Jennifer Aniston Gushes Over Her Friendship With Reese Witherspoon

Reese Witherspoon is a powerhouse. The star began her career in Hollywood as a teen in romantic comedy The Man in the Moon and went on to star in classics like Legally Blonde and Sweet Home Alabama. More recently, she both produced and starred in award-winning television series like Big Little Lies, Little Fires Everywhere, and Apple TV+’s The Morning Show (which recently announced its third season will premiere in September). She also has a Southern-inspired home and clothing brand, Draper James, runs a popular book club, and is a mom to three.

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So, how does she do it? Turns out not even she knows.

“Gosh, I know. I get really excited about work, so I get tons of nervous energy,” Witherspoon tells Harper’s Bazaar for her August cover story. “I’m kind of a high-strung person.”

Her friends, full of admiration for her, entirely agree.

“I don’t have it in me to do what she does,” her Morning Show costar Julianna Margulies says. “Reese somehow manages to compartmentalise—and she’s good at being in charge.”

Witherspoon has previously described herself as having the energy of “a squirrel who drank coffee,” but Big Little Lies costar Laura Dern has a kinder perspective on her close friend. Dern calls it a “magnificent holy ambition.” Because what propels Witherspoon is a simple mission: centering women’s stories.

“I just look at her and I think, You absolutely exhaust me, just looking at your plate,” says Jennifer Aniston, Witherspoon’s Morning Show costar and co–executive producer. “She is one of the most highly productive human beings I’ve ever encountered. It’s incredible.”

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Witherspoon and Aniston have been friends for a long time, having run in the same Hollywood circles for decades. Before filming The Morning Show, they had worked together once before, when Witherspoon made a hilarious and memorable cameo on Friends as the sister of Aniston’s character, Rachel Green.

Witherspoon talked about the meeting to Harper’s Bazaar back in 2019.

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“We met on the set of Friends; I played her sister. I was 23 years old and had just had a baby. I was nursing Ava on set, and Jen just kept going, ‘You have a baby?’ I was like, ‘I know, it’s weird,’” she said. “She was so sweet to me. I was really nervous, and she was like, ‘Oh, my gosh—don’t worry about it!’ I marveled at her ability to perform in front of a live audience like that with no nerves. They would change all the lines and she was just so effortlessly affable, bubbly, and sunny. We’ve been friends ever since.”

Read the full August cover story here.

This article originally appeared in Harper’s BAZAAR US.