The Greek Roots of Jennifer Aniston (Anastasakis)

Jennifer Aniston was born Joanna Anastasakis. The famous Hollywood actress is the daughter of Soap Opera star actor John Aniston. John was born in Chania, Crete on July, 24, 1933. Jen’s mother, Nancy Dow, was a model and actress who appeared in television shows such as “The Beverly Hillbillies” and “The Wild Wild West.” After suffering two strokes in 2011 and 2012, she died in 2016 at the age of 79.

Aniston witnessed the divorce of her parents from a very young age, and it was extremely draining and difficult on her. She was left alone with a mother that was hard to deal with when she was just 9 years old. Her Dad, John Aniston, migrated to the US in the 60’s and is famous for his role as Victor Kiriakis on the Soap Opera ‘Days of Our Lives’ for the last 30 years.

Aniston is looking great at 53 and has credited her youthful look to her Greek genes. Aniston who has Cretan blood from her father, is a very driven and poised A-list celebrity actress in Hollywood. The actress has starred in many movies since the days of the hit sitcom ‘Friends’ in the 90’s. Her highest grossing movies were: Bruce Almighty (2003), The Break Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008), Just Go With It (2011), Horrible Bosses (2011), We’re the Millers (2013), each of which grossed over $200 million in worldwide box office sales.

Jennifer Aniston banked big bucks while “Friends” was on the air, but according to a recent report from “USA Today,” she still makes $20 million each year from the hit tv show reruns around the world. After HBO Max aired the much anticipated “Friends” reunion special on May 27 of 2021, Aniston and the rest of the cast have been back in the spotlight and their fans have been loving it!

Jennifer Aniston’s Godfather was the late legendary actor Telly Savalas. He was famous in the 70’s and is widely known for his role as Detective Kojak. The lollipop sucking detective coined the famous phrase “Who loves ya baby?”Jennifer and her family moved to Greece for a year when she was just 5 years old. She has only been back to Greece once since then and is seen below talking about how much she loved Greece with a 90’s interview with Jay Leno.

Jen Aniston on numerous occasions has credited her Greek background for her flawless and amazing looks. “My dad is 100 percent Greek; he turned 88 and he barely has a wrinkle. And neither did my grandmother (Yiayia Stella), who was 95 when she died”.

Jennifer Aniston talks about her beautiful vacation in Greece and visiting her Greek family in Crete and Athens in a rare interview on the Jay Leno Show:

Jen spoke about her trip to Greece and her family with Jay Leno above:

“I went and saw my family, it was amazing…it was just beautiful…we saw goats running around. The thing with Greeks is, you go and visit a relative an hour, and each time it’s a 3 course meal. They make French fries a lot, which is very interesting.”

Jennifer Aniston seen at a young age with her Yiayia Stella who aged well before passing aways at 95 years of age. Jennifer Aniston with her father John Aniston in an adorable photo below.

JENNIFER ANISTON AND PARENTS AT THE KNOSSOS TEMPLE IN CRETE, GREECE. HER FATHER JOHN ANISTON WAS BORN IN CHANIA, CRETE ON JULY 24, 1933.









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