Entertainment

Why Jennifer Aniston Is 'People's Most Beautiful

by S. Atkinson

Proving that the legendary title is as much about inner beauty as it is about external, People Magazine has named Jennifer Aniston as World's Most Beautiful Woman 2016. Aniston has now won the title twice, putting her on a par with Julia Roberts and Michelle Pfeiffer. Aniston's title also makes her a record breaker in another way: she's the second oldest woman to win the title, following just behind Sandra Bullock who won the title in 2015 aged 50.

When asked when Aniston feels the most beautiful, she said "I feel most beautiful when I've finished a great workout." Self-acceptance was a prominent theme in the interview. She conceded that her definition of beauty had changed over the years and for her now, beauty is about "learning to love every single thing about yourself" and that "there's so much more that's beautiful in a human being" than clothes and facial features. In fact, when asked to define beauty, Aniston was quick to focus on more profound qualities than physical appearance: "Inner confidence. Peace. Kindness. Honesty. A life well-lived."

So, apart from Aniston's undeniable physical attractiveness, according to her own definition, what makes her so beautiful? Let's explore.

Her Charity Work

Kevin Winter/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Aniston's famously generous and supports a whole range of charities, though there's a definite emphasis on supporting children. She has been appearing in commercials to raise money for St Jude Children's Research Hospital since 2008:

She also works with Friends of El Faro, a charity which supports children in Casa Hogar Sion orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. She joined forces with the One & Only Palmilla Hotel in Cabo San Lucas to create a farita doll which retails for $95 to raise money for the orphanage. In 2011, Aniston and her husband Justin Theroux shelled out almost half a million dollars at an art auction which was held to raise money for Haiti. People Magazine reported that Aniston donated another $500,000 to "Doctors Without Borders, Haitian health care provider Partners in Health and AmeriCares, all organizations participating in the relief effort." To cover the entirety of Aniston's charity work would require an entire additional article, but according to Look To The Stars, other charities she has supported include the "continued support of Clothes Off Our Back, Feeding America, EB Medical Research Foundation, Project A.L.S., Best Friends Animal Society, and the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network."

Her Contribution To The Entertainment Industry

Aniston is the visual antidote to the depressing theory that women over 40 years old can't find work in Hollywood. She's appearing in three movies alone this year (Mother's Day, The Yellow Birds and Office Christmas Party,) and her greatest hits over the last few years include laugh-til-you-cry flicks like Horrible Bosses, We're The Millers, as well as more serious fare like last year's Cake, for which Aniston's critically appraised performance earned her nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award.

Her Personal Life

I'm a subscriber to the notion that nothing makes a person more radiant looking (yup, including expensive moisturizers) than happiness. So is it just a coincidence that Aniston's People Magazine award follows six months on the heels of her wedding to her long-term boo, Justin Theroux? Aniston sounded over the moon when she spoke to People Magazine in the same "Most Beautiful Woman In The World" interview as referenced above about her husband: "He makes me laugh. He's so interesting and so interested. He's unbelievably talented in more areas than one and he's just a good man."

Her Friendships

Jennifer Aniston is famously one of Hollywood's most popular ladies — and it's no wonder when her friendships seem to mean so much to her. Aniston became emotional while appearing on a TV special honoring TV director James Burrows and reminisced about the wonderful bonds she fostered while working on Friends:

“At the beginning it was not a hard thing, we really just wanted to hang out with each other, it was not, ‘Ugh, we have to do this,’ we really just fell in love and adored each other instantly and would hang out at each others houses and watch the show together.”

While I'd suspect some celebrities of making memories like this up for the juicy PR, Aniston's longstanding friendship with former cast member Courteney Cox seems like pretty substantial evidence that this is true.

Wow. With so many beautiful things happening in Aniston's life, both on a professional and personal level, is it any wonder that the stunning actress has won the award for the second time? Jennifer Aniston, we salute you.

Images: TheEllenShow/Youtube; Giphy (2)