Jennifer Aniston: More Than Friends

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.

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.

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.

- 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.

- 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.

- 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.

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.

- 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.

- "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!

- 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.

I'll be coordinator.

I'm so sorry, I didn't get you anything.

- The role also got her nominated

for two Golden Globe awards

and won in 2003 as best actress, television series,

musical or comedy.