Jennifer Aniston Says Comedy ‘Saved My Life’

For decades, Jennifer Aniston has been in the spotlight. First as an actor on the hit TV show Friends, and then as a popular star of movies, she has consistently remained a fan-favorite — even though tabloids have repeatedly speculated about her personal life. Aniston has always managed to take bold chances when it came to her career, even though she is best known for her work in comedy shows. In a recent interview with Allure, Aniston opened up about the early days of her acting career, when she was trying to break into the industry — admitting that comedy “saved her life.”

Jennifer Aniston became a star with ‘Friends’

Born as the daughter of two actors, Aniston knew from a very early age that she wanted to follow her parents into show business. Her family moved from California to New York when she was very young, according to IMDb, and it was there that she further developed her deep affinity for the entertainment profession. According to IMDb, her parents didn’t necessarily encourage her to pursue acting. But in spite of that, Aniston enrolled in Manhattan’s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts.

During her early days studying the craft of acting, Aniston primarily worked in a dramatic capacity, acting out serious plays and developing the skills that she would later put to good use in movies. Still, her peers couldn’t help but notice that she seemed to gravitate more toward comedy. 

Jennifer Aniston said that comedy ‘saved her life’

In a recent interview with Allure, Aniston opened up about her formative years as a young actor, well before she landed any film or television roles. “I remember in high school doing a Chekhov play,” she said. “It wasn’t funny, and I was making it funny. And my teacher said, ‘Why don’t you just be funny because you have it in you?’ And I was like, ‘How dare you? I’m a dramatic actress!’ Turns out, it was the thing that saved my life, comedy. It was a salve to make people laugh.”

Ultimately, Aniston would thank her comedy skills, not just for the role they played in making her a star, but for the good she was able to nourish in viewers. “There are people who say that watching Friends has saved them during cancer diagnosis, or so many people with just so much gratitude for a little show,” she told Allure. “I don’t know why it still resonates; there are no iPhones. It’s just people talking to each other. Nobody talks to each other anymore.”

Jennifer Aniston has embraced more dramatic roles lately

While Aniston has gone on the record saying that she would be a designer if she wasn’t an actor, it’s hard to imagine a world where Aniston isn’t a huge star. She’s played a vital role in pop culture history over the past three decades, between her iconic marriages and her high-profile role as Rachel Green in Friends. She’s acted in major comedy movies like Bruce Almighty, Horrible Bosses, and We’re the Millers.

However, in recent years, Aniston has been embracing more dramatic roles, including the acclaimed Netflix movie Dumplin’ and her long-running role in the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show. As Alex Levy, Aniston moved into the next phase of her career with grace and skill, proving how she remains a force in Hollywood for so many years.