Jennifer Aniston and her mom Nancy Dow were estranged for many years, here's whether or not their relationship was repaired before her passing.
Now that people can rise to fame as YouTubers, social media influencers, reality stars, and more, there are more celebrities than at any time in the past. However, the truth is that most people don't have much connection to the vast majority of famous people.
As of the time of this writing, it has been nearly three decades since the first episode of Friends premiered. Since Friends made her world-famous all those years ago, there have been millions of people who've grown to truly invest in Jennifer Aniston both as an actor and as a person.
Since many people like Jennifer so much, she is the only Friends star who went on to become a major movie star who headlined many popular films. On top of that, people's love for Aniston led a lot of her fans to be extremely upset on her behalf when Jennifer's marriage to Brad Pitt ended.
Amazingly enough, however, most of Jennifer's fans seem to know very little about her mom or the fact that Aniston's relationship with her mother could be explosive. More than that, whether Jennifer and her mom made peace before Aniston's mother passed away is largely not known either.
Who Were Jennifer Aniston's Parents?
Even now when there are so many streaming services and independent productions, it is extremely difficult for people to make a decent living as an actor. During the 60s, there were a lot fewer options for people hoping to become famous actors.
'Unfortunately for Jennifer Aniston's mother Nancy Dow, she tried to make it as an actor during the 60s. Most notably, Nancy landed a role in a single episode of The Beverly Hillbillies before she mostly gave up acting professionally in 1969.
In addition to landing her last television role in 1969, Nancy gave birth to the daughter she had with her husband at the time, John Aniston. After suffering several strokes in 2011 and 2012, Nancy passed away in 2016 when she was 79 years old.
Years before Jennifer Aniston became one of the most famous people in the world, her father John was already enjoying a great deal of success as an actor. Able to land a slew of roles in different shows and movies, John proved that he could play a wide variety of roles.
Still, there is no doubt that John's greatest claim to fame was starring in Days of Our Lives. Cast as the character Victor Kiriakis, John made his Days of Our Lives debut in 1985 and went on to be a mainstay of the popular soap opera.
According to IMDb, John appeared in a truly staggering 2,760 episodes of Days of Our Lives during his impressive career. In November 2022, John passed away at 89 years old.
Why Was Jennifer Aniston Estranged From Her Mother For Fifteen Years
When someone enjoys the level of success that Jennifer Aniston achieved in her life, it can be common for people to think they lead practically perfect lives. While there is no doubt that people like Jennifer have gotten lucky in a lot of ways, that doesn't mean they have always been fortunate.
One example of a way that Jennifer Aniston wasn't fortunate is the nature of her relationship with her mom. Of course, lots of people have arguments with their parents but according to reports, Jennifer and her mom Nancy Dow were estranged for approximately fifteen years.
As everyone should already know, human relationships can be extremely complicated. With that in mind, it seems naive to think that it is simple to explain why Jennifer and Nancy's relationship was strained for so long. That said, there are some headlines about what went wrong between the mother and daughter.
In the past, Jennifer has spoken about how toxic her parents' relationship was when she was growing up. As tough as that could be, it was traumatic for Jennifer when her parents divorced since her father abruptly left their family home as she explained to Esquire in 2007.
"When I was about nine, I came home from a friend's party and my dad wasn't there. Divorce happens in a lot of families, and I don't want to break out the violins. But that was that."
As hard as it clearly was on Jennifer to have her father suddenly gone like that, that was made all the worse by how critical her mom was of her looks growing up as Aniston told Elle in 2018.
"She was from this world of, ‘Honey, take better care of yourself,’ or ‘Honey, put your face on,’ or all of those odd sound bites that I can remember from my childhood.”
No wonder Jennifer told Today that she couldn't wait to get out of her mother's house. “My house was not a fun house to live in. I was thrilled to get out.” Even though her relationship with her mom was difficult during her childhood, it wasn't until later in life that they became estranged.
In an ideal world, Jennifer and her mom would have been able to become closer when the famous actor became an adult. Sadly, however, Jennifer and Nancy were not on speaking terms throughout much of Aniston's adult years. On top of that, their relationship became more strained after a pair of events.
According to InTouch, after Jennifer Aniston became famous in 1994, her mom took part in a tell-all interview with the tabloid show Hard Copy in 1996. For understandable reasons, Jennifer was upset that her mom decided to talk to the press about their difficult relationship.
Still not through, in 1999 Nancy had a tell-all memoir titled "From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir" under her past married name, Nancy Aniston. Since it was abundantly clear that Jennifer was completely against that book being published, that only made her relationship with her mom worse.
Did Jennifer Aniston Ever Make Peace With Her Mom?
When family members become estranged, it can be exceedingly difficult for either of them to make the first move toward reconciliation, assuming their relationship is worth salvaging. With that in mind, it certainly wouldn't be surprising if Jennifer Aniston and her mom Nancy Dow never reconnected before the matriarch passed away.
Since the tabloids have never been shy about reporting on the details of Jennifer Aniston's personal life, it was no secret that she was on bad terms with her mom throughout their estrangement. For that reason, when Jennifer said she made peace with her mom in 2005, that garnered a lot of headlines.
"Yeah, it's been really nice. It's been really nice. It's crazy what, you know, your life kind of being turned upside down will lead you to. … For us it's … it was the time, and it was going to happen when it was supposed to happen. So this is good. It's baby steps."
Furthermore, Jennifer told Allure in 2022 that she learned to not hold on to resentment and forgave both of her parents. “I forgave my mom. I forgave my father. I’ve forgiven my family.”
As nice as it is that Jennifer spoke about making peace with her mom in 2005, it is unknown if they stayed on good terms until Nancy's 2016 passing. Even if they did, it seems like old wounds may have been opened one more time in 2016 since it was reported that Nancy cut Jennifer out of her will. Of course, Jennifer didn't need any of her mom's money but that still seems painful.
