The famous television series 'Friends' had it all. The non-stop gags, the hilarious plots, millions of loyal viewers every week and of course its star studded cast. Speaking of the star studded cast, the series managed to create a television icon that would grace the world of film and television for many years to come. That icon is one and only Jennifer Aniston.
The actress who was practically unknown before the first season had suddenly over night turned into a superstar. From then on in, the rest is history. Aniston's colourful career in front of the cameras has spanned comfortably over twenty years, so to celebrate her achievements we give you eight fun facts about the American actress.
1 Directed by Jennifer Aniston
Aniston's skills extend further than acting in front of a camera. In fact, the actress has tried her hand at tasks behind the camera directing 'Room 10' with Andrea Buchanan. The 2006 short feature film features both Robin Wright and Kris Kristofferson. Will she step it up a notch and direct and feature film in the future? Time will tell.
2 Rachel or Monica?
'Friends' could have been a very different series if things had gone the way that it was originally planned. The first choice to play Rachel was Courteney Cox. However, the actress opted instead to play Monica, which led to Aniston taking up the role of Rachel.
3 Trend setter
'Friends' is nothing short of history now, along with Jennifer Aniston's short haircut. Aniston was a fashion icon throughout the series and many people followed her trend, even in some cases when it wasn't intended. Her short hair was actually a mistake courtesy of her hairdresser, who at the time seemed to be a bit too scissor-happy and chopped off a bit too much of her hair.
4 Viva Mexico!
It is no secret that Jennifer Aniston's favourite cuisine is Mexican food. The relationship she has with Mexican food is more of an obsession than the odd meal here and there. She has admitted she is a fan of going out with friends for Mexican food saying "We always used to meet on a Tuesday and go for Mexican food -Taco Tuesdays - which were great fun." In an interview, Aniston also claimed that her last meal would be a Mexican one saying "It'd be chips and guacamole, quesadillas, enchiladas and a big tostada salad, and nachos!".
5 Microsoft ambassador
In 1995, Anniston and her co-star from 'Friends', Matthew Perry starred in a 60-minute instructional video for the release of Microsoft's Windows 95 operating system.
6 Keep out the water
The actress had a childhood scare which has led to a lifelong fear of water. In an interview, Aniston explained "I was a kid and I was riding this tricycle around a swimming pool and I drove my tricycle into the swimming pool and I didn't let go and my brother tried to help me. So, I can't go underwater. I honestly can't". As a result of this traumatic experience, the swimming pool scene in 'Cake' had to be shot over 30 times.
7 Artist
It seems like Aniston has other hidden talents than just being able to perform well in front of a camera. One of those talents is painting. In fact, at the age of 11, one of her paintings was that good that it was displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
8 Previous work
People tend to forget that celebrities all started off somewhere and worked their way up to the big time. With regards to Aniston, before she got her lucky break in the acting world, she tried her hand at a number of different jobs. These included jobs such as as a telemarketer, a bike messenger and a waitress.