Texoma Living Well Magazine September/October 2016 | Page 9

herself with several part-time jobs. And yes, she had stints waitressing, just like her character in Friends. She was also a telemarketer and bike messenger. Who would have thought? Friends to the Rescue Aniston got a publicity boost after appearing on The Howard Stern Show as a spokes model for Nutrisystem. That same year, she made the leap to the West Coast, and Los Angeles became her home. Aniston ran into Warren Littlefield, a NBC big wig, while filling her tank at a LA gas station. Littlefield gave her the reassurance she needed, telling the hopeful actress to stick with it and keep trying. A few months later, he cast her in a show called Friends. Originally, producers wanted Aniston to pursue the role of Monica Geller, but Courtney Cox was found better suited for the part. Thus, Aniston morphed into a perfect Rachel Green, and things skyrocketed. The series, which started in 1994, was extremely successful––and lu- crative. According to reports, Aniston received a whopping $1 million per episode throughout the last two seasons. She also earned five Emmy nominations, and was awarded Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She also won two Golden Globes, and scored the coveted title of the highest paid TV actress of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records (2005). Not so bad for the former waitress. In between shooting Friends episodes, Aniston took to the big screen, scoring roles in films such as She’s the One, Picture Perfect, Office Space, and The Object of my Affection. She also gained acclaim in a breakthrough role in the low-budget film, The Good Girl, playing a cashier who cheats on her husband. Continued, page 8 Photo credit: Open Road Films In 1990, she was cast in a short-lived series, Molloy, followed by co-starring in Ferris Bueller, a spinoff of th