Jennifer Aniston is one of cinema's biggest stars who has gone from queen of the small screen to a movie icon. During her career, we have seen her move from television to film and from comedy to drama - always showing that she is a versatile and exciting actress.
Jennifer Aniston in Cake
She returned to the big screen earlier this year with Cake - now available on Digital HD, before coming to Blu-ray and DVD June 29, and saw her deliver one of the greatest performances of her career so far.
We take a look back over her career and pick out the defining moments that helped make her the huge star that she now is.
- Friends (1994-2004)
Despite originally auditioning to play Monica Gellar, Jennifer Aniston gained international stardom with her character Rachel Green in the immensely successful Friends series. Winning a Golden Globe and an Emmy for her performance, she will perhaps stay in most fans hearts for being half of the most famous TV couple and inventing 'The Rachel' hairstyle.
Friends and the role of Rachel Green made Aniston a star and she stayed with the series for ten years - hard to believe that in 2014 it was ten years since the series waved goodbye.
The show ended on a high as Aniston and co said goodbye - breaking millions of fans' hearts around the world. However, Friends will also be the show that catapulted her to fame and opened the door to Hollywood and movies.
- The Good Girl (2003)
In between filming the later series of Friends, Aniston dabbled with some film roles and in 2003, she returned to the big screen in black comedy romance The Good Girl.
The Good Girl was an independent film and showed off a very different side to Aniston as an actress as she teamed up with director Miguel Arteta and actor Jake Gyllenhaal.
The movie saw Aniston take on the unglamourous role of a discount store clerk, who strikes up an affair with a stock boy who considers himself the incarnation of Holden Caulfield.
Aniston's performance was met with critical acclaim and made many in the film industry sit up and take notice of this great actress. While Gyllenhaal was also terrific, it was Aniston that really stole the show and showed that she was more than just Rachel Green.
The Good Girl was a witty and dark black comedy, that is beautifully directed and with two great central performances - it is a film that should have got way more recognition that it actually did. However, it was to be a major big screen breakthrough for Aniston.
- Marley & Me (2009)
Aniston has always been a terrific comedic actress and she returned to that genre in 2009 when she teamed up with Owen Wilson for Marley & Me.
Directed by David Frankel, Marley & Me was a big screen adaptation of the book by John Grogan and followed the ups and downs of a newly married couple after they get a puppy.
Of course, Marley & Me is a laugh out loud comedy about how a family cope with a rather unruly dog. But this is also a touching and moving story and family lives and the important roles that pets can play.
Aniston and Wilson make a terrific comedy pair and there is something so raw and real about their performances at the end of the movie.
Marley & Me was a box office hit when it was released and went on to gross in excess of $242 million at the global box office by the end of its theatrical run.
- Horrible Bosses (2011)
Aniston enjoyed more comedy box office success in 2011 when she joined the ensemble comedy Horrible Bosses, which was directed by Seth Gordon.
Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jason Sudeikis play three friends who conspire to kill their 'Horrible Bosses' - played by Aniston, Kevin Spacey, and Colin Farrell.
The role of Dr. Julia Harris, D.D.S. saw Aniston thrown away her good girl image and turn into an outrageously funny turn as a foul-mouthed nymphomaniac in Horrible Bosses. Threatening to blackmail her employee Dale with a fictional relationship, Aniston's Julia becomes one of the targets of a trio of frustrated workers who think their lives will be much easier without their employers.
Horrible Bosses is a movie that was a whole lot of fun, with Aniston, Farrell and Spacey enjoying the over the top nature of their great characters. While we knew Aniston was great at comedy, she had never tackled a role that was so outrageous.
The actress was so popular as Harris, she reprised the role in Horrible Bosses 2 last year. Both movies enjoyed box office success, while Aniston continued to show that she was willing to tackle any role.
- Cake (2015)
Aniston was the talk of the awards season earlier this year for her stunning central role in Cake, which is the best dramatic performance of her career to date.
While it was a part that Aniston had to battle hard for, the faith that director Daniel Barnz put in her by casting her was repaid in full.
Aniston took on the role of Claire Bennett, a woman who suffers from chronic pain after being involved in a tragic accident. Claire becomes fascinated by the suicide of a woman from her support group.
Cake was a movie that really allowed Aniston to show off how great a dramatic actress she is - over the years, she has not had the chance to really test herself with complex roles such as this... and she excels.
It is Aniston's performance that truly lifts this film about addiction and grief to something more - she truly steals ever scene that she's in as she delivers a riveting, touching, and very human performance.
For her work, Aniston picked up a Best Actress nomination at the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild Award, but was overlooked by the Oscars.
Cake is out now on Digital HD and comes to Blu-ray and DVD June 29.
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