Jennifer Aniston Opens Up About Overcoming the ‘Heartbreak’ of Her Late Dad

Jennifer Aniston is reflecting on how her relationship with her late father, actor John Aniston, shaped her career and personal life.

In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, the “Morning Show” star revealed that striving for her father’s approval was both her motivation and her greatest emotional challenge. John, best known for his 37-year run as Victor Kiriakis on “Days of Our Lives”, passed away in 2022 at age 89.

“Always wanting to get Pop’s approval — it was the thing that drove me and was also my biggest heartbreak: trying to impress and prove your value to a man who’s only capable of so much,” she said, according to People. Aniston admitted she once believed, “If I made it, then he will love me as much as I love him.”

Before his passing, Aniston said they shared moments where he expressed pride in her work. “We had a few of those moments,” she recalled. She also spoke about feeling closer to him now, telling The Wall Street Journal in 2023, “I feel like he’s everywhere. I really do,” and sharing a story about placing a crystal in his jacket at his funeral, only to later find a piece of it on her vanity.

A Complicated Childhood and Shifting Relationship

Aniston was raised by John and actress Nancy Dow before their divorce when she was 9 years old. She has described her childhood as “destabilized” and “unsafe,” recalling witnessing unkind behavior between adults and deciding to approach life differently. “You can either be angry or be a martyr, or you can say, ‘You’ve got lemons? Let’s make lemonade,’” she told Vanity Fair.

Her relationship with her father evolved as her career progressed. “He thought I was going down the road of absolute destruction and heartache,” she said. “And then I kind of got a whole different relationship with him once he had something to talk to me about. Which was, ‘Oh, you’re an actor. I’m an actor.’”

The actress has also spoken about letting go of resentment from her parents’ separation. “I forgave my mom. I forgave my father. I’ve forgiven my family,” she told Allure in 2022. She acknowledged that watching their split influenced her own romantic life, saying, “I didn’t like the idea of sacrificing who you were or what you needed… so it was almost easier to just be kind of solo.”

Remembering John Aniston’s Career and Legacy

John Aniston, born in Greece, built a celebrated career in television. In addition to his work on “Days of Our Lives”, he appeared on “Search for Tomorrow”, “The West Wing”, “Gilmore Girls”, and “Mad Men”. In 2022, he was honored with the Daytime Emmys Lifetime Achievement Award, with Jennifer presenting the tribute virtually. “It’s an opportunity to… recognize the lifelong achievements of a great and well-respected actor, who also happens to be my dad,” she said.

John praised his daughter’s comedic instinct long before her breakout role on Friends. “Jennifer is a natural talent… The comic instinct that she has is unerring. That’s her greatest asset,” he told E! News in 1990.

When announcing his passing on Instagram in November 2022, Jennifer wrote, “Sweet papa… You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew. I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain… I’ll love you till the end of time.”

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