Jennifer in tears as she tells teen: I’m insecure, too
AFTER decades in the Hollywood spotlight, Jennifer Aniston is used to keeping her emotions carefully under wraps.
But in a rare moment of vulnerability, the former Friends star broke down in tears – after a teenage fan asked if she was ever unsure about her identity.
The 47-year-old’s voice wobbled as she admitted that she sometimes wakes up in the morning feeling unsure of herself.
Becoming visibly emotional, she said: ‘There are not enough fingers and toes in this entire room to count how many times that has happened to me.
‘We’re all humans, whether we’re a waitress, baker, student or whatever. You hit walls and think I can’t go any further. Or this is too much. My heart can’t take it or the pain is too great, or am I good enough? And you just have to somehow overcome [it]. You just go, “I can’t... yes I can, yes you can”.’
Her heartfelt response came during a question and answer session at the Giffoni Film Festival in Italy, where she received a lifetime achievement award.
The actress – who shot to fame playing Rachel in the sitcom Friends – recently hit out at the ‘disturbing’ media focus on her private life. She wrote on the Huffington Post website that she was ‘fed up with the scrutiny and body shaming’.
Critics accused her of hypocrisy, highlighting the numerous magazine covers she has posed for – including nude shots for GQ and Rolling Stone – and her campaigns for beauty brands.
But she echoed the sentiments at the weekend, telling the festival audience that society needs to focus on more than just image.
Miss Aniston, who married actor Justin Theroux last year, said: ‘I think we need to empower women to not just be about dresses and beauty and selfies.
‘We need to have conversations and put our phones down and get out of social media. That’s why we’re not seeing the right stories being told – because everyone is stuck in their phones.’