.
.

Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969 in Sherman Oaks, California) is an American actress. She established her acting career in the 1990s with her role as Rachel Green in the U.S. sitcom Friends, a role for which she won an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

She has starred in Hollywood films. While most of her film roles have been in comedies such as Bruce Almighty, Office Space, Rumor Has It, and the romantic comedies Along Came Polly and The Break-Up, she has also appeared in films from other genres such as the horror-comedy Leprechaun, the crime thriller Derailed and the musical drama Rock Star.

Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California, and grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of actor John Aniston and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston's father is a Greek American, born Yannis Anastassakis on the island of Crete, Greece, while her mother is of Scottish-Italian descent and was born in New York City. Aniston has two half-brothers, John Melick (older) and Alex Aniston (younger). Aniston's godfather was the actor Telly Savalas, her father's best friend. She lived in Greece for one year as a child with her family, and they later relocated to New York City. Her father has appeared in the soap operas Days of our Lives, Love of Life and Search for Tomorrow. Aniston attended the New York Rudolf Steiner School and graduated from Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She worked in Off Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave. She supported herself with several part-time jobs, including working as a telemarketer, waitress, and bike messenger. In 1989, she moved to Los Angeles, California.

Aniston moved to Hollywood and was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off. After the string of canceled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1992 horror film, Leprechaun, Aniston considered giving up acting. Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall line-up. 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 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 wide renown among television viewers. Aniston received a salary of one million dollars per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations, including a win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series.

In addition to her career as a television actress, Aniston has enjoyed a successful film career. Her biggest box office success to date was her appearance in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which she played the girlfriend of Jim Carrey's title character. Aniston then starred in the 2004 film, Along Came Polly opposite Ben Stiller. In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama, Friends with Money.

Forbes listed Aniston as the 10th richest woman in the entertainment industry for the year 2007. She is behind such powerhouses as Oprah Winfrey, J. K. Rowling, Madonna, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez and is ahead of Britney Spears and the Olsen twins.

On December 25, 2008, Marley & Me, in which Aniston starred alongside Owen Wilson, was released. It set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales.It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed #1 at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks.

PHOTOS :