Jennifer Aniston Reveals Learning Struggles From High School

  Jennifer Aniston may be one of Hollywood’s highest-earning actresses, with multiple films she starred in grossing over $100 million. But the Friends star didn’t have the easiest time in high school. Aniston was a victim of bullying, admitting she was chubbier than most of her classmates. Still, she did not allow the bullying and isolation to deter her from following her dreams.  

Aniston attended LaGuardia High School of Music and Performing Arts. She credits her drama teacher with mentoring her to greatness. But four years of high school as an insecure teenager still proved to be difficult, despite her having raw talent.

“High school was tragic,” she told People Magazine in 2016. “Just not well-informed. You know, you’re experimenting. It was the ’80s and I looked like a goth nightmare.”

She also revealed in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter, that she learned differently from most students. Upon discovering she had Dyslexia, everything made more sense. Aniston learned of her diagnosis during a routine eye exam. She was tested for reading a paragraph, and she didn’t do it so well. Luckily, she learned of the diagnosis. 

She also did not think she was the most attractive thing. Aniston was shocked that she was voted “Most Beautiful” for People Magazine in 2016. “I wasn’t going for most beautiful,” she adds. “It was, How can I be the most rebelliously unattractive?” She learned to love her looks in her late 20s. “Oh, that was more the ’90s mom jean look,” she says, laughing. “Big blousy blouses with a big chunky belt. And remember the Western cowboy shoe? I thought I was coo-ool.”

Now, she says she learned to look within for the real beauty. Beauty is “really learning to love every single thing about yourself,” she says. “And also realizing that it’s not just sort of clothes and what’s happening [on the outside].”