I would say with confidence that Jennifer Aniston has got to be up there as one of the most beautiful women in the world.
From her ever-changing hairstyles to her fashion sense, she became a sex symbol as Rachel Green but it turns out she had to make some pretty strict changes to bag the role.
Jen has spoken about how her agent unfairly forced her to lose a staggering 30lbs from her already tiny frame in a bid to get more acting work.
The Mirror reports she told Rolling Stone in 1996 how it all came to a head when she was told to audition for a show in a leotard and tights.
‘I ate too many mayonnaise sandwiches,’ she said, recalling how she joked to her agent, ‘well, this should blow it for me.’
But instead of laughing, her agent cruelly told her she was missing out on work because she was ‘too chubby’.
Jennifer said:
My agent gave it to me straight – nicest thing he ever did. The disgusting thing of Hollywood – I wasn’t getting lots of jobs because I was too heavy.
At first, Jen was in shock at hearing the harsh home truths, however in hindsight she’s grateful for the advice as it kick-started her healthy diet.
She said:
I was like, ‘What?!’ But my diet was terrible. Milkshakes and French fries with gravy. It was a good thing to start paying attention.
In a desperate attempt to get her career off the ground, Jen completely cut mayonnaise and butter out of her died and stopped snacking.
She later turned to Nutrisystem’s pre-packed calorie-restricted meal plan and became one of the success story faces of the brand.
Jen said:
I did do Nutrisystem, like, 20 years ago. That actually worked. It just happened to be astronaut food, but it still worked.
It was amazing to see this thing emerge. I never knew I had this body in me.
The next couple of decades consisted of strict diets and exercise regimes which Jen undertaking carb-shunning Atkins and eating the exact same lunch every day for 10 years.
Jen’s co-star and good friend Courteney Cox told the Los Angeles Times:
Jennifer and Lisa [Kudrow] and I ate lunch together every single day for 10 years.
We always had the same thing – a Cobb salad. But it wasn’t really a Cobb salad. It was a Cobb salad that Jennifer doctored up with turkey bacon and garbanzo beans and I don’t know what. She has a way with food, which really helps.
She also famously became a fitness fanatic, engaging in an exhausting workout routine, which included a spin class followed by yoga and a session in the gym.
Speaking about her gruelling routine, Jen previously said:
If I’m working, I’m up at 4:30, 5 am. If not, between 8 and 9am, because I’m a late-night person. But usually when I wake up, I’ll make my standard cup of hot water with a slice of lemon in there.
Then I’ll go do a workout of some sort. I have a trainer, a wonderful woman who I do this spin-yoga class [with]. We spin for half an hour, and then do yoga for 40 minutes. That’s pretty intense.
Then I go to a gym, where I do strength training or just my own thing on the treadmill, the bike, or the elliptical, just to change things up.
Whatever she’s doing, she looks – and always has looked – incredible.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.