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Soap in Aniston’s blood
You may remember hearing something
about Friends star Jennifer Aniston
being estranged from her mother,
Nancy Aniston. She’s been on the outs with
her loose-lipped mom since Nancy talked
to a tabloid TV show. Mom subsequently
wrote a book about her own history (the
former actress and model was abandoned
by her own maternal unit) and how difficult
it is not to have lil’ Jennifer in her life.
Mom wasn’t even invited to the wedding of
the century — okay, the wedding of July
2000 — when Jennifer got hitched to blond
bombshell (and fairly decent actor when
he wants to be) Brad Pitt.
But did you know that Jen’s father is
John Aniston? Who is John Aniston, you
ask. You may know him better as Victor
Kiriakis, the mustachioed Greek business
mogul from the long-running soap Days of
Our Lives. That’s right, although the pair
look nothing alike, Jennifer’s roots run all
the way back to Salem where papa spent
much of the past two decades as the
resident villain, alternating between
drug lord, kidnapper and extortionist.
Although, to be fair, old Vic did soften in
his later years, attempting to become a
legitimate business man à la Godfather’s
Michael Corleone.
John Aniston was born on the Greek
island of Crete in 1937 and also put in
stints on the soap operas Search for
Tomorrow and Love of Life. The family’s real
last name was Anastassakis, but was gentrified
when they made the move to the
States. Jennifer, however, still embraces
her Greek heritage, evident at her wedding
when guests shattered plates Greek-style
and danced to bouzouki music. And yes,
although mom wasn’t invited, dad was
there to walk his radiant daughter down
the celeb-lined aisle.
You can see whether Jennifer has the
acting chops to survive without her
“friends” this month, when she plays Mark
Wahlberg’s girlfriend in the new heavy
metal flick Rock Star. —MW
Jen and John Aniston take
in a Hollywood premiere
FRED PROUSER/REUTERS