Jennifer Aniston says that she and Jennette McCurdy ‘had very similar moms’ as she prepares to film an adaptation of McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died.
The 56-year-old spoke with People Friday about her latest project, playing McCurdy’s mother Debra in the limited series.
‘We have a lot in common,’ the Emmy-winning actress said of herself and McCurdy, 33, who starred on 95 episodes on iCarly from 2007–2012.
Aniston, who is also an executive producer on the Apple TV+ show, said she leapt at the chance to play the late Debra McCurdy in the adaptation of the controversially-titled memoir (which has a fan in Britney Spears).
A logline for the show says it will chronicle ‘the codependent relationship between an 18-year-old actress in a hit kids’ show, and her narcissistic mom who relishes in her identity as a starlet’s mother.’
‘When it came across my desk as an option, an offer to play this character,’ said Aniston said, ‘I was pretty much immediately intrigued and flattered and excited.
Jennifer Aniston says that she and Jennette McCurdy ‘had very similar moms’ as she prepares to film the Apple TV+ adaptation of McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died
‘It’s going to be wonderful. It’s going to be pretty great to start shooting it.’
Aniston, who found superstardom playing the role of Rachel Green in Friends, said she has huge respect for McCurdy.
‘The fact that she’s the young woman that she is, having lived that life, is nothing short of remarkable,’ Aniston of the Carly actress.
McCurdy raised eyebrows in 2022 when releasing the controversial memoir about her mother Debra, who died in 2013.
McCurdy ultimately said she felt confident in sharing her truth with the public.
The subject of difficult moms is one Aniston can relate to, having spoken candidly about her own turbulent relationship with her late mother Nancy Dow.
After news of the casting broke this past summer, a source exclusively told the Daily Mail: ‘This is a very poignant role for Jen to say the very least.
‘She loved Jenette’s story and is very passionate about bringing it to life. Of course, the book is a topic that Jen and many other daughters of difficult mothers can relate to.’
McCurdy raised eyebrows in 2022 when releasing the controversial memoir about her mother Debra, who died in 2013
Jennifer Aniston, 56, is getting ready to star in the Apple TV+ series I’m Glad My Mom Died. The Daily Mail is taking a closer look Aniston’s turbulent relationship with her late mother, Nancy Dow
In the memoir, McCurdy opened up about how her mother – who died in 2013 – put her own identity on her daughter’s Hollywood career.
It appears Aniston’s relationship with her mother was, at times, just as fraught.
Dow, a former actress and model, died in May 2016. She was 79.
Her death reportedly came just weeks after she and her daughter spent time together for the first time in more than four years.
‘It is with great sadness that my brother John and I announce the passing of our Mother Nancy Dow,’ Aniston told People in a statement at the time.
‘She was 79 years old and passed peacefully surrounded by family and friends after enduring a long illness. We ask that our family’s privacy be respected as we grieve our loss.’
In 2018, Aniston opened up to The Hollywood Reporter about the issues that caused friction between herself and Dow.
‘Because she was a model, she was gorgeous, stunning,’ Aniston said. ‘I wasn’t. I never was. I honestly still don’t think of myself in that sort of light, which is fine.’
Dow married Jennifer’s late father, John Aniston, in 1965. They divorced in 1980. The couple pictured above at their Sherman Oaks, California, house in 1975
‘She loved Jenette’s story and is very passionate about bringing it to life. Of course, the book is a topic that Jen and many other daughters of difficult mothers can relate to,’ the insider added. Aniston and her parents seen in 1975
Aniston said she leapt at the chance to play the late Debra McCurdy (pictured with a young Jennette) in the adaptation of the controversially titled memoir
‘She was also very unforgiving,’ Aniston added. ‘She would hold grudges that I just found so petty.’
Tellingly, the superstar didn’t invite her mother to her August 2015 nuptials to ex-husband Justin Theroux.
She visited her mother on May 12, 2016, breaking a years-long estrangement as Dow’s health had taken a downturn amid multiple strokes, rendering her unable to walk or speak in her final days, In Touch Weekly reported at the time.
‘Jen must have had a wake-up call and wanted to see her mother one last time before she passes,’ a source told the outlet.
Adding to the toxic tenor of the relationship was a 1999 book Dow released about her daughter titled From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir.
In another indicator of the tension, Dow did not leave Aniston anything in her will, In Touch Weekly reported two months after her passing.
Dow had a minor career in acting, appearing on 1960s TV shows such as The Beverly Hillbillies, The Ice House, Mr. Terrific and The Wild Wild West.
She was married to Jack Melick from 1956 to 1961, and then married Aniston’s dad, John Aniston, in 1965. Aniston’s parents were married until 1980, and her father died in 2022.
Adding to the toxic tenor of the relationship was a 1999 book Dow released about her daughter titled From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir. Dow pictured above in LA in 2008
Despite any past friction with her mother, Aniston recently praised Dow in an interview with People as she spoke fondly about growing up in a healthy household
Jenette McCurdy published her memoir in 2022, nine years after her mother’s death
The deal for the limited series of I’m Glad My Mom Died comes less than three years after the release of the memoir, which stayed on the New York Times Bestseller list for nearly two years.
McCurdy and Ari Katcher are leading the writing, executive producing and showrunning efforts.
Despite any past friction with her mother, Aniston recently praised Dow in an interview with People as she spoke fondly about growing up in a healthy household.
‘I was never allowed to have a sugary piece of anything, and I was also served spelt bread,’ the actress said. ‘I grew up in one of those holistic households… so I’ve sort of lived by that.’
Additionally, Aniston said her mother ‘drilled’ into her ‘the importance of drinking water’ as well as putting on face and eye cream every day.’
