Jennifer Aniston Told To Lose 30 Lbs. Before Landing 'Friends'
Jennifer Aniston is one of the most known faces in Hollywood, but before her success on "Friends," she was urged to drop significant weight in order to make it in the industry.
In "Generation Friends: An Inside Look at the Show That Defined a Television Era," which is a book dedicated to the sitcom's 25th anniversary, the author states that Aniston "had to lose thirty pounds if she wanted to stay in Hollywood."
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The author goes on to write, “Los Angeles was a tough place to be an actress — it was a tough place to be a woman — and Jennifer Aniston’s agent was reluctantly leveling with her.”
According to "Generation Friends," the actress got a call-back on an audition and they wanted her to wear a leotard.
“This’ll blow it for me,” she reportedly told her agent, who “responded seriously.”
“Aniston was hardly fat — everyone could see she was beautiful — but as the show she would one day become indelibly associated with later made a point of noting, the camera added ten pounds," the author reinforces.
The "Friends" actress has spoken out about her pre-success body weight before, revealing her snack of choice wasn't the healthiest.
“I ate too many mayonnaise sandwiches. Mayonnaise on white bread – the most delicious thing in the world," she told Rolling Stone in 1996.
The now 50-year-old actress didn't blame her agent for the tough love though. In fact, Aniston appreciated it because it helped her get in shape.
“My agent gave it to me straight,” she told the magazine. “Nicest thing he ever did…. The disgusting thing of Hollywood —– I wasn’t getting lots of jobs ’cause I was too heavy.”
"I was like, ‘What?!’ But my diet was terrible. Milk shakes and French fries with gravy,” she revealed years later. “It was a good thing to start paying attention."
Not long after shedding the weight, Aniston got the role of a lifetime and became a TV legend as Rachel Green.
It has long been speculated that "Friends" would come back on television for a 25th reunion special.
Although, Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow have certainly teased with the idea, the "Friends" creator shut those rumors down this week.
