Jennifer Aniston Says She Has Personal Experience to Draw from For ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’

Jennifer Aniston is set to portray the mom in the Apple TV adaptation of Jennette McCurdy’s memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died. The limited series is still in pre-production, but it’s a much-anticipated project. The memoir was an immediate hit, going viral and becoming a bestseller in 2022. Aniston recently opened up about joining the project. The Friends star has a personal connection. She can relate to the story and will likely draw on her own experiences to bring her character to life. This will be her second major project with Apple.

What is ‘I’m Glad My Mom Died’ about?

Jennette McCurdy’s memoir, I’m Glad My Mom Died, is a raw, honest, and darkly comedic account of the former iCarly star’s upbringing. Most of the book focuses on her complicated relationship with her mother, Debra McCurdy, and her grief. McCurdy takes readers through the process of being forced into acting and having her life controlled by the ultimate stage mom. She discusses eating disorders and being taken advantage of in Hollywood. She then walks them through her grief journey and the feelings of freedom she experienced following her mother’s 2013 death. Debra McCurdy died from breast cancer.

The elder McCurdy’s cancer battle, which began when Jenette was still a toddler, is also woven into the story. The actor and author theorizes that it shaped how her mother viewed her, her success, and her ability to control her future. The screen adaptation is expected to pull directly from the source material and McCurdy’s own recollections. She will serve as executive producer. McCurdy is also set to write the 10-episode season.

Jennifer Aniston’s troubled relationship with her mom will likely inform her portrayal

Jennifer Aniston is set to play the mom in the upcoming project, and recently discussed what drew her to the limited series. During a conversation with People, Aniston said she was excited and honored to be a part of the project, noting that she and McCurdy had “very similar moms.”

The revelation was nothing completely unknown. Years before McCurdy published her memoir, Aniston was deftly discussing similar familial issues. Aniston has called her childhood home life “destabilized and unsafe.” In a chat with Elle, she said her mother, Nancy Dow, was “very critical” of her and obsessed with physical beauty. Jennifer Aniston danced around the topic of her mom for years before fully opening up, though. Once she did, a few years after her mother’s 2016 death, she painted a picture of a difficult and disorienting childhood.

While promoting Dumplin’, a Netflix movie that explores a mother’s obsession with looks and her disappointment in her plus-sized teen daughter, Aniston got a bit introspective. She told the Sunday Telegraph that she felt like a bit of a failure in her mother’s eyes. She explained she wasn’t the “model” child her mother had dreamed of. Anison admitted that years after largely severing the relationship, she still had difficulty seeing herself as beautiful. She called her mother stunning.

Jennifer Aniston is the only actor publicly announced for the project. Apple has not provided an official release date yet, and filming has not begun. Still, Aniston is excited to get the ball rolling..