Jennifer Aniston Insists She 'Came From Nothing' As She Rejects 'Nepo Baby' Label: 'We Were Broke'

Jennifer Aniston is insisting she never benefited from nepotism despite being born to parents John Aniston and Nancy Dow, who were both actors.

The "Friends" star rejected being called a "nepo baby," claiming that she "came from nothing" and her family was "broke."

Jennifer Aniston has also finally addressed her gate-crashing stalker incident, lamenting how "people are out of their minds."

Jennifer Aniston has rejected being called a "nepo baby" despite the fact that her parents were famous actors in their own right.

The term is often used to describe someone whose career path is believed to have been significantly aided by the influence or connections of their parents or family members, particularly within the same industry.

Aniston's father, John Aniston, was best known for his role as Victor Kiriakis on "Days of Our Lives" before he passed away in 2022. Her mom, Nancy Dow, was quite famous in the 60s, featuring on shows like "The Beverly Hillbillies" and "The Wild Wild West."

Yet, the 56-year-old actress insists that her parents had no influence on her path to stardom, and, in fact, contends that she "came from nothing" and started out "broke."

"Listen, I am so grateful. I came from nothing. We were broke. There's no nepo baby here," she said in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Growing up for Aniston was seemingly filled with bumps and challenges as she lived with her mom in a modest Upper West Side apartment.

In her memoir From Mother and Daughter to Friends, Aniston's mom noted that there were times when her ex-husband struggled to pay their mortgage.

She was raised in New York City and enrolled at the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. As she puts it, her ambition stemmed from "always wanting to get Pop's approval," but was also her "biggest heartbreak."

"It was the thing that drove me and was also my biggest heartbreak: trying to impress and prove your value to a man who's only capable of so much," she explained.

Aniston noted that she thought if she could achieve noteworthy success, her late father would "love me as much as I love him."

The actress didn't see much success until years later when she endeared herself to Americans as a runaway bride and coffeehouse server, Rachel Green, in "Friends." She has since gone on to become a household name, but has learned to stay grounded and not put everything on the altar of fame.

"It's not real," she told Vanity Fair. "My interests are other than that."

Back in May, while Aniston was home, a man allegedly rammed his car into her gate after flooding the actress with emails, voicemails, and social media messages.

The accused stalker, 48-year-old Jimmy Wayne Carwyle, was apprehended by her security detail before authorities arrived.

According to The Blast, he has pleaded not guilty to felony stalking and felony vandalism, but isn't standing trial after a judge found him mentally incompetent.

In her chat with the publication, Aniston weighed in on the incident, decrying how "People are out of their minds. Who wants to put that energy out there?"

She added that the much-improved security detail outside her home is "not glamorous in any way. It's a necessity."

Elsewhere in the interview, Aniston made a rare comment on her 2005 split from actor Brad Pitt, explaining how it was such a "vulnerable time" for her.

The "Morning Show" actress was discussing a September 2005 Vanity Fair article titled "The Unsinkable Jennifer Aniston," which was her first interview post her split from the "F1" actor.

"I haven't looked at that article in forever," Aniston said in her new interview, of the 2005 article.

She continued: "I just remember the experience of doing it, which was kind of jarring. It was also such a vulnerable time. But yeah, that was one for the memoirs."

In a video from her recent interview with the news outlet, she recalls making "The Break-Up" with Vince Vaughn in 2006 while she was going through her split from Pitt.

"I might've just gone through a separation — that little separation, I'm sure nobody remembers that," Aniston joked. "It was kind of cathartic to go right from that. So when they came to me ... they were a little nervous about making the offer, 'cause they thought, 'Oh, is that insensitive? Is it inappropriate?' But I actually thought, 'What a great opportunity.'"

"I knew it would actually kind of benefit me emotionally, just as a human being," she added. "And also serve the script and the character pretty well."