If you’ve paid close attention—and no, not to the gossip magazines that have made a professional pastime out of speculating whether she’s with child, without child, secretly divorced, or makes mayonnaise masks every morning at 8:00 a.m.—you’d know that one of the more authentic actresses in Hollywood has always been Jennifer Aniston. She’s never denied eating well and working out religiously as the answer to a strong and sculpted body. She puts her star power behind brands that promote vitamin-infused water and no-gimmicks natural skin care, like Aveeno. She’s not quoted saying bad things about people, especially people she once loved. She’s often photographed smiling and laughing with her husband Justin Theroux or her friends from Friends. She stands up for herself, but only when she’s pushed to the edge.
Perhaps most remarkable is that in a world that measures success by one’s Instagram following, Aniston, 48, who will soon return to primetime TV with friend Reese Witherspoon, has chosen to opt out of social media completely, favoring early dinners on Sundays with family, and high-intensity, sweat-drenching workouts instead. “[Social media] is such a drag,” she says. Below, a window into why Jennifer Aniston is the poster woman for wellness.
Where are you right now?
I’m in La La Land, which is home for me. New York is home in my heart, though. . . . What do you wanna know?
So much! First, you have a new TV show in the works that you’re costarring in and coproducing with Reese Witherspoon. Is TV the best gig in Hollywood right now and if so, why?
Absolutely! I love that I go to a set every day and do what I do, but I also love that I get to come home. And you’re usually not shooting a movie [or TV show] 12 months out of the year, so you get your time. It’s nice to be able to dip in, get your creative juices flowing, and then have your weekends. Any hardworking job that demands a lot of your time, whether you’re running a corporation or you’re an actor or a mom full-time, 24-7, it’s all about trying to find the balance and the time to refuel and recharge. We have so many screens: TVs, computers, phones. . . I worry we’re filling the days up with too much and it’s hard to focus on ourselves.
Is that why you’re not on social media? One less screen?
Sanity! Honestly, when I look around and see people constantly on their phones, I feel like we’re missing so much. And it’s something we created. I equate it to the tobacco industry; it’s hard enough being a kid growing up and becoming who you are and finding yourself but now you have social media and you’ve added this extra pressure of seeing if someone likes or doesn’t like something you did. We’re creating these man-made challenges and it’s a such a drag.
What’s your ideal weekend?
Dinner with friends. And Sundays, if it’s warm, we’ll go down by the pool and the kids will come over and everybody plays and we make lunch and we roll into an early Sunday supper. We relax and hike and usually there is a workout class that happens.
What type of workouts are you hip to right now?
I go in and out of [certain exercises]. I do The Class by Taryn Toomey, and I’m back in the gym with my trainer, throwing heavy boulders around and pushing medicine balls and wiggling and shaking that big rope thing—
—Battle Ropes.
Yes! They’re hard! But it’s fun. I started doing that when I was filming We’re the Millers and I really liked it. It kicks your butt, though, so I dip in and out of that throughout the year. And then I do 45 mins of intervals on my elliptical. I raise the incline, run for two mins, walk for one, run for two. . . and I do it for 20 minutes straight until I’m just drenched.
Let’s talk about your beauty routine because, unlike most people in Hollywood, yours has pretty much stayed the same. And of course, your bronde hair color is back in style.
Bronde?! That’s what they’re calling it? That’s so funny. I’m a creature of habit. A weird creature of habit. I don’t fix what’s not broken and I don’t care what people think and I don’t care if people want me to change my hair. I like Californian blonde highlights. It’s just cozy and it makes me feel better. And every time I tried other ones—that bob—I just go, Why did I do that? I’ve got very wavy hair so it creates a challenge when styling but when its long, I can go wavy or natural or straight and it will sort of just behave. I don’t know, I like what I like. It’s sort of comforting—the consistence.
Friends is still on everybody’s mind, and in everybody’s Netflix queue. . .
Isn’t that funny?! It’s a weird resurgence, it’s like you’re frozen in time. Girls come up to me thinking that I’m still on the show! I’m so proud that it could have a second wind and still feel relatable, though.
Relatable—and on trend. Someone recently called you the OG of #FreeTheNipple because of how often Rachel’s nipples showed through her outfits.
Yeah, I don’t know what to say about that! It’s just one of those things, I guess. I wear a bra, I don’t know what to tell ya! And I don’t know why we’re supposed to be ashamed of them—it’s just the way my breasts are! But hey, OG, I’m not going to complain!
You once wrote an op-ed about getting harassed by paparazzi and baby-shamed by tabloids. . . . Do you think it’s gotten any better since you hit publish last July?
I don’t think it’s getting much better. I think the problem is the tabloids and the gossip columns taking the human body and putting it in a category. They’re either fat-shaming, or body-shaming, or childless-shaming. It’s a weird obsession that people have and I don’t understand exactly why they need to take people who are out there to entertain you, and rip them apart and bully them? Why are we teaching young women this? It’s incredibly damaging. I was finally like, This has just got to stop! I couldn’t hear this narrative anymore about being pregnant or not pregnant; you have no idea what is going on personally in our lives and why that is or is not happening and it feels. . . In my own brain, I’ve shifted my perspective, so who gives a shit! If you’re going to walk out and have your nipples showing, or your belly is a little bloated, or you’re not at the weight you want to be—you are perfect no matter what you are and no matter where you are and who cares! You have to tune out the noise, which is fine by me, because I just know that I’m happy and healthy and doing everything I can to be good in the world and to the people I work with. But, it’s hard. It’s something that people are addicted to: Salacious stories. Maybe [gossip magazines] will be dead one day. Who ever thought Donald Trump would be the President of the United States? I didn’t. I can’t predict squat anymore.