She’s My Hero! : Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston

These days she’s more well-known for her private life than for her work, but lest we forget, Ms Aniston has provided us with years of laughter, and in the process has furnished herself with a great professional reputation and a reliably high-grossing name. Since her high-profile split with Brad “doesn’t know which side his bread’s buttered on” Pitt in 2005, the celebrity press has followed her slavishly, making hay from her brief relationships and romantic connections. It’s a testament to her popularity as an actress and as a public figure that the tabs still follow her, because everybody wants to see the lovely Jenny happy, right?

Before her establishment as a fixture in the gossip columns, Aniston was first known for her work on the long-running sitcom Friends. She initially auditioned for the part of Monica Geller, but was recast as Rachel Green. At the time of shooting the pilot episode, Aniston was working as a waitress, and didn’t expect the series to come to anything: she was so used to filming a pilot episode once a year, she had low expectations.

It seems that Aniston’s talents lie in comic acting, rather than predicting the future. She won an Emmy for her work in Friends, and found herself popular with audiences and critics the world over. And here’s why.

During her years on Friends, Aniston was a popular style icon and was twice named one of People’s top 100 Most Beautiful. Since the show ended, Aniston appeared in several films, solidifying a position for herself as one of Hollywood’s big box-office draws.

During the Pitt years, she started a production company called Plan B films, which produced movies as diverse as Martin Scorsese flick The Departed and Tim Burton’s Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. The company was split when the marriage ended, and Aniston has since set up her own production company Echo Films. Of the company, which will give Aniston greater say over the projects she is involved in, and provide her with the kind of roles she’s interested in, she says: “We’re drawn to stories about people finding their voice and finding their way because they help us as listeners and viewers do what we feel we’re all trying to do, which is making sense of our lives through the stories of others.”

Reading about Echo Films on the Variety website, it sounds like we could be in for some treats from Ms Aniston in the future, and I for one look forward to seeing her performing on top form, doing what she’s best at: making us all laugh.

In the absence of any more recent stuff of hers to watch, here’s the trailer for Marley & Me.

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