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Short Biography

Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American film and television actress, best known for her role as Rachel Green in the popular television sitcom Friends. Apart from Friends, she has starred in several successful Hollywood films, including Bruce Almighty, Office Space, Along Came Polly and The Break-Up.

Early life
Aniston was born in [Harrisonburg, Louisiana], and grew up on Kidron Rd. just north of Harrisonburg. She is the daughter of the Greek-American actor John Aniston (originally Yannis Anastassakis) and actress Nancy Dow. Aniston has two half-brothers, John Melick and Alex Aniston. Aniston`s father was born on 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 living in Greece with her family, but relocated to New York City, where her father appeared in the soap operas Days of Our Lives, Love of Life and Search for Tomorrow. Aniston attended the New York Rudolf Steiner School and graduated from Manhattan`s Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art 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. In 1989, she moved to Los Angeles, California.

Career
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Aniston moved to Hollywood and was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller`s Day Off, the same year; the series, however, was quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy shows, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman`s Head, Burke`s Law, on South Park in episode Rainforest Schmainforest. After the string of cancelled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1993 horror film, Leprechaun, Aniston considered giving up acting.

Aniston`s plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC`s 1994-1995 fall line-up. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but she persuaded them that she was better suited for the role of Rachel Green. She was cast in the role and played the character from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.

The program was hugely successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. Her hairstyle at the time, which became known as the "Rachel", was widely copied. Aniston received a salary of one million dollars per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations, including a win for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series". According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became th