wanted to be Rachel Green.
And what I mean by that she worked for a fashion label.
She had a cute, fun boyfriend,
just her storyline was so appealing.
And I think that made the haircut an aspirational thing that
any girl could go and get.
[Presenter] The show itself, won many awards whilst
on the air proving it was a success
with audiences and critics alike.
- There's a new script every week so that's fresh and yeah.
- And it's always good so
if the writing is always exciting and interesting and fun,
then the work will be
and we all have such a good time together
that we just have a blast.
- Yeah, we help each other to come up with,
David is very good at that, by the way,
just helping us come up with interesting choices with props
or just other choices.
- We also get a certain amount of time off in the year,
about four months so when we do come back in the fall,
it's almost like coming back to school and kind
of that reunion always recharges us.
- [Reporter] Yeah, yeah, great, great.
- Yes, yes for the last time,
we are all actually good friends, thank you.
Very good.
- [Presenter] According to the Guinness Book
of World Records, Jennifer, along with her female co-stars,
Courtney Cox and Lisa Kudrow became
the highest paid television actress of all time
with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck
for the final season of "Friends".
The cast also made headlines for their solidarity
to one another regarding their paychecks.
Long before Hollywood had tackled the gender pay gap,
the cast had all agreed, they should be paid the same
and allegedly refused to work
until they all earned an equal salary.
- They were all close.
And I think it was that close knit,
genuine friendships that played out so well on screen.
And of course we saw this was the first cast
to negotiate together so that they all had the same salary.
It was actually Courtney Cox,
who did the rest of them a favor
because she had the biggest salary.
She was the big star going into this
but it was David Schwimmer who actually said,
look, let's do this as a team.
And then they'll have to pay us all the same.
And they did and they did that all the way through
and they even all agreed if one left the show,
they would all leave and they did.
And they followed through with that.
They had a genuinely mutual friendship
and respect for each other.
- We're friends, I mean we're six different people
that seem to gel pretty well and we'd get together
and watch a show together on Thursday nights.
And I don't know,
it just worked from the second we met each other.
We're really lucky that's all I can say about that.
- [Presenter] Her character's relationship
with Ross Geller portrayed by David Schwimmer
in the show was widely popular among audiences.
And the couple was frequently voted
as television's favorite couple in polls and magazines.
The constant ups and downs between characters,
Ross and Rachel kept audiences on their toes,
including the relationship break they took
which is one of the most infamous scenes from the show
which fans still quote to this day.
- There were so many things in "Friends"
that became cultural phenomenons like, you know,
we were on a break.
Everybody knows exactly what that's referring to.
It was more than a TV show.
It was iconic.
- [Ross] We were on a break.
(audience laughing)
- Coffee house? - You bet.
- And for the record, it took two people
to break up this relationship.
- Yeah, you and that girl from the copy place
which yesterday you took full responsibility for.
- I didn't know what I was taking responsibility for, okay.
I didn't finish the whole letter.
- What? - I fell asleep.
- You fell asleep? (audience laughing)
- It was 5:30 in the morning.
- Rachel has grown up really beautifully and you know,
should they've rounded her out and given her a lot
of interesting life experiences.
And given me a lot of fun stuff to play,
especially with the pregnancy and all of that.
I mean, you know, that's kind of,
I don't know when we'll ever really be done with each other.
It's gonna be a hard moment whenever it does happen.
But this do I dare say truly, I think is the last one.
- [Presenter] The show concluded in 2004,
after 10 years however,
fans are still obsessed with the sitcom
which is still watched regularly by viewers,
- Courtney and Jen have both said that they're surprised
and delighted at how well the show stands up now.
The fact that it's still so popular amongst
a whole different generation who all have mobiles
and have all kinds of things about their lives
that look really different to how it looked at Central Perk.
Life doesn't work like that anymore.
No one would ever sit around a coffee shop without being
on their phone ever, but the show still resonates.
Those things are still funny.
The things are still true.
- [Presenter] The cast are also still close friends
and keep in regular contact
particularly Jennifer and Courtney Cox.
Calling her her best friend, Jennifer is the godmother
of Courtney's daughter, Coco.
Jennifer has stated that Courtney has been there
for her through the many ups and downs in her life.
And she has slept in her guest room for weeks at a time.
- It's no secret that Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox
are best friends and they became so on the set of "Friends".
They used to eat lunch together every single day.
And Courtney is like a sister to her.
Jen never had a sister and Courtney Cox is the sister
she never had.
- [Presenter] 1998 marked the beginning
of Jennifer's famous relationship
with Hollywood legend, Brad Pitt.
The pair were introduced to each other in 1998
and went on their very first date after
it was arranged by their managers.
- Jennifer had met Brad, I guess,
as Hollywood people meet each other
at an earlier stage before they started dating.
He was dating Gwenyth Paltrow at the time
and she said,
I just thought he was this really cool guy
from Missouri, seemed like a real guy.
They were later set up following his breakup
with Gwenyth Paltrow and she was single by their managers.
And Jennifer said later that she knew following that date,
that this was gonna be
like a really significant relationship.
Apparently the date,
according to her was just really easy and really fun.
You can see why Jennifer and Brad immediately clicked.
They're both really down to earth,
funny people who are real people.
They're not sort of massively caught up
in the Hollywood lifestyle.
- It was a massive deal when Brad and Jennifer got together.
Now Jen had already been dating various celebrities
and actors and also musicians.
She was famously was Adam Duritz
from the Counting Crows in 1995.
So stating other celebrities was not new
for Jennifer Aniston however,
Brad Pitt was on a career, just trajectory
that was going up, up, up, up, up.
He'd already been of course in "Thelma and Louise"
which had made him a household name
and movies like "Fight Club" were coming out
around the same time.
So he wasn't A-lister.
Jen was an A-lister of course,
for being in "Friends"
where she was commanding $1 million per episode.
So the two of them together,
you have like the most powerful sex symbol
from the movie industry with the most popular woman
from television together,
it was like the ultimate power couple.
After they were together,
you just could not go anywhere without seeing their faces
from everything from "People", "National Esquire",
every single gossip show.
It was just Jennifer Aniston
and Brad Pitt constantly everywhere.
And I think that there was something people found
really appealing because she was so much the girl next door.
- [Ashley] Jennifer and Brad became
the first modern super couple.
They were really the kind of benchmark that we use now.
I mean, now you'll hear about couples they're the Jennifer
and Brad of now,
they were Hollywood's golden couple.
- [Presenter] Brad eventually proposed to Jennifer
in November, 1999 and the pair wed
in a Malibu celebration in July, 2000.
Surrounded by 200 guests and 50,000 flowers.
Throughout the filming of "Friends",
Jennifer Aniston had still been making frequent appearances
in various films.
The first of her biggest box office roles was
in "Bruce Almighty", starring alongside Jim Carrey in 2003.
During an interview in 2004,
Jennifer confirmed her plans to start a family
with her husband, Brad Pitt,
just months before he started filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
alongside co-star Angelina Jolie.
- It was very strange to be reporting on Brad and Jen
when Brad was filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
with Angelina Jolie.
Angelina Jolie had a reputation as
this kind of home wrecker.
So when Brad started working with Angelina,
everybody was already kind of raising an eyebrow
and this and that.
However, Brad was,
he was seen as such a good guy and the guy next door
and happily in love and in fact,
Jennifer Aniston herself said that,
she didn't have trepidation about him working with Angelina.
She actually met Angelina for the first time.
She saw her on the lot where they made "Friends"
and Jen pulled over and said to Angelina,
I hope you guys enjoy working together.
Brad's really looking forward to it.
I hope you have so much fun.
So Jen wasn't nervous or jealous or insecure
when he started working with Angelina,
but it certainly turned into something
that would ultimately destroy her marriage.
- [Presenter] Rumors began to circle around regarding
Brad and Angelina's relationship
while filming their movie together.
However Jennifer assured friends
she wasn't concerned about the pair spending time together.
- Now, "Friends" was wrapped up
and Jen was telling different magazines,
her plans and her plans were to go to the set
of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and have some time hanging
out with Brad.
Now that obviously didn't happen because on the set
of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", Brad and Angelina got very,
very close and cozy.
- Angelina has said,
I would never have slept with a married man.
My dad cheated on my mom and I just wouldn't do
that to another woman.
But she also said,
basically they were falling in love on set
and she couldn't wait to get to work every day.
And you know, that's where they fell in love.
I remember watching an interview with Angelina
after they were together.
And she said, I remember telling our kids,
this is where Mommy and Daddy fell in love
when they were making the movie.
So she herself has said that she and Brad fell in love.
And it was certainly the love and the relationship
that developed whether it was sexual or just emotional.
But that relationship would derail Brad and Jen's marriage
and put the final kind of nail in that coffin.
- [Presenter] In early 2005,
the faithful announcement came that Jennifer and Brad
were calling it quits.
Despite claiming they would remain friends tensions
between Jennifer and Angelina were obvious
as it was clear that the breakdown
of their marriage had been somewhat influenced
by Brad's close relationship with his co-star.
Angelina Jolie would later go on to explain in an interview
that she had fallen in love with Brad
while they were filming "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"
and the pair ended up married in 2014.
- When Brad and Jen split up,
there was a massive cultural shift between those
who were team Jen and team Angelina.
I mean, people actually wore T-shirts in LA.
A lot of us felt for Jen.
If you look back at the origins of the kind
of worlds feeling like this poor, sad Jen
which has been this storyline,
it began when Brad left Jen for Angelina.
Jennifer Aniston represents more than just a great actress
with fantastic comedic timing.
She is the every woman who has been cheated on
or has been betrayed or someone left for somebody else.
And she has become the symbol.
I don't think Jen actually wants to be the symbol
of every woman's sympathy and compassion,
but that has what's happened.
Jen has been locked in this kind of Bermuda triangle
when it comes to the tabloids with her
and Brad and Angelina.
And Jennifer has spoken numerous times about her desire
to stop being a part of that narrative.
However, the impact of the Brad/Jen/Angelina triangle
was felt for decades afterwards.
- [Presenter] After headlines regarding
her failing marriage had calmed down in 2005,
Jennifer Aniston appeared as an alluring woman,
having an affair with an advertising executive
in the thriller "Derailed"
and as an obituary and wedding announcement writer
in the romantic comedy "Rumor Has It".
Both films were moderate box office hits.
She also took on the role of a single paste-up woman working
as a maid in the independent drama "Friends With Money"
in 2006, which received a limited release.
- I mean, for me, it was just,
I read the script and I related to the part,
and I didn't really go into a sort of a thought
of how does this reflect on women today.
But it just was real.
It was just a beautifully written and delicate expression
of human beings relating to each other.
And it felt universal.
It didn't feel, I looked at my own life.
I looked at friends that I know,
you didn't even have to go that far.
It was just, you read it.
And you said, oh gosh, that's so true and so relatable.
- [Presenter] Her next film was the romantic comedy,
"The Breakup" in 2006 alongside Vince Vaughn
in which she starred as one half of a couple,
having a complicated split when both refused to move out
of the pair's recently purchased home.
- [Vince] Fine, I'll help you do the dishes.
- [Jennifer] No, that's not what I want.
- You just said that you want me to help you do the dishes.
- I want you to want to do the dishes.
- Why would I want to do dishes?
- I'm done? - What?
- What happened?
- We just broke up.
- You could stay with me.
- You think I'm gonna move out of the place
and let her keep it?
- I don't know, I'm not Colombo.
- The only logical thing that I can think of is
for her to move out of the condo and then
to pay me some sort of a penalty.
- What, what, what, excuse me.
- [Presenter] At the time Jennifer was dealing
with the breakdown of her own marriage from Brad Pitt
and has notably mentioned channeling
her own personal emotions for the role.
- You always wait for those scripts to come along
that are true and real to life in some way.
And sometimes they're really not.
And this had really equal male and female
and it was funny and it was real and it had a great cast
and it was just all the right ingredients.
- [Presenter] The film received mixed reviews
but grossed approximately $39.17 million during
its opening weekend and $204 million worldwide making it
her second biggest box office hit.
The 2005 comedy drama
"Marley And Me" with Aniston and Owen Wilson
as the owners of the titular dog set a record
for the largest Christmas day box office sales ever
with $14.7 million.
It hit a total of $51.7 million over the four day weekend
and place number one at the box office,
a position that maintained for two weeks.
- I mean, the book was like huge sort of beloved kind
of bestseller and it was it's just like a simple story.
And then it's like,
I guess like people just kinda connected with sort of,
that it was very sort of relatable.
- Yeah.
- [Presenter] It was clear that Jennifer Aniston
was becoming a popular actress in her own right.
And breaking away from her famous role as Rachel Green
which she is most memorable for.
(crowd cheering)
Jennifer Aniston appeared as the former wife
of a bounty hunter played by Gerard Butler
in the romantic comedy action film,
"The Bounty Hunter" in 2010.
- Hi Milo.
- Fancy meeting you here.
- Yeah, fancy.
I don't know what you're up to but I'm working.
- Oh working, me too.
- I heard you got kicked off the force.
- What I do is I hunt down idiots who jumped bail.
- You are a bounty hunter?
- Yup, as much as it pains me to say this,
I got to take you to jail.
- We actually had so much fun and just easy.
He's just so easy to get along with, you know,
we just instantly, we're comfortable.
I've said this before,
there's nothing pretentious about him.
There's nothing, there's no layers you have to cut through
to get down to the guy.
He's just there,
just eager and excited to be there and wants to do
the best so that we will sort of have that same way
of looking at work and trying different things.
And you know, so.
- [Presenter] The film was panned by critics,
although it was a box office success garnering
over $130 million worldwide.
- We just had a group.
We just locked out,
we just literally had a great group of people.
The director is fantastic, Jerry fantastic.
Our crew, New York City was all just.
You can't go wrong.
The toughest stunt?
I would say the car, the two cars chasing, getting shot at.
It wasn't hard, it was just a little scary.
- [Presenter] A lukewarm box office reception greeted
her next film, the romantic comedy, "The Switch"
in which she starred with Jason Bateman
as a 30-something single woman who decides
to have a child using a sperm bank.
- I've never laughed harder and you can't give away
what the switch is though.
It's really, that's half of the thing that made me laugh
so hard 'cause how could this actually happen?
We actually had a hard time wrapping our heads around,
like how could this possibly happen?
It's so insane.
And when you tell, when you get pitched the story
which is how I first heard it from the producers
because we came on as producers as well,
my partner and I,
it's just, that's why we loved it.
It was such a unique story.
You know, it's sort of the modern family.
- [Presenter] The film received generally mixed reviews
with review site Metacritic showing 13 out
of 30 critics delivering a positive verdict.
In 2011, she started opposite close friend,
Adam Sandler as an office manager posing as the wife
of a plastic surgeon in the romantic comedy,
"Just Go With It" and played sexually aggressive dentist,
dr. Julia Harris in "Horrible Bosses"
which also star Jason Bateman,
Jason Sudeikis and Charlie Day.
"Just Go With It" and "Horrible Bosses" both made
over $100 million in North America
and $200 million worldwide.
Another two of Jennifer Aniston's
top grossing box office movies.
- It's so fun, I mean, it doesn't come along very often
to be able to be crazy with total freedom and just be
as bad as you want it to be.
- [Presenter] Her role in "Horrible Bosses" is one
of her most favored explaining that she loved playing
the character as the image change was fun for her.
Jennifer Aniston appeared in the comedy "Wanderlust"
in 2012, with Paul Rudd who had starred alongside
her previously in "The Object of my Affection"
and also "Friends".
- We just get up and come back to work
and be so excited to see.
It was a very happy makeup and hair
and makeup trailer, wasn't it?
- [Paul] Oh yeah.
- We were all very, very happy, happy campers.
- [Reporter] And it had been a while since
you guys had worked together
but you guys are obviously friends
and you've remained friends.
That probably totally helped too
with the onscreen chemistry,
it was just like there.
- Yeah, totally completely.
And we've been trying to find something to do together.
So this was pretty great.
This is a fun one to get.
- It is nice when you're playing a married couple
and you don't have to really create too much of it,
like a fake history or just, we already have it.
We've known each other for nearly 20 years so.
- I wouldn't call this a romantic comedy at all, would you?
It's just a balls out comedy where the relationship falls
out, literally comedy.
What do they take away?
I think you're gonna have a big belly ache laughs
and I think there's a definite story and theme in there
and a message.
- [Presenter] It was on the set of "Wanderlust"
that Jennifer Aniston developed a close relationship
with Justin Theroux.
They were frequently spotted together after the film
before confirming their relationship in 2011.
- Well, Jennifer and Justin had actually met years
before they got together on the set of "Tropic Thunder"
which Justin wrote.
And you know, in Hollywood,
most people kind of have met at one thing or another.
So they also had mutual friends, Robert Downey jr.
is a friend of Jennifer and Justin.
They got together when they made a movie together
and they had real chemistry and seem to be really great
for each other.
She had found a mature adult successful guy
who wasn't this kind of John Mayer type.
- [Presenter] Her fans couldn't get enough
of the relationship believing
that this time Jennifer was going to get her happy ending.
After the controversy of her last serious relationship
with Brad Pitt, everyone just wanted
to see her happy ever after.
In 2012, Jennifer and Justin announced their engagement.
Reuniting with Jason Sudeikis,
Jennifer played the role of a struggling stripper
who agrees to pose as the wife of a drug dealer
in order to help him smuggle drugs across the border
in "We're the Millers".
- Oh, come on, relax Dorothy, Jesus.
- We're not at the border yet.
Who cares what those people think?
- It's about not drawing attention to ourselves,
you little hobo.
- Hey, don't talk to her like that.
- Rose relax, okay.
The only thing you need to worry about right now
is making people believe
you could actually be someone's mother, okay.
- Are you kidding me?
No, honestly, after doing "Horrible Bosses",
I'd kind of feel like I opened the door for myself.
So I was just happy to be able to have fun again.
There's something a little bit on that side.
- [Reporter] And closing now, are you prepared for that
'cause I know, you're very rigid with your exercise training
and all of that, but preparing for this role,
I mean as a dancer.
- Well that's, I had a great choreographer
who really just worked with me day in and day out
and instilled all of the right moves that I needed to learn.
And also recovering from an annoying knee surgery
that I've had about a month out month before was a bit
of a challenge but we did it.
- [Presenter] The 2013 film was hilarious
and loved by audiences worldwide.
Although the film received mixed reviews from critics,
it did extremely well at the box office,
becoming a financial success.
2014 saw Jennifer Aniston reprise the role
of dr. Julia Harris in "Horrible Bosses 2".
- [Reporter] A lot of you guys have worked together
before in previous films.
So does that make it more comfortable on set
and is it fun to reunite?
- Absolutely, 100%.
- Yes. - We actually only really
but it is a luxury actually to be friends
with these people and love and adore them
on a personal level and then to be able
to have worked together, separately together
and together together.
It's kind of a dream job.
- It would be terrible if we didn't
like each other, you know?
'Cause I mean, the fact that you're doing comedy
you need to have like a nice free fun set.
Like there's like, there's a good vibe in here.
So like the press conference is fun
like if we hated each other, you'd feel it.
And it would just be argh.
- You've seen it, I'm sure.
You probably have better stories about it than we do, yeah.
- I was looking forward to doing this.
- It's one of the things that the three of us talked
about when we got on the phone together
when they first said, you know,
do you want to do a sequel?
The three of us called each other?
We talked about junketing and we talked about traveling
and be like this right here.
This is part of the fun for us.
So yeah, it's really rare when you find people
that you like this much and then you get
to do two movies, it's great.
- [Reporter] What did you enjoy about revisiting
this character and playing Dr. Julia once again?
What do you love about it the most?
What do you enjoy about it the most?
- I have to say I, well, I just love her in general.
I think she's quite snazzy
and I love just putting on her wardrobe
and I loved her wig.
- [Reporter] The accessories?
- Her accessories which only one person really was aware
of what my lovely necklace really was, Mr. Jason Sudeikis.
Gives you a little insight into his personal life.
- [Jason] I love catalogs.
- [Jennifer] For me personally,
I loved that dr. Julia was sort
of taking the role of what would normally
be a male character in a film.
- [Jason] You mean a dentist.
- [Jennifer] Yeah, you don't see a lot
of female dentists, do you?
- [Jason] I guess you don't.
- Yeah, the woman who is obsessed with sex,
I think it's hysterical.
And I find it quite amusing because I don't think
to her there's anything wrong or deviant about herself.
I think she actually is described sex and approaches sex
as though a chef approaches a wonderful meal
to be made or you know,
I think it's kind of just very commonplace for her
and it's sort of, it's like sport.
I think it's fantastic.
- [Presenter] The film did just as well
as its predecessor and was a hit with audiences.
In 2014, she also starred in "Cake"
as a woman named Claire Simmons,
who struggles with chronic pain.
The film received mixed reviews.
However Jennifer's performance was highly praised,
dub by some critics as Oscar worthy.
- I mean, I think her vulnerable spot
was just everything that she's walking through.
I think her vulnerable spot is Adriana.
I think that's where she kind of still feel
that fierce protector in her come out
which now where we've met her,
she's kind of just stuck and given up on everything.
I find every, all of her moments,
even all the scenes with Sam,
I found to be quite vulnerable
and sort of just sad in a way.
There was a good amount of preparation.
I think about, I would say about two months,
I kind of really dove in
and started just asking all the questions and speaking
with as many people as I could and trying
to get the physicality in place and understanding
what that physicality was gonna be in that
and making it consistent
and understanding in the script, what was true.
Was there anything that seemed off point,
anything that's felt like we call your bluff
'cause we really wanted it to be as bulletproof
as possible and authentic as possible.
- [Presenter] The Toronto International Film Festival
called her performance heartbreakingly good.
For her portrayal,
Jennifer was nominated for several awards,
proving she could excel in more serious roles
than she is classically known for.
August, 2015, Jennifer Aniston married Justin Theroux
in an intimate ceremony in the backyard
of their new Bel-Air home.
Attendees included a host of celebrities,
including some of her "Friends" co-stars.
According to "Us Magazine",
the couple signed an ironclad prenup agreement
before going on a honeymoon with friends.
Between 2015 and 2017,
Jennifer Aniston worked on a string of films
that received average critical reviews,
such as the romantic comedy "Mother's Day"
and the war drama, "The Yellow Birds".
2017 also saw the end of her marriage to Justin Theroux
which came as a shock to fans.
- [Ashley] Jennifer's divorced from Justin was,
it kind of blindsided everyone
in the entertainment reporting industry.
We didn't see it coming.
In fact, I know somebody from "Architectural Digest"
who had just finished an interview with Jen
at her home with Justin.
And Jennifer talked about him as if they were in love
and everything was great.
And there was no indication from her whatsoever.
However, the person also said that, you know,
Justin appeared to have his own wing of the house,
his own bathroom, his own bedroom
and there were definite signs that they might not have had
a very traditional kind of relationship at that stage.
But we don't know for sure.
- He's very much a New Yorker, East coast.
Did not like fame in terms of was not used to being followed
around all the time.
She on the other hand was very, very Los Angeles,
very much a household name at that point.
And you know, very much
in the whole Hollywood bubble kind of vibe.
So that I think that they kind of put that aside
when they first got together.
- [Presenter] They issued a joint statement
to the press explaining that
they had wished to keep things private
but since the gossip industry would make
up different stories,
they thought they'd set the record straight
so their fans knew the truth.
Although the couple had been very much in love,
they had major differences from the start
which ultimately led to their divorce.
- So while Jen was totally used to,
she may not have liked it
but she was used to being followed around all the time
by the media, Theroux was not used to that.
In fact, he liked to be anonymous
and he liked the anonymity that being in New York gave him.
And I think at first he put that aside.
He put the lifestyle that Jennifer Aniston had
to live being Jennifer Aniston,
he just accepted it because he loved her
and he wanted to believe in their relationship.
But as time went on,
it was just omnipresent being followed
and no personal life was personal.
And that was one of the main factors
I think really wore down the marriage that
and just kind of the intrinsic differences
between East coast and West coast in America.
And those two vibes are just so different.
So those things really drove a wedge
between the two of them.
- All of us really thought they were happy.
So we were really surprised, I think as a group
when that was announced, you know,
Jennifer and Justin from the very beginning
have been adamant that there was no one else involved.
They parted as friends, that they're still connected
but if things were really great,
it's hard to imagine why they would split up.
Everyone wants to know what went wrong.
And I think what's mostly been reported is that Justin
is this kind of hipster, New Yorker
and he only wanted to live in the Greenwich village.
And Jen is this LA California girl who loves suntanning.
And couldn't really be cool (indistinct) and urban enough
for Justin but honestly,
I don't believe that is true at all.
I think Jennifer who's from New York has enough urban credit
and is enough of a city girl to appeal to Justin.
I think it was more that,
you've got a guy who maybe wants to be single.
In December, 2018
Jennifer worked as an executive producer and starred
in the Netflix film "Dumplin",
a coming-of-age comedy film based off
of the young adult novel of the same name.
- Most people call me Will except for my mom.
Who calls me - Dumplin, I can't be late.
This cannot exactly drive itself.
Being a bit of a celebrity around here meant
that she was too busy for me.
You've got a hole in your left, by the way.
- What, shouldn't listen (indistinct).
- [Presenter] This was Jennifer's first project
for the streaming platform
which was shortly followed by more projects the same year.
Jennifer appeared in "Murder Mystery"
alongside close friend, Adam Sandler.
A comedy turned drama about a couple framed
for murder on a luxury yacht.
- Has you ever fool around on a boat?
I just lay here and the boat does all the work.
(woman screaming)
- [Passenger] There's been a murder.
- Should we pull it out?
- No, it's a foot long knife.
(everyone screaming)
- Will you listen to my husband, he's a detective.
- I'll put it back.
- Don't put it back.
(everyone squirming)
- Twisted my arm, barely, not even a little bit.
It's just, how do you say no to that?
He says, please and you say, yes.
- It was all Jen saying, we have to do something together.
I can't be a part this long.
You're an amazing human.
I feel so sick to my stomach when you're not near me.
So I said, I'll only make a movie with you so you can relax.
- Jen is like, you forget like how much of a titan
of comedy she actually is.
I think I kind of forgot about that
but it's like she's unreal.
Her whit is razor-sharp like she can never lose a beat.
Adam can be saying something
'cause I encourage improvisation in the moment
in all my films.
So Adam can be improving and take it off the rails
or something and she won't let them go off the rails.
She'll just bring them right back with truth.
- [Presenter] This was her second project for Netflix.
And the film was favored by audiences being
the most watched film on the streaming platform
in the US in 2019.
- I think just being able to see
an old throwback murder mystery.
You know, we haven't, I mean,
I loved those as a kid growing up and it's just a real fun,
old fashion who-done-it.
You know, we were from Brooklyn and kind
of fish out of water.
And there were all sort of upper crusted,
wealthy people who all had a motive
into offing the man who was offed.
So it kind of just was part of the story.
- [Presenter] Jennifer Aniston made her return to television
on November 1st, 2019,
producing and starring alongside Reese Witherspoon
in the Apple TV Plus drama, "The Morning Show".
- What's the show about?
- Well, I don't know how to describe the show.
- No, I know.
- It's a morning news show.
- Drawing, pulling the curtain on behind the scenes
of the morning talk shows.
- What she said.
- What I said.
- [Presenter] It is her first main television role
since the conclusion of "Friends" in 2004.
- In terms of the workload,
it didn't feel that different,
it didn't feel like I'm going back to television so much
'cause it was the schedule.
- Television has changed.
- Let me tell you something.
- Let me tell you sister.
- Let me tell you something,
this is not what it used to be.
It used to be a lot more,
it was a lot easier than this
or maybe we're just a little older, but yeah.
- [Presenter] In "The Morning Show", Jennifer stars
as Alex Levy, a veteran news host who wakes up one day
to discover that her co-host of 15 years,
Mitch Kessler played by Steve Carell
has been fired following allegations of sexual assault.
She is then tasked with delivering the news to the nation
while also grappling with what her friend has done
and renegotiating her contract with the network.
- Our life just ended for no good reason.
- We're in the middle of an epic rebirth.
Her sell by date expired years ago.
I want you to start grooming some new people.
- I don't fit the mold.
- What mold is that?
- Any mold really?
Your show sucks.
- Thank you.
- It's barely news.
- I want wardrobe tests, screen tests, makeup tests.
We need a contract, where is legal?
- Ready? - I'm ready.
- Most people wanna trust that the person
that is telling them about the world is an honest person.
Well, a lot of stories came out about sexual harassment
in the media and on these news programs.
And we just really wanted to address it,
whether or not corporations knew what was happening,
whether they were covering it up.
And it's a big part of our culture now
is discovering the truth.
- And it's a bit of what a shift has taken place since then
for the better I think and more of course, way more to go.
I think Kerry Ehrin
our writer really just wrote a brilliant script
and layered uncomplicated characters
and also sort of took a look at this whole new normal
that we're all walking through in a very,
not a black and white.
She allowed the gray areas to sort of be explored.
- [Presenter] "The Morning Show" manages
to more sensitively juggle the mix of complicated emotions
and motivations swirling among the men and women caught up
in this drama about ambition and abuse.
- That the cultural reckoning about sexual harassment
in work environments that weren't safe.
And I think that's, we go right into it.
- You're pretty head-on and unapologetically.
And also totally that was really important to us
that it doesn't come from a specific point of view
that it's not preachy in any way but that it's actually,
as we're all trying to figure out
what the new playbook how do we behave in this new normal?
What's okay, what's allowed, what's politically correct?
- And the characters don't know either.
- No. - They're just as confuse
as everyone in the world.
- We're all figuring it out together.
- [Presenter] Jennifer won the Screen Actors Guild Award
for outstanding performance by a female actor
in a drama series and was nominated
for two Golden Globe Awards for best actress,
television series drama and best television series drama
as the series producer.
After years of aversion to social media,
Jennifer Aniston finally joined Instagram on October 15th,
2019, causing the app to break.
- If Instagram is truly a reliable tool to judge,
engage how popular somebody is,
well, I think Jennifer Aniston could just about be
the most popular person in the world.
When she joined finally on Instagram,
she basically broke it, so many people,
millions of people immediately got on to follow her.
- It's a new terrain I'm exploring.
I know it gets fun, right?
You love it.
- Yeah, we get used to it. - Yes.
- You do get used to it.
- I'm still navigating it.
Like I was, she was like, who is this?
- I was like, who is this?
- It's Jen.
And she was like, oh my God.
- I didn't know if she knew how to DM.
So I thought somebody had hacked her Instagram.
So I was like, I'm gonna report her to the Instagram.
And then she was like.
- I said, am I not supposed to be doing this?
- I said, no, I'm just excited you DM me.
- [Presenter] For hours,
the follow button became inoperable due to an overload
of web traffic to her account with her first upload being
a photo of a "Friends" cast reunion.
- Oh no, no, that's what it was.
Someone said, I can't follow you.
I'm trying to follow and I can't follow you.
Barely knew what that even meant
but yeah just happened, just a glitch.
- This is the fourth most liked photo
of all time on Instagram.
And it was just her debut post.
So people are still crazy about Jennifer Aniston
and chopping at the bit for a "Friends" reunion.
- [Presenter] At five hours and 16 minutes,
she became the fastest person to reach a million followers
on the app, setting a Guinness World Record.
At the 2020 SAG Awards,
the internet went crazy over a possible reunion
between Jennifer Aniston and her ex-husband, Brad Pitt
after the pair were spotted getting close backstage
at the ceremony.
- Well, of course we all saw the picture of Jen
and that slinky white dress holding hands-ish
with Brad backstage when she won the SAG Award.
And I, like everybody else, loved that picture.
I think for so many of us who had lived through the breakup
with Brad and Jen and I'd actually met them as a couple
and they were so in love that I really was rooting for this.
You know, they're both single.
They both, she'd just been divorced from Justin.
And he was going through like the absolute breakup
from hell from Angelina which in my opinion, was karma.
- [Presenter] Brad won best supporting actor for his role
in "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" and Jennifer took home
an award for her performance in "The Morning Show"
but the most exciting part of the night happened
behind the curtains.
- What I loved about the detail was, you know,
Brad was backstage from his own win and Jennifer won
and they reported that he stopped everything
and walked over to a monitor to hear
and he goes, oh wow.
And then, she's walking past him and not seeing him
and he's called out Aniston.
And then of course there was a photographer captured
that moment but it looks quite intimate.
He's looking at her with such love.
It was interesting too then on Twitter after that,
somebody wrote it's clear that he still loves her
and Courtney Cox liked the comment.
So then you're like, oh, okay so Courtney Cox agrees
that he still loves her.
You know, maybe her friends are shipping
this relationship too.
I think a lot of us would like to see that happen
because Brad and Jen do seem really, really,
really well suited for each other.
And he's really been through a horrendous divorce
with Angelina and I think she hasn't really found
a lasting love since him either so it would be great.
It seems like it would be a happy ending.
- [Presenter] When Jennifer turned to walk away,
Brad reached out and grabbed her wrist
as if he wanted her to stay with him.
A photo was captured of the pair sharing this moment
and was instantly a viral sensation with fans
of the pair speculating a romantic reunion.
In February, 2020 after years
of hope and speculation by fans,
it was announced that
an official "Friends" reunion would be happening.
The unscripted reunion will be coming to HBO Max,
giving fans exactly what they've been yearning
for since the show stop filming in 2004.
- So in February of 2020 HBO Max
which is the station's new premium streaming service,
announced they had landed the "Friends" reunion.
There's been speculation for years.
Is there gonna be a movie?
Is there going to be a reunion?
Is there gonna be a new series?
Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing.
Everything's been squelched.
And then with this announcement from HBO,
just people went mad.
All the original "Friends" cast posted this
on their social media.
Also they each got at least $2.5 million to star
in the reunion special as well
as executive producer credits.
- [Presenter] Despite being able
to consistently watch reruns,
the demand for a reunion has been a constant topic
that the cast questioned about regularly.
- I haven't thought about doing, I don't know if,
do we want?
- Part of me feels like,
do people wanna see a "Friends" movie?
- [Reporter] Yes!
- Well then we better get cooking before it's,
you know, it's elderly friends.
- [Presenter] Although the special doesn't seem
to clarify that the stars will be reprising
their infamous roles, it will be bringing
them all together once more to reminisce
about their time on the set and all the great memories
they had while filming the hit television sitcom.
(bright music)
Jennifer Aniston has stolen the hearts
of many for over 25 years.
Her relate-ability and candid interviews make you feel
like you know her, the best friend you share everything
with and empathize with their setbacks.
- I think Jennifer Aniston is a lot deeper
and more complicated than people give her credit for
because she is accessible and funny and looks
like the girl next door,
the very attractive girl next door.
I think people feel like they know her
but I think the real Jen is a much more nuanced,
complex, intelligent person than we know.
- [Presenter] On screen and off
her authenticity becomes relatable to fans showing
her as friendlier and more down to earth
than her peers on the red carpet.
- There is that every girl-ness about her.
She's someone that you could know.
She could have been like you're cool or older babysitter
but then she also has that glamor with the style.
And like it started off with the Rachel haircut.
And these threads were just like again,
underscored over and over and over again
through the character, through her dating Brad Pitt,
then marrying Brad Pitt and to her having
this kind of fairytale existence.
I think all those things together have helped propel her
to be the most successful of the whole "Friends" contingent.
- [Ashley] I really liked Jennifer Aniston
because I think the warmth
and the compassion that we see on screen is real.
I think she genuinely is a good friend.
People, there are so many people who genuinely love her
in an industry that's famous for fakes and pretending.
I think she's genuinely the real deal.
- [Presenter] Jennifer Aniston has managed to find
the perfect balance between living in the public eye
but not being overly worried about public perception,
a trade that has kept her sane in such a manic industry.
Branching out to many different genres of film,
Jennifer Aniston has proven her skills as an actress
are extremely versatile.
Something that will keep her in the spotlight
for years to come.
- I just knew I wanted to break out and do other things,
you know and this was great.
And I love all this but I know that there's more
that I wanna do and that I'm capable of.
So, you know, it's just unfolded and I don't know
why I'm still here.
I just love going to work.
(bright music)