Jennifer Aniston says she finally believes she’s ‘worth fighting for’ in relationships and public attacks
She’s one of Hollywood’s style stars and now Jennifer Aniston has given a rare insight into her personal closet, ahead of her return to TV.
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She’s known as one of Hollywood’s most stylish actors and made headlines with her record-breaking new Instagram account.
Now, Jennifer Aniston has shown a rare glimpse into her private life, via her huge wardrobe.
The former Friends star’s stylists, sisters Nina Hallworth and Clare Hallworth, shared a photo of Aniston’s designer-packed walk-in closet.
Posing in a black power coat and strappy heels, Aniston, 50, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling closet, showing a peek into her designer handbag collection, along with a rack of mini skirts and knits that were neatly folded on the shelves.
The image was captioned “knockout”. Aniston’s ex-husband Justin Theroux previously opened up about the star’s wardrobe in the $US20 million Bel Air mansion they shared during their short-lived marriage.
“We have made an extension on our house. I don’t know what [was] made into what, but we found more room to create a better bathroom and a closet,” Theroux told Ryan Seacrest at the time.
“It sounds probably more elaborate than it is, but basically when we were out of town — she was working, I was working — we took that opportunity to create a little more closet space.”
JENNIFER ANISTON’S NEW TV ROLE
If you’re expecting to meet Rachel from Friends or any number of roles where Aniston played America’s sweetheart in her new TV return, Morning Wars, then think again.
As a take-no-prisoners news anchor, in the long awaited debut of AppleTV’s first original drama series, Aniston — as Alex Levy — is at the heart of a show which delves into the manipulation of corporate power, duplicitous alliances, and the timely issue of sexual harassment in show business and its ensuing fallout.
When accusations come to light of alleged inappropriate behaviour by Alex’s long time co-anchor, Mitch Kessler (Steve Carell), this seasoned TV survivor on camera quickly switches to crisis mode.
Certainly Aniston had plenty of real life experience to draw on, given the tumultuous time she’s had in the public eye for much of her 50 years.
Before a string of actor boyfriends, it was her relationship, marriage and 2005 divorce from Brad Pitt — after his reported infidelity with Angelina Jolie — that positioned Aniston, unwillingly it must be said, as an A-list victim, known to sympathetic fans as ‘poor Jen.’
When her second two-year marriage to Justin Theroux ended in 2017, the public pity continued in her favour.
Add an acrimonious relationship with her (now deceased) mother, as well as rumours of countless pregnancies and plastic surgery procedures, Aniston has admirably resisted playing into this soap opera — candid and honest to a fault.
Asked what personal life crises she drew on for her latest TV role, the sassy star laughs.
“Gosh. Where do I start?,” she tells TV Guide/Watch.
“We all have our own versions of a crisis that we walk through. Sometimes you’re a person in the public eye and you have to learn how to do it gracefully. Some don’t. But I chose, as much as humanly possible, to walk through troubled times with as much grace as possible. And also, I have a beautiful group of men and women that I talk to and seek their counsel.”
She pauses: “You know, I’ve been doing this for 30 years and I’ve been under the microscope for all of it. It’s not always easy to turn the noise down. There are moments when you’re the belle of the ball, and there are moments when you’re not up to par.”
Through it all, she says she has learned to fight for herself.
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“Yes, I actually have and you come to realise that’s not a bad thing. It took a couple of years to gain the confidence that I am worth fighting for.”
Clearly proud of the woman she’s emerged, she adds without conceit: “I am a powerful woman. I have opportunities and I can acknowledge that I know where I’ve come from, I know what I’ve gone through, and I know how fortunate and blessed I am to be where I am today.”
Her collaboration with Big Little Lies favourite Reese Witherspoon, who plays Bradley Jackson, a travelling news reporter from West Virginia, reflects those industry connections.
Having played her younger sister on two episodes of Friends back in 2000, the pair have long been firm friends and looked to produce something together.
This series — called The Morning Show internationally, but renamed in Australia because of Seven’s program of the same name — is based on a 2013 book called Top of the Morning, penned by CNN correspondent, Brian Stelter.
Worlds away from the familial bond they shared on Friends, their relationship in Morning Wars, starts out as complicated and adversarial.
“I’ve always found the behind-the-scenes of the morning talk shows so fascinating,” Aniston offers. “It always seemed to have that cutthroat quality that would be an interesting world to explore. And then #Metoo happened, and so it beautifully wrote itself in a strange way.
“We show the abuse of power, people turning a blind eye to it who are complicit, and then the guilt from that, which is also something we’re exploring now. We have a whole new rule book and everybody’s trying to figure out how we manoeuvre through this landscape.”
She admits too that she dug deep into her own experiences, particularly for moments requiring heightened emotion. “The show’s been a really great outlet for getting angry,” she laughs. “Honestly, there have been scenes where I’ve had to go down into the dark dungeon of memories that hadn’t really been touched upon in a long time and allow it to be channelled out in a way that is not myself at all,” she explains.
“I don’t lose my temper, I just don’t,” she shrugs. “Maybe it’s because I grew up with raging tempers [around me] that I’ve never thought it was productive.”
Interestingly, she also reveals she has never been subjected to sexual aggression in the workplace. “I’ve been very lucky.”
Fifteen years after she left television when Friends wrapped, she’s aware the world is a very different place but hopeful the show’s relevance will strike a chord.
“Gosh, I really hope we continue to tell stories that people want to hear and in doing so, people get a little peek behind the curtain. And also, Apple TV, being the wild, wild west — it’s been exciting to be part of something that’s literally come up out of the ground for the first time.”
Morning Wars, streaming November 1, Apple TV+