She’s the best of Friends. And with Jennifer Anniston you truly feel you could be her buddy. Within minutes of meeting her in the Four Seasons Hotel in Los Angeles, Jennifer is acting like an old school mate who you could trade boyfriend secrets with during a pizza and a natter. Only today it’s mineral water in a luxury private suit.
Her trademark golden brown locks are wrapped in a loose bun, with wisps of hair tumbling down to give that, ‘just got out of bed’ look. The truth is she’s already spent at least an hour in make up.
Wearing a figure-hugging, spaghetti-strap, blue dress, Jennifer looks even more stunning in the flesh. And contrary to all those rumours about a weight problem, she's petite.
But despite the upfront friendliness, the lady’s not up for talking - about men that is.
She’s recently been pictured with one of America’s most eligible men, Brad Pitt, and stories of a romance have been splashed across the papers. But she won’t even confirm whether she first met him in a dog park, as the story goes, when he helped her look for her missing pet mongrel, Enzo.
By her own admission, she’s been much more guarded since her split from actor Tate Donavon (Ronald Cheanie in Ally McBeal) a few months ago - a break up the Press blamed on his jealousy or her desire to get married.
Screwing up her cute nose, she says: ‘The break up has been really hard. He’s my friend and I still care very deeply for him. Peoples feelings are out there getting hurt. Untrue things are being said and speculation about ‘why’ and all that crap.’
Her crystal blue eyes centre on her glass of water as she continues: ‘I don’t believe that because you’re in the public eye, everything you do is there for the picking. You give them your work and a photo when you go to an event so why is all this allowed?’
Jennifer tugs harder on those famous brown locks as she confides another downside to success. ‘The worst bit is being followed in your car or walking out of your house and there's someone waiting for you. You think: ‘Do they want an autograph or do they want to murder me?’’
As a child Jennifer wasn’t allowed to watch television, even though her father was a soap star. Now she’s a world-wide name as Rachel in Friends, and is making a name for herself on the big screen.
But as she sits beaming across the table at me, she knows it could be over tomorrow. And its starting to worry her. She wonders if her luck can continue and admits to developing an ‘inconvenient’ fear of flying.
‘I’ve been told it’s not unusual to suddenly suffer from this phobia when something important comes into your life, be it love, career, or children,’ she says. ‘It takes a lot for me to fly and I don’t take anything to help me. It’s like natural labour!’
‘Lisa (Kudrow, Friends’ Phoebe) turned me on to this woman who helped her quit smoking when she was pregnant. She gives you tapes and things to take your mind off the fear. But it didn’t do me any good. The flight after my first visit was the scariest of my life!’
Still, flying to London had its advantages. She giggles as she recalls an incident when the friends cast were shooting in London. ‘I was shopping with Courtney (Cox) on Oxford Street when this girl, who was a fan, offered me her coat.’
She recalls, ‘It was so weird. She asked me for an autograph and I told her what a great coat she was wearing. She explained it was one of her own designs and insisted on giving it to me.’
‘I told her I felt really uncomfortable taking the coat off her back and I’d visit her studio to buy one. But she wouldn’t hear of it. This went on for at least 20 minutes’ So did she take the coat in the end?
Jennifer opens her eyes wide and admits, ‘I had no choice! I gotta tell you, I still feel odd about wearing it. But I love this coat. It’s such a beautiful coat!’
