1988–1993: Beginnings and
Stephen Mailer in
For Dear Life in 1989 Aniston first worked in
off-Broadway productions such as
For Dear Life and ''Dancing on Checker's Grave'', and moved back to Los Angeles. Her first regular television role was in the TV series
Molloy in 1990, and she appeared in the
television adaptation of the 1986 film ''
Ferris Bueller's Day Off; both series were quickly canceled. She starred as a teenage summer camp counselor in the made-for-television film Camp Cucamonga (1990), and as a spoiled teenager followed by a vengeful leprechaun in the horror film Leprechaun (1993). A 2014 retrospective from Entertainment Weekly identified Leprechaun'' as her worst role, and Aniston herself has expressed embarrassment over it. Aniston also appeared in the two failed television comedy series
The Edge and
Muddling Through, and guest-starred in
Quantum Leap, ''
Herman's Head and Burke's Law''.
1994–2004: Friends and worldwide recognition Depressed over her four unsuccessful television shows, Aniston approached TV executive
Warren Littlefield at a Los Angeles gas station asking for reassurance. As the head of NBC entertainment, he encouraged her to continue acting, and a few months later helped cast her in
Friends, a sitcom set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall lineup. The producer wanted Aniston to audition for the role of
Monica Geller, but
Courteney Cox was deemed more suitable, and Aniston was cast as
Rachel Green. She was also offered a spot as a featured player on
Saturday Night Live, but turned it down in favor of
Friends. She played Rachel until the show ended in 2004, when Aniston took a 15-year hiatus from television save for occasional guest roles. The program was a massive hit and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained worldwide recognition. Her character was especially popular. She received five
Primetime Emmy Award nominations (two for
Supporting Actress, three for
Lead Actress), and won for Lead Actress. She was also nominated for two
Golden Globe Awards and won in 2003 as
Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. According to the
Guinness Book of World Records, Aniston (along with her female co-stars) became the highest-paid television actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck during the final season of
Friends. Her character's relationship with
Ross Geller, portrayed by
David Schwimmer, was widely popular among audiences; they were frequently voted television's favorite couple in polls and magazines. After a four-year hiatus, Aniston returned to film work in 1996, when she performed in the ensemble cast of romantic comedy ''
She's the One. Her first starring film vehicle was Picture Perfect'' (1997), where she played a struggling young advertising executive opposite
Kevin Bacon and
Jay Mohr. It received mixed reviews and was only a moderate commercial success; but Aniston's performance was more warmly received, with many critics suggesting that she had screen presence. In 1998, she appeared as a woman who falls for a gay man (played by
Paul Rudd) in the romantic comedy
The Object of My Affection, and the next year she starred as a restaurant waitress in the
cult film Office Space. In 1999, Aniston had the first voice acting role of her career as a single mother in
Brad Bird's animated
science fiction film The Iron Giant. Despite receiving critical acclaim, the film was considered a box office failure upon release, but has since earned a
cult following. Film critic
Roger Ebert declared it her breakthrough: Aniston's biggest commercial success in film has been the comedy
Bruce Almighty (2003), where she played the girlfriend of a television field reporter (
Jim Carrey) offered the chance to be God for one week. With a worldwide box office gross of $484 million, it was the fifth-highest-grossing feature film of the year. Aniston next starred as the old classmate of a tightly wound newlywed in the romantic comedy
Along Came Polly (2004) opposite
Ben Stiller, which placed number one at the North American box office, earning $27.7 million in its opening weekend; it eventually made $172 million worldwide. Both films were moderate box office hits. Aniston took on the role of a single, cash-strapped woman working as a maid in the independent drama
Friends with Money (2006), which received a limited release. Her next film was the romantic comedy
The Break-Up (2006), alongside
Vince Vaughn, in which she starred as one half of a couple having a complicated split when both refuse to move out of the pair's recently purchased home. It received mixed reviews but grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend and $204 million worldwide.
The A.V. Clubs Keith Phipps gave the film a negative review, stating, "It's like watching the 'we were on a break' episode of
Friends stretched to feature length, and without the blessed relief of commercial breaks or the promise of
Seinfeld around the corner."
CinemaBlend gave the film a positive review stating, "In an era of formulaic romantic movies that bear no resemblance to reality,
The Break-Up offers a refreshing flipside." In 2006, Aniston directed the
short film Room 10, set in a hospital emergency room and starring
Robin Wright and
Kris Kristofferson, as part of
Glamours
Reel Moments film series. She noted that she was inspired to direct by actress
Gwyneth Paltrow, who also directed a short film that year. In 2007, Aniston guest-starred in an episode of
Dirt—playing the rival of
Courteney Cox's character—and in an episode of
30 Rock, playing a woman who
stalks Jack Donaghy. For the latter she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. The 2008 comedy drama
Marley & Me, starring Aniston and
Owen Wilson as the owners of the titular dog, set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office sales ever with $14.75 million. It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed number one at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks. The total worldwide gross was $242.7 million. Her next film in wide release, the romantic comedy ''
He's Just Not That Into You'' (2009), in which she starred opposite
Ben Affleck, grossed $178.8 million globally and ranked number one at the United States box office for its opening weekend. While it received mixed reviews, Aniston, along with Affleck,
Ginnifer Goodwin, and
Jennifer Connelly, were praised by critics as standouts in the film. Aniston appeared as the former wife of a
bounty hunter (
Gerard Butler) in the romantic comedy action film
The Bounty Hunter (2010). The film was panned by critics, with
The Hollywood Reporter writing that "the mishmash ends up as a thoroughly unfunny adult cartoon." Nevertheless, it was a box office success, garnering over $130 million worldwide. A lukewarm box office reception greeted her next film, the romantic comedy
The Switch (2010), in which she starred with
Jason Bateman as a 30-something single woman who decides to have a child using a sperm bank. The film's opening weekend drew what
The Hollywood Reporter dubbed "a dispiriting $8.4 million". The film received generally mixed reviews, with review site
Metacritic showing 13 out of 30 critics delivering a positive verdict. In 2010, Aniston was also a guest star on the season two premiere of
ABC's sitcom
Cougar Town, playing a psychiatrist. Her announcement that she would appear on
Cougar Town garnered excitement and was dubbed her return to television.
The A.V. Club wrote, "[her role] is a funny bit, and it highlights just how much Jennifer Aniston is built to be a TV star." In 2011, she starred opposite
Adam Sandler as an office manager posing as the wife of a plastic surgeon in the romantic comedy
Just Go with It, and played a sexually aggressive dentist in
Horrible Bosses.
Just Go with It and
Horrible Bosses both made over $100 million in North America and $200 million worldwide. Aniston appeared in the comedy
Wanderlust (2012) with
Paul Rudd, with whom she acted in
The Object of My Affection and also
Friends, as a married couple who join a commune after losing their money and deciding modern life is not for them. The script for
Wanderlust, bought by
Universal Pictures, was produced by
Judd Apatow.
Wanderlust received positive reviews but was a box office failure, grossing only $21 million worldwide, against a production budget of $35 million. Aniston starred as a struggling stripper who agrees to pose as a wife for a drug deal, with
Jason Sudeikis, in ''
We're the Millers'' (2013). The film received mixed reviews from critics, but was a financial success, grossing $269 million against a budget of $37 million.
2014–present: Film roles and return to television Aniston played the role of a stoic socialite who becomes the target of an ill-planned kidnapping plot in
Life of Crime (2014), a film adaptation of
Elmore Leonard's 1978 novel
The Switch. The film was released in limited theaters, to positive reviews. Catherine Shoard of
The Guardian described her performance as "endearingly comic" and Eric Kohn of
IndieWire wrote that "Aniston tops any of her recent performances with a spirited turn that harkens back to her neurotic days on
Friends." She also reprised her role for
Horrible Bosses 2 (2014). In
Cake (2014), Aniston starred as an astringent woman named Claire Simmons who struggles with chronic pain. The film received mixed reviews; nonetheless, Aniston's performance was acclaimed, dubbed by some critics as "
Oscar-worthy". The
Toronto International Film Festival called her performance "heartbreakingly good", Gregory Ellwood of
HitFix stated, "It's really on most people's radar for being a rare dramatic turn for Jennifer Aniston, and she doesn't disappoint." He further stated, "Aniston makes you believe in Claire's pain. She makes you believe this character is at her lowest point and only she can pull herself out of it. ... It's a complete performance from beginning to end and she deserves the appropriate accolades for it." For her performance, Aniston was nominated for the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama,
SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and
Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Actress. She was also nominated multiple nominations for its latter seasons. '' in 2011 In 2015, Aniston starred as a reluctant therapist in the screwball comedy ''
She's Funny That Way, which received mixed reviews and found a limited release in theaters, but her performance was once again noticed. Wesley Morris of Grantland'' called her "one of the great screen comedians. ... Most of her scenes here are extraneous, but her vulgarity and tartness are so sharp that the movie needs them. ... This isn't just Aniston having the best stuff. It's her having the most fun with her talent. She's funny in every way." Aniston starred as the recently divorced mother of two children in the romantic comedy ''
Mother's Day (2016), directed by Garry Marshall, and opposite Julia Roberts and Kate Hudson. The film was panned by critics and a moderate commercial success. In 2016, she voiced a workaholic and overprotective mother in the animated film Storks, alongside Andy Samberg and Kelsey Grammer, which was released to mostly positive reviews; it grossed over $183.4 million against a $70 million budget. Her last 2016 film role was that of a frigidly cold head honcho of a company in the comedy Office Christmas Party'', directed by
Will Speck and Josh Gordon and opposite
Jason Bateman and
Kate McKinnon. It grossed $114.5 million worldwide. In
The Yellow Birds, a war drama directed by
Alexandre Moors, Aniston portrays the mother of a deceased soldier, alongside
Alden Ehrenreich,
Tye Sheridan,
Jack Huston, and
Toni Collette. While she said she does not "normally gravitate toward being in war films", she made an exception because the film was "written so beautifully and in such a way [she] had never experienced". The film, first presented at the
2017 Sundance Film Festival, received a
video on demand release in June 2018. The
Los Angeles Times wrote in its review: "Toni Collette and Jennifer Aniston as the soldiers' quite different but equally concerned mothers, deliver uniformly naturalistic performances". In December 2018,
Netflix released the musical comedy ''
Dumplin', with Aniston as executive producer and star—marking her first project for a streaming service. That year, she began work on another Netflix project, Murder Mystery, a comedy that reunited her with Adam Sandler, which premiered on June 14, 2019. The two of them reunited for the sequel Murder Mystery 2'', which premiered on March 31, 2023. Aniston made her return to television on November 1, 2019, producing and starring alongside
Reese Witherspoon in the
Apple TV+ drama
The Morning Show. It was her first main television role since the conclusion of
Friends in 2004. For its first season, Aniston won the
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and received a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and two
Golden Globe Award nominations for
Best Actress – Television Series Drama and
Best Television Series – Drama as a producer. The series' subsequent seasons earned her multiple additional nominations at
Critics' Choice, Golden Globe, Primetime Emmy and
SAG awards. She reunited with her
Friends cast mates for an
HBO Max unscripted television special titled
Friends: The Reunion in May 2021. The special earned her a nomination for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for her producing credit. ==Other ventures==