Remembering John Aniston: How the Hollywood Legend Repaired His Relationship With Daughter Jennifer After Years of Not Talking

John and Jennifer Aniston are no ordinary duo: this pair of father-daughter actors had a complicated relationship throughout their lives that they were able to fully recover over the past 2 years. Now Jennifer has announced the passing of her father and wrote some beautiful words for him. Let’s remember John Aniston and revisit their touching family story.

John Aniston was a famous actor who’s been acting since the 1960s.

John Aniston started his Hollywood career back in 1962 on a TV show called 87th Precinct, where he appeared in 1 episode to play a character who didn’t even have a name. He is best known for his involvement in another soap opera, Days of Our Lives, which he starred on from 1977 to 2022 and appeared in over 2,800 episodes.

To our amazement, that was not even the only soap opera that Aniston starred in — for 4 years in the 1980s, audiences watched him in Search for Tomorrow.

He begged his daughter Jennifer to not become an actress.

John married an actress named Nancy Dow in 1965, and 4 years later, she gave birth to their daughter, Jennifer, who would later be known for starring in the series, Friends, and countless movies. Despite Jennifer coming from a family of actors, John begged her to reconsider her career path and become a lawyer instead.

Jennifer remembered that he used to say, “I do not want your heart broken. The rejection is brutal. Please, please, please don’t do that. Become a lawyer.” Growing up, she was not even allowed to watch television, even her dad’s soap opera, unless she was ill.

For years, John and Jennifer had a rocky relationship.

Jennifer Aniston has a heartbreaking story when it comes to her parents: she didn’t speak to her mom after she decided to exploit her daughter’s popularity and write a memoir while she was starring on Friends. But problems with her father started way before that — in 1979, he decided to leave the family.

Jennifer recalled how that year she went to a birthday party, and when she came back home, her mom said that her dad “is not going to be around here for a little while.” The actress recalled that she was crying and felt lost even though her mom didn’t say he’d be gone forever. John came back into Jennifer’s life out of nowhere a year later, took her out to dinner, and explained the situation to her as best as he could.

They managed to reconcile fully only in 2020.

Despite Jennifer forgiving him for walking out, their relationship was still not ideal. For decades, Jennifer would go through long periods of not talking to her father. But in 2020, she started to check up on him often and they were talking to each other “more than they ever have before.”

When talking about making up with her father, Jennifer mentioned that because she is an adult now, she cannot blame her parents anymore.

Jennifer announced that her father passed away on November 11.

In an Instagram post, the actress shared pictures of her father and wrote the caption: “Sweet papa...⁣ You were one of the most beautiful humans I ever knew.”

She continued with a note of optimism, writing, “I am so grateful that you went soaring into the heavens in peace — and without pain. And on 11/11 no less! You always had perfect timing. That number will forever hold an even greater meaning for me now. I’ll love you till the end of time.⁣”

She finished the post with “Don’t forget to visit.”

Have you ever watched Days of Our Lives? Do you think it’s important to try to make up with your family members no matter what?