A TikTok creator gained widespread attention recently for her spot-on impersonation of the iconic character Rachel Green from the popular TV show Friends. Vanessa Etienne is currently a rising writer and reporter for the publication PEOPLE.
Jennifer Aniston may not have TikTok, but she did come across a video impression of her famous Friends character that went viral last month. A TikTok user named Lisa Tranel, known as @she_plusthree, gained popularity for her striking resemblance to the Hollywood star. Despite clarifying in her bio that she is not Jennifer Aniston, Tranel started posting videos lip-syncing some of Aniston’s memorable lines as Rachel Green from Friends.
In one clip from June 30, Tranel mouthed a line from a 1997 episode, “The One Where Chandler Can’t Remember Which Sister,” saying, “I want to quit, but then I think I should stick it out.” The post garnered over 770,400 likes and 14,500 comments, eventually catching the attention of Aniston, 52.
When asked about the video by InStyle for its September issue, set to be released on Aug. 20, Aniston admitted, “A friend sent that to me — I watched it, and it freaked me out.” She added, “She’s not exactly like me, but of all the people who have said, ‘I look just like you,’ she was pretty close. Sometimes you say, ‘Thanks?’ And other times it’s, ‘Wow, thank you.'”
While Jennifer Aniston was quite impressed by the TikTok trend, she believes that former Saturday Night Live star Vanessa Bayer truly nailed her impersonation. In an interview with the magazine, Aniston recalled her initial reaction to seeing the impersonation on SNL. She was taken aback by how different she sounded and had to come to terms with the fact that she was being parodied. Despite being told it was a compliment, her instinct was to feel like she was the subject of mockery.
Aniston is best known for her role as Rachel Green on the popular NBC sitcom Friends, which aired for 10 seasons from 1994 to 2004. Her performance on the show earned her an Emmy Award in 2002 and a Golden Globe in 2003. Aniston, along with her former Friends castmates, reunited for a special that aired on HBO Max in May. Reflecting on the experience, Aniston described returning to the set as an emotional moment for everyone, even bringing tears to the usually composed Courteney Cox.
In a conversation on Gayle King’s SiriusXM show, Aniston shared that revisiting the set of Friends was a nostalgic and heartwarming experience for the entire cast. Despite their characters being iconic, the bond between the actors was just as strong off-screen.