Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon go way back. The duo have been close friends for decades, playing sisters in Friends and now co-starring in The Morning Show.
However, after 25 years, Jennifer has only just learned that her friend’s real name isn’t Reese.
The actresses recently put their friendship to the test in LADbible’s game of “Do You Even Know Me?” where they were quizzed about each other’s lives.
Image credits: LADbible Entertainment
The quiz included questions about Jennifer’s haunted first apartment in Los Angeles, the answer to which she admitted she didn’t even remember herself, and Reese going viral for singing a Sabrina Carpenter song with the wrong lyrics.
Reese was also asked how long her friend had lasted during her first job as a bike messenger in New York (a whole day), before the Legally Blonde star asked Jennifer the “tricky” question about her real middle name.
Image credits: Getty/Kevin Mazur
When asked to guess it, Jennifer confidently answered: “Jane.”
Reese then revealed the correct answer, which made her friend’s jaw drop.
“That’s confusing. I’m Laura Jeanne,” the Oscar winner said.
Jennifer asked, “Laura Jeanne!?”
Reese confirmed she had heard it correctly. “That’s my real name, yeah.”
Stunned by the revelation, Jennifer blurted out, “What, who the hell’s Laura!? I’m not calling you that from now on. Come on, Laura Jeanne.”
The actresses played sisters in Friends and now co-star in The Morning Show
Image credits: LADbible Entertainment
Image credits: LADbible Entertainment
Jennifer asked her friend where “Reese” came from, and Reese clarified that it was her middle name, and that her full name is actually Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon.
“Like Norma Jeane?” asked Jennifer, referring to Marylin Monroe’s real name. “Laura Jeanne Reese.”
Still digesting the news, the We’re the Millers star asked, “What made you go with Reese for your acting name?”
The 49-year-old has been going by Reese since she made her acting debut in a florist commercial at just seven years old.
The friends recently quizzed each other for a segment called “Do You Even Know Me?”
Image credits: Getty/Michael Kovac
“I didn’t change it; my name was just always Reese,” she said.
Fans were equally surprised by the news. One social media user wrote, “Ok so I always thought Reese Witherspoon was her two family names put together. Like Laura Jean Reese-Witherspoon.”
“Jen’s reaction to Laura Jean is priceless. Like she couldn’t believe it,” shared someone else.
“Love Jennifer Anniston! She’s just so funny!!” a separate fan added.
Image credits: LADbible Entertainment
After the funny moment, Reese admitted that she didn’t know Jennifer’s middle name either, which is “Joanna.”
“What?… I was today years old,” said a stunned Reese. “Jennifer Joanna. Does anybody call you JJ? Well, I do now.”
Then, the friends and co-stars sparked nostalgia when they quizzed each other about their Friends characters.
“In Friends, how did Rachel ruin the British trifle?” asked Jennifer. “A: By slamming it into Ross’ face. B: By losing a nail in it. C: By adding minced beef, peas, and onions.”
Of course, Reese remembered the unappetizing Thanksgiving dish and the moment Rachel accidentally combined a trifle recipe with one for cottage pie after the pages of her cookbook stuck together. She gave the correct answer, which was C.
Reese then asked her co-star, “Which of these facts about my character, Jill Green, is true? A: She’s allergic to cats. B: She’s lactose intolerant. C: She briefly dated Gunther.” Jennifer correctly answered B.
Reese played Jennifer’s character Rachel Green’s younger sister in two episodes of Friends season six in 2000. The actress previously described filming the hit sitcom as one of her “scariest moments ever.”
“It was in front of a live audience and I’d never really done theater,” she told People. “I’d never been in front of a live audience, and I was just blown away by how that cast pivoted so quickly with their jokes.”
At one point, Reese asked Jennifer to guess her middle name, and her co-star gave the wrong answer
Image credits: Instagram/jenniferaniston
Image credits: Instagram/jenniferaniston
She recalled the Friends stars making her feel very welcome on set and even asking to hold Ava, her daughter with actor Ryan Phillippe, who was a baby at the time.
“I was the kid on set – I think I was 22, and of course Jen was just the sweetest to me. I had just had a baby and I remember her and Courteney (Cox) running to my dressing room and going, ‘Can we see the baby? You have a baby? Can we hold the baby?’”
Fast forward to 2019, when Reese began starring in and executive producing the Apple TV+ series The Morning Show alongside Jennifer and Steve Carrell.
Reese didn’t know Jennifer’s middle name, either
Image credits: Apple TV
Her role as news anchor Bradley Jackson earned Reese a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.
The drama, which examines the culture behind a network broadcast morning news program, earned Jennifer a SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.
Social media users reacted to the duo’s funny interaction and full name reveals
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