US Weekly has some new comments by Jennifer Aniston’s father, “Days of Our Lives” actor John Aniston, in their current issue. The elder Aniston wants his daughter to be with someone who makes her happy, and he also says that having grandchildren is ideal. Jennifer has two half brothers and I can’t tell from my quick online research if she has any nieces or nephews and if her dad is already a grandfather. The article states that John is not a grandfather yet, though, and it sounds like he sort-of wants to be, but isn’t exactly pining for grandchildren:
All parents of a certain age fantasize about having grandkids, and Jennifer Aniston’s dad, John, is not exception.
“Being a granddad is the perfect situation…
“You get the grandkids, play with them, have a good time. Then, at the end of the day, you say, ‘Bye!'” And, when asked who he’d like to see his daughter date, John told Us, “What kind of guy? Someone who makes her happy.”
[From US Weekly, print edition, April 20, 2009]
Aniston’s dad was just being nice to US by giving them a few quotes which of course got turned into a whole article about how she’s said she wants children eventually, but is currently single and having trouble meeting people. There are a few gems here, including the supposed detail that she’s too picky with men, and some rude quotes from “a Mayer source” that she’s “high-maintenance.” Everything has a kind of negative slant, and I ended up feeling sorry for Aniston after reading this:
A close pal tells Us that, for Jen, career takes priority over romance: “She wants to marry and have kids, but she really wants to be the biggest actress in Hollywood. That’s more important to her than anything.”…
And even as all her friends raise families… “Jen has no problem being the third wheel,” says another source…
Still, despite Jen’s seeming lack of concern with her single status, “her close friends really want to see her settled down,” says the insider. But blind dates set up by pals such as Cox “never work out. Guys get intimidated because she’s so in the public eye.” Another challenge? She’s picky. “We all try to get her with a nice, normal guy: a lawyer, an executive,” says a friend, “but it never works. She’s bored after the first or second date and never calls them again. She blames the guy and says they ‘don’t get’ how hard it is to be famous.”
Making matters worse: “Jen is obsessed with her looks and is petrified of getting older,” the friend tells US. Jen even admitted to Ellen Degeneres… that finding a gray hair sent her into hysterics…
A Mayer source says it’s precisely that behavior that drove the crooner away: “She was high-maintenance and unbearable.”
[From US Weekly, print edition, April 20, 2009]
The bit about Aniston striving for her career over a relationship remind me of something that Naomi Watts recently said about how she thought she would never have a family because it was so hard to reach her level of success in Hollywood. Watts said “I went through hell for many years struggling to get work. Then when I had a career I threw so much of myself into my work that I didn’t leave much time for me… I’d waited so long for the chance to work that I couldn’t bear the thought of stopping for any length. There was this fear that I’d better take advantage of every opportunity because maybe it would all go away.”
That was one of the most honest answers I’ve heard from an actress about the pressure from Hollywood to succeed and hold on to it at any cost. Aniston might feel the same way, but she’s never quite said it like that. She’s a laid back California girl, but I bet in her way she’s equally driven and focused. Maybe she’ll have kids if that’s what she wants and maybe she won’t. Either way, she still has her massive success and that beautiful home she’s renovated exactly to her specifications. That’s something to definitely be proud of. It’s doubtful that things would have worked out with Mayer no matter how she handled things and many people had the impression that he was using her from the beginning. She can take solace in her great life as the tabloids continue to insinuate that she’s somehow flawed for not having a boyfriend or kids.
John Aniston is shown at the book launch of ‘Loukoumi’s Good Deeds,’ a children’s book that his daughter narrates for charity on 4/4/09. Credit: WENN.com. Jennifer Aniston is shown on the set of The Baster on 4/13/09. Credit: MTR/bauergriffinonline.com
I think most actresses are highly driven, focused on their career, and obsessed with their appearance. Aniston probably is high-maintenance, but that’s part of the Hollywood culture. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to build your career before you have kids, but I think people like Naomi Watts have been able to put it in perspective and realize there’s more to life than being the world’s biggest movie star. I honestly don’t believe Aniston has figured that out yet.
If someone asks you if you want grandchildren you dont’ say “Ew no that sounds awful”, so ofcourse he’s going to say that drrrrrrrrrr
Ditto Granger. There comes a time when people have to make a choice & let the chips lie where they fall. I’m not saying its one thing or the other, but sometimes you have grab something with two hands & if another thing falls by the wayside, so be it. You may be able to go back & pick it up or you may not be.
Wow, thats fairly obtuse…
Has there ever been a story about Aniston, where she’s being interviewed or otherwise, where kids/having them/lack of them doesn’t rear its head? Is she really that low on interesting material?
Bodhi – I get what you and Granger are saying, but would also point out that Naomi Watts is in a completely different acting league to Aniston.
Interesting candid photo – she actually looks 40, which is just fine in my book, because she **is** 40.
But it shows that no matter how many oxygen facials you have, you can’t fight Mother Nature.
Very very true Geronimo. Naomi is head & shoulders above JA.
Naomi Watts is a very talented actress and has been Nominated for an academy award. Her comment was v v honest and spot on. Aniston is not in her league. I took my neice to see “he’s just not that into you” it was awful and while I don’t really have feeling about Aniston, except tired of hearing about her,I thought she looked awful and as usual can’t really act. She does seem to have relationship problems. High maintenance? I am sure she is but so am I and she is in the public eye. I am sure she isn’t any higher to maintan than Mayer is.
I also learned from that movie that I Ioath Scarlett Johanssan. That girl makes Aniston look possitively Shakespearean
There is nothing wrong with NOT wanting children. Frankly some people really should not be parents. But there also is something to the fact that a woman with children can still have a successful career without neglecting their family (it’s not easy, but many of us working women do it every day). Don’t think it has to be one or the other. If someone like Aniston doesn’t have children at this point in her life, maybe she doesn’t want them but can’t say so without fear of losing her minivan fanbase. Just a thought.
Honestly I think the time is going to come very soon that Aniston is going to have to choose between continuing to work or taking a little bit of time off to have a child. Not because I think all women have to, but just because of her age: she’s 40 now, and if she wants a bio baby it’s really going to have to be soon, even if she goes the fertility treatment route. Otherwise she might miss her chance.
The saddest part of this IMO is that we keep hearing over and over that she wants to be this big *star*. She will NEVER be more than she is now; a funny, light-hearted kind of romcom actress who really doesn’t have what it takes to do anything deeper because she has nothing deeper inside herself to draw on. I’m not trying to slam her in any way, shape, or form–I loved her in Friends, but the few roles she’s had lately just make me feel sorry for her. The desperation comes through loud and clear. Sad.
Kap,I agree with you. Some parents are dreadfully neglectful. I see it every day. After working my ass off for many years, I am now a stay at home mom,and love it. My daughter is in the gifted program at school, and loves all the time & energy I can devote to her(and my son). I gave up my SUV, big house and vacations to do this. Motherhood is the best “career” that I know, but most men are not supportive, unfortunately.
Maybe Jen never wanted children, and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with it, but she never should have said she wanted children in any interview, because now if/when she doesn’t have any, she will have sticks and stones thrown at her from haters and fans who might feel like she betrayed them. As the saying goes, don’t ever say anything you might regret later, especially if it’s going to be written in magazines and can be used against you.
Good for you, Payton! Everybody is different, and you made your choice and did what was right for you.
The media is putting intense pressure on JA to have babies. It’s like they can’t believe a woman can be happy without kids.
Nicole Kidman (Naomi’s BFF) has also talked about how hard it is for a very successful actress to find suitable men. She was actively looking for 5 years after her divorce from Tom Cruise and considers herself very lucky to have found Keith Urban.
Well Halle and Nicole had bio-babies at 41, Geena Davis did at 48-ish, as did Al Pacino’s missus so it’s not impossible, and Sharon Stone and Sheryl Crow adopted well into their fourties so Pappa Aniston shouldn’t give up home yet!
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As far as her career is concerned, I don’t recall her ever claiming to be a great actress. Let’s face it, the movie business runs on money and the recent evidence suggests that audiences prefer JA playing variations of Rachel in every single film she does over supposedly greater theatrical talents. The takings for “Marley & Me” beat the combined gross of all 5 films represented by this years Best Actress Oscar nominees. Hell, even the terrible HJNTIY did!
I watched Marley and Me, I loved it, but cried at the end..that movie made over 230 mill. I agree that all women don’t have to have children, I have friends that don’t want kids…that doesn’t make them a bad person…
Marley and Me was a hit because:
1. It was based on a best selling book
2. It was a story about a man and a DOG!!
Most american loves dogs and owns one or more. That movie would’ve been a hit anyways, no matter who played the wife character.
The same can be said about HJNTIY. It was a movie based on a best-selling book featuring an ensamble cast. Neither were Jen’s movie. Yes she played in both, but any comedic actress could’ve and it would’ve made the same amount of money, maybe more. She is a replaceable actress, that is her curse.
In 2 years, instead of movie studios shelling out $8 million to Jen for a romantic comedy, they will just bring in a newer fresh face actress who demands less money, and can out-act Aniston. Sad thing about her is, 20 years from now, ppl will mostly remember her as being an actress from a popular tv show with great hair, and for being dumped by her sexy actor husband for a hotter, sexier actress. No one will be talking about how many movies she made that were hits.
Basically, she’ll be so forgetten in 10-20 years, maybe even less, if she doesn’t continue keep that triangle story alive.
Jen Is awesome!
Haha. Good, luck with that John Aniston. Brad Pitt REALLY wanted kids, too. My guess: you’ll be waiting a REALLY long time, maybe forever.
If she really wanted a child:
1. she does not have to wait to have a husband
2. she does not have to have a bio kid
3. as others have pointed out, she could possibly have a bio kid as old as very late 40s (though I’d think to myself “better her than me”)
But really, I think someone above hit it on the head when they said romantic relationships and kids always come up on the topic of Aniston and “is she really this low on interesting material?”
I think the answer is yes. She’s as bland as dry toast. Always has been.
I think she is happy with her life as it is. She might have wanted children with Brad “some day” and it just didn’t work out that way. I think she feels like she has to say she wants kids or people will think less of her. There’s nothing wrong with not having kids and she needs to realize that.
Not everyone has children, that’s just a fact of life. Therefore, not every aging parent becomes a grandparent. I have friends who have been waiting for grandchildren for years, and it’s just not going to happen. For parents to put pressure on their adult children to “give them grandchildren” is horrible. Find happiness elsewhere; don’t expect your children to make YOU happy. Children are a huge spiritual and financial responsibility, and not everyone’s equipped to handle that.
I think it’s sad that Aniston can’t admit that kids aren’t a priority. And, there’s NOTHING wrong w/that. But, she married a guy who really wanted kids, and he leaves her (possibly b/c of that). Then, she has to defend herself saying she always wanted them–to appear innocent & not so self/career-obssessed. Now, she has to continue that charade b/c it has stuck in the public’s mind. To admit she wasn’t honest all along would be PR suicide. If she had only been honest . . . but then, Pitt might have never married her. What a sad pickle.
Imagine being bored by a lawyer or an executive. (Snicker).