Jennifer Anniston Parents: John Aniston, Jennifer Anniston’s late father, is being honored.
The Friends actress made her father’s passing public on November 11, 2022. Along with some pictures of the couple, she wrote, in part, “Sweet papa… John Anthony Aniston.” You were one of the most attractive people I’ve ever known.
John had a successful career in television and, like his well-known daughter, worked in Hollywood. He earned the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award in June 2022 for his 37-year portrayal of Victor Kiriakis on Days of Our Lives, for which he was best known.
Jennifer virtually honored her father by referring to him as “a terrific and well-respected actor, who just so happens to be my dad” at the event. Jennifer’s relationship with John and her deceased mother, Nancy Dow, was tense at times, even though they had many heartwarming father-daughter moments throughout the years.
Nancy and John welcomed a daughter, The Morning Show actress, into the world on February 11, 1969, in Sherman Oaks, California. Her family later moved to New York City, where she grew up.
Jennifer’s parents, Nancy and John, divorced when she was little. In a 2020 interview with her friend Sandra Bullock for Interview Magazine, Jennifer subsequently referred to her childhood home as being “destabilized.”
When things in her life didn’t go according to plan, Jennifer said that “growing up in a household that was destabilized and felt unsafe” taught her how to survive. I suppose I should thank my parents, she said. “You have three options: be martyred out of rage, say, “You’ve got lemons? Make lemonade, will we?”
For more information on Jennifer’s parents, Nancy Dow and John Anniston, continue reading.
Who Was Nancy Dow, the Mother of Jennifer Anniston?
Image source: eonline
Nancy was best known for playing Teresa in 1967’s The Wild Wild West and Athena in 1966’s The Beverly Hillbillies. She also had cameos in movies like 2004’s Pure and 1969’s The Ice House.
Nancy was wed to Jack Melick from 1956 until 1961 before getting hitched to Jennifer’s father, John. Son John T. Melick III was the only kid the ex-couple had together. From 1965 until 1980, when Jennifer, their only child together, was nine years old, Nancy was married to John.
In 1999, Nancy published the autobiography From Mother and Daughter to Friends, a frank account of her tumultuous relationship with Jennifer that finally led to their estrangement.
Jennifer and her mother were still at odds five years after the book’s release. According to the Associated Press, the actress, 34 at the time, remarked in an interview about ex-husband Brad Pitt, “I never dreamed my mum would not know my husband.”
In 2018, Jennifer was featured in the Netflix film Dumplin’, which explored a complicated mother-daughter relationship with elements reminiscent of the friendship between the Friends alum and Nancy.
Aniston described Nancy to The Sunday Telegraph as “a model who was all about presentation and what she looked like and what I looked like.” “I didn’t turn out to be the model child she had hoped for, and it resonated with me, this little girl just wanting to be seen and loved by a mother who was too busy with things that didn’t exactly matter.”
Aniston spoke to The Hollywood Reporter in 2015 about her mother-daughter relationship, which she described as “OK” at the time. Anniston revealed to PEOPLE in a statement a year later that Nancy passed away in May 2016 at the age of 79.
No matter how tough and challenging Nancy and Jennifer’s relationship may have been, it is sad for any daughter to lose her mother, a family source told PEOPLE after Nancy passed away. The source continued, “Jennifer is glad for the joyful moments they enjoyed. Nancy battled a very long struggle with many ups and downs.
Who Was John Anniston, Jennifer Anniston’s Father?
John, Jennifer’s father, was a well-known actor best recognized for his 1985–1989 portrayal of Victor Kiriakis in Days of Our Lives. The seasoned actor of Greek descent has also starred in several TV shows, including Gilmore Girls, The West Wing, Mad Men, and Search for Tomorrow.
Along with his television career, he also holds a bachelor’s degree in arts and letters from Penn State University, has experience in the U.S. Navy, and was a leading man in the lighthearted off-Broadway musical Little Mary Sunshine.
John has had two marriages in his personal life. John married Sherry Rooney in 1984 after divorcing Nancy, with whom he had Jennifer and his stepson John Melick. One son, Alex Aniston, was born to the couple.
Jennifer was close to her father and respected his acting abilities. John and his daughter admired one other’s skills and showered her praises in an E! News interview in 1990 before she became famous.
Jennifer is a natural talent, John said at the time, according to the outlet. “In our industry, there are certain things you can learn and certain things you can’t. She has an impeccable sense of humor. Her greatest strength is that.”
For his lengthy work on the soap opera, John was recently recognized with a 2022 Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award. Although dad wasn’t present at the June presentation, Jennifer virtually appeared on the awards stage to honor her father’s accomplished career.
The actress declared, “This is undoubtedly an excellent time for me. It’s an opportunity not only to honor a true legend in the daytime television industry but also to recognize the lifetime accomplishments of my dad, a great and well-respected actor.
His devotion to that show for more than 30 years has earned him the respect and affection of his fellow actors and close friendships and delighted millions of fans worldwide, she continued. “His career is the very definition of lifetime achievement,” someone once said.
Jennifer revealed that her father died on November 11, 2022, at 89. In part, she wrote in the caption of her Instagram photo, “You were one of the most beautiful persons I ever knew. “Until the end of time, I will love you.”