Actress Jennifer Aniston is now 54 years old and still looks as beautiful and foxy as ever. So it is no wonder that she broke a Guinness World Record when she finally created her very own Instagram account in October of 2020. 

Born on Feb. 11, 1969, Aniston was raised in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, and grew up with a love for acting. The aspiring star put in plenty of hard work and dedication into pursuing her passion and ultimately made it her full-time career – and a highly successful one at that.

After rising to fame as Rachel Green on the hit television sitcom “Friends,” Aniston has been one of the most loved actresses to grace the world of entertainment. The role earned Aniston a handful of awards, and it’s clear that her career has only taken off since her breakthrough.

Over the years, Aniston has continued to star in a number of television shows as well as a handful of successful films. Some of her most notable works include “Marley & Me,” “Just Go With It,” “Horrible Bosses,” and “The Morning Show.” On top of being an award-winning actress, Aniston is also a highly respected producer.

While Aniston is very recognized for her work in the entertainment industry, she is also recognized for her kind-hearted personality and her stunning looks. The world does not seem like it will ever tire of marveling at her beauty – even when a picture of her with a “scar” on her cheek circulated online and when she went barefaced in an entire movie, fans were not fazed. Read on to find out more about Aniston’s life, career and effortless beauty.

Jennifer Aniston, David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and Courtney Cox (1995), (Ron Davis/Archive Photos via Getty Images)

According to Business Insider, Jennifer Aniston “broke” Instagram when she created a profile on the platform and garnered 16.5 million followers in merely the first ten days. As if her first day as an Instagrammer was not impressive enough – the actress had amassed an incredible 8.6 million-plus followers just after posting a selfie with her old co-stars from her hit sitcom, “Friends.” And that was not all.

Aniston held the record for the fastest time an Instagram account reached one million followers in five hours 16 minutes, overtaking Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle, whose Instagram page @sussexroyal reached one million followers in five hours and 45 minutes. This record, however, is currently held by Sir David Attenborough, who in September of 2020 surpassed Aniston by racking up his millionth follower in just four hours after creating an Instagram account to spread awareness of climate change.

While he is the new Guinness Record holder, it might be worthy to note that Attenborough has 6.2 million followers, but Aniston has a whopping 35.8 million. If her Instagram followers made up a U.S. state, it would be the second most populated in the country.

Aniston’s timeless beauty is admired by fans worldwide, even when she has no makeup on. While filming the drama Cake in 2014, tabloids went into a frenzy when photos of a makeup-free Aniston were released to the media, in which Aniston looked as beautiful as ever. The actress went barefaced for the movie, in which she portrayed Claire Simmons, a grieving mother who joins a chronic pain support group after being in a fatal car accident.

Jennifer Aniston (1998), (Ke.Mazur/WireImage via Getty Images)

The photos showed Aniston in a less-glamorous look than we’re used to seeing the actress, complete with puffy eyes, casual and loosely-fitting attire, and most notably, a vast scar on her left cheek. While the latter might have had fans baffled – given as it was one of the seldom times we got to see Aniston without makeup – it was actually a prosthetic for her role.

At Deadline’s “Contenders” panel, the actress revealed that wearing no makeup for the movie was “so fabulous, and so dreamy and empowering and liberating.”

“The only time I had to sit in the makeup chair was just for scars,” she added.

Two years later, she was named PEOPLE’s 2016 World’s Most Beautiful Woman. The actress credits all the makeup artists and beauty experts she has worked with throughout the years for her “natural look.” She told the magazine that they are the ones who taught her “everything that (she knows).”

“When I was in my 20s, my face was almost a complete circle. So I really needed contouring. And now I’m slowly chiseling away, wishing I had that round face back,” she said to PEOPLE.

Just as many other stars have shared before, she says the key to her age-defying beauty is exercise and proper nutrition. She exercises six times a week for an hour each time but also allows herself to sometimes indulge in “chips and guacamole.”

As someone who was in her late forties, Aniston said she has learned to embrace her appearance. She also revealed that “she feels her best when she’s healthy and strong.”

Jennifer Aniston (2014) (Chinchilla/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images via Getty Images)

Aniston continued:

“It’s funny, it’s a really quick transition from not a care and now all of a sudden, we’ve got to really be mindful of what we put inside our bodies and how we sleep and take care of ourselves. You can get away with a lot in your 20s.”

But beauty is not measured just outwards, and Aniston agrees. “Inner confidence. Peace. Kindness. Honesty. A life well-lived” is how PEOPLE’s 2016 World’s Most Beautiful Woman described ‘beauty.’ “Taking on challenges and not feeling shame for things that haven’t gone the way you felt they should have. And not feeling like a failure or allowing people to critique your life and make you feel like you’ve failed at something. That’s just toxic noise.”

Care-free as the iconic actress might be, she has also been very outspoken about the aggressive harassment she receives from the tabloid media. In 2016, Aniston penned a candid essay for the Huffington Post, in which she “set the record straight” regarding rumors she had been pregnant at the time and condemned tabloids for spreading them before shaming them for the effect their stories can have on young girls.

She wrote that “every day” she and her husband would be harassed by eager photographers who would “go to shocking lengths to obtain any kind of photo, even if it means endangering us.” However, her biggest complaint was how her portrayal in the media and tabloids scrutinizing her body, relationships, and choice to have children affects not only her but younger girls who read their stories.

Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow (1995), (Ron Davis/Archive Photos via Getty Images)

“The objectification and scrutiny we put women through is absurd and disturbing,” the actress wrote. “The way I am portrayed by the media is simply a reflection of how we see and portray women in general, measured against some warped standard of beauty.”

It’s evident that Aniston is not in the mood for judgments, especially when it comes to appearances. She went on to write how celebrity news “dehumanizes” women by reducing their worth to their physical appearance.

“The message that girls are not pretty unless they’re incredibly thin, that they’re not worthy of our attention unless they look like a supermodel or an actress on the cover of a magazine is something we’re all willingly buying into. This conditioning is something girls then carry into womanhood.”

It wasn’t the first time Aniston had come under immense scrutiny. In 2005, her divorce from Brad Pitt had become a hot topic in the media after rumors spread that he and Angelina Jolie had begun a relationship before his separation from Aniston had been finalized. “We exited this relationship as beautifully as we entered it,” Aniston insisted in an interview with Vanity Fair. Although all parties denied any wrongdoing, the public still could not stop speculating.

“To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive,” Jolie said at the time, according to N.Y. Daily News. “I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that. I wouldn’t be attracted to a man who would cheat on his wife.”

Jennifer Aniston (2014), (James Devaney/GC Images via Getty Images)

Despite all the assumptions, Aniston and Pitt remained friends even after their divorce. In 2011, Pitt addressed outlets after they twisted his words to make it seem that he had called Aniston “dull.”

“Jen is an incredibly giving, loving, and hilarious woman who remains my friend. It is an important relationship I value greatly. The point I was trying to make is not that Jen was dull, but that I was becoming dull to myself – and that, I am responsible for,” Pitt said, according to Reuters.

Aniston and Pitt did not appear in public together for many years, and alas, it looks as if the two had become estranged. However, that all changed in 2019 when Pitt was spotted attending Aniston’s big 50th birthday bash. Unsurprisingly, rumors began flying once again, this time speculating that the two might be getting back together. They soon fizzled when there were no more clues to further entertain the fan’s hopes.

Earlier this year, Pitt called Aniston his “good friend” at the Golden Globes, and the actress was, in turn, caught giggling at some jokes he made in his speech. According to E.T. Online, the actor humorously declared that he had chosen not to bring his mother with him that night because “anyone I stand next to, they say I’m dating — and that would just be awkward.” Taking a dig there now, are we Mr. Pitt?

Despite the amount of media attention Aniston has received over the years, she has done her best to keep her personal life private throughout the course of her career. It’s clear that her home is her safe place, so it makes sense that she would want to make it as peaceful as possible.

Jennifer Aniston, Brad Pitt (2004), (Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic via Getty Images)

According to Architectural Digest, Aniston has famously owned six houses during her time as a celebrity, each one having a piece of her craft and design shown. “If I wasn’t an actress, I’d want to be a designer,” Aniston previously told Architectural Digest in 2018.

The actress purchased her current Bel Air mansion for just under $21 million in 2011, according to Architectural Digest. The home was previously designed by architect A. Quincy Jones and was absolutely breathtaking, but it needed Aniston’s personal touch. She enlisted the help of interior designer Stephen Shadley, whom she had worked with on another home in the past. With Shadley’s help, Aniston and Theroux were able to bring both of their aesthetics to life in a collaborative effort to create the home of their dreams.

These days, the actress engages with her fans on Instagram and posts photos, giving them updates on what she has been up to lately. She also regularly uploads pictures of herself barefaced, for which the “Friends” star receives much praise.

In one photo, Aniston is pictured in a car sipping on a hot beverage in a The Morning Show mug, and fans were quick to point out just how beautiful she is, even makeup-free.

“Beautiful image. You look the same as you did 20 years ago. Youthful Greek genes,” commented one fan. “You look SOOO GOOD without all that makeup. You should try that more often,” wrote another.

The Hollywood icon also occasionally posts photos from her everyday life, even blessing us normal folk with pictures of her beloved dogs from time to time. In October, Aniston revealed to her followers that she had adopted a rescue labrador puppy named Lord Chesterfield and praised the rescue from which she adopted him, Wagmore Pets, for their incredible work.

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Aniston (2004), (Kevin Mazur/WireImage via Getty Images)

“Hi! I’d like to introduce to you the newest member of our family….this is (a very tired) Lord Chesterfield,” Aniston wrote. “He stole my heart immediately. A HUGE thank you to @wagmorpets for the incredible work you do. Grateful you take such great care of these rescues and find them their forever homes.”

Fans naturally went into a frenzy upon seeing how cute he was. “Jen pls give us more videos of this guy,” wrote one fan. “We wanna see him grow.” “Omg what a lovebug!” wrote another. “How adorable!”

Aniston has continued to wow fans with her effortless beauty, whether she’s wearing makeup or not and whether her hair is professionally done or not. The actress uploaded a photograph of herself back in January 2022, showing off her hair that was a bit messy due to the humidity.

She has also continued to upload pictures of herself alongside some of her famous friends and co-stars, including one with “Murder Mystery” star Adam Sandler and one with “Friends” star Courtney Cox.

Despite rumors that she’s had plastic surgery, Aniston confirmed to People back in 2007 that she’s only had surgery for her deviated septum:

“It’s funny. I had [a deviated septum] fixed – best thing I ever did. I slept like a baby for the first time in years. As far as all the other [rumors], as boring as it sounds, it’s still mine. All of it. Still mine.”

Through it all, Aniston has shown that she is beautiful both inside and out, and it’s clear that she will continue to leave her wonderful mark on the world in the years to come.