Jennifer Aniston Isn’t the Only Daughter of an Actor to Surpass Their Dad’s Fame
Since 1985, Jennifer Aniston’s dad John Aniston has starred as Victor Kiriakis on the long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. The 88-year-old actor has had an illustrious career, starting in the early 60s in various walk-on TV roles. However, some might argue his most prominent role is as the parent of a celebrity who has gone on to surpass his fame by quite a lot. But the father-daughter duo are not the only actors to share the spotlight. Several other women have followed in their father’s footsteps, only to become even bigger stars.
Jennifer and John Aniston
At the 2022 Daytime Emmy Awards, Aniston received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his role in the NBC soap opera. While not in attendance, his famous daughter recorded a video message for the ceremony.
According to NBC4 Washington, the younger Aniston honored her father. “It’s an opportunity not only to pay tribute to a true icon in the daytime television world, but it’s also a chance to recognize the life-long achievements of a great and well-respected actor, who also happens to be my dad,” Jennifer Aniston said of John. She continued, saying her father’s career is “literally the definition of lifetime achievement.”
While the older Aniston has a long-running career, his actor daughter is a household name. The Emmy-winning actor secured a place in pop culture history by portraying Rachel Green in the worldwide sitcom phenomenon Friends. She’s earned recognition for her primarily comedic film roles and has even garnered executive producer credits. Currently, Jennifer Aniston stars in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show.
Blake and Ernie Lively
Before Gossip Girl turned Blake Lively into a household name, there was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Still in high school, it was her first movie role. Notably, her father, Ernie Lively, played her on-screen dad.
The elder Lively spent five decades working in the entertainment industry until his 2021 death last year from cardiac complications at 74. According to The Hollywood Reporter, he appeared in films such as Passenger 57, The Dukes of Hazzard, and Turner & Hooch. There are 112 film and television credits under his name on IMDb, with his first role in The Waltons in 1975.
While this is an impressive list to the top, Blake Lively has arguably done it. She went from Gossip Girl, her breakout role, to movies like Green Lantern and The Shallows. What’s more, the actor became part of Hollywood’s most famous power couple when she wed actor Ryan Reynolds in 2012. She’s also jumped behind the camera, directing her first music video in 2021.
Emma and Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts is the older brother of Hollywood’s Pretty Woman, Julia Roberts. He is also the father of Emma Roberts. Like the other actor dads mentioned, he has many credits to his name — in fact, IMDb lists over 600. Despite his current role as Robert Avery on season 17 of the ABC television series Grey’s Anatomy, Eric Roberts isn’t as well-known as his daughter.
With acting embedded in her family tree, Emma Roberts began acting as a child. She broke out with her starring role in the Nickelodeon series Unfabulous. The young star graduated to more mature roles in films like Adult World and Palo Alto. While she continues to act on the big screen, many know her leading roles in multiple seasons of American Horror Story, with her last appearance in AHS: 1984.
