Hometown: Sherman Oaks, California

Born: Tuesday, February 11th, 1969

Jennifer Aniston is an Emmy- and Golden Globe-winning American film and television actress. Aniston began appearing in stage productions in the late 1980s. After several lesser-known film and television roles during the early 1990s, Aniston came to fame playing Rachel Green on the hugely popular television sitcom Friends for which she won a Golden Globe and an Emmy Award.

She has since focused heavily on her film career, having starred in several successful Hollywood films, including Along Came Polly and The Break-Up. Aniston has also become known for her marriage to, and eventual divorce from, actor Brad Pitt.

Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, California and grew up in New York City. She is the daughter of the Greek-American actor John Aniston (originally Ioannis Anastasakis) and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston has two half-brothers, John Melick and Alex Aniston. Aniston's father was born in the island of Crete, while her maternal grandfather, Gordon McLean Dow, was of Scottish and English descent, and her maternal grandmother, Louise Grieco, was of Italian ancestry. Aniston's godfather was the late Greek American actor Telly Savalas, her father's best friend. Aniston spent part of her childhood in Greece, but most of it in New York City, where her father appeared in the soap operas Love of Life and Search for Tomorrow. In 1985, the family moved to Los Angeles, where Aniston's father starred on the soap opera Days of our Lives. Aniston graduated from Manhattan's Fiorello H. Laguardia High School of Arts and Performing Arts. Among her high school friends was future gay rights activist Chastity Bono. Aniston's desire to become an actress grew as she worked in Off-Broadway productions such as For Dear Life and Dancing on Checker's Grave. During this time, she supported herself with several part-time jobs, including working as a telemarketer and bike messenger.