It turns out it can take decades to learn a friend’s real name.
Recently, Jennifer Aniston, who’s 56, was taken aback to find out that Reese Witherspoon’s actual name is Laura.
This revelation came during an episode of Ladbible’s “Do You Know Me Too?” when 49-year-old Witherspoon was prompted to ask her long-time friend a “tricky” question.
Witherspoon playfully asked Aniston to guess her “real middle name” from the choices of Jane, Jeanne, or Jane.
Aniston responded with “Jane,” but quickly learned she was wrong. “It’s Jeanne,” Witherspoon said, before dropping the surprising tidbit about her full name.
“It’s confusing. I’m Laura Jeanne,” the actress from Louisiana explained.
In shock, Aniston exclaimed, “Laura Jeanne?”
“Yeah, that’s my real name,” Witherspoon replied, noting her breakout film was “Walk the Line.”
Aniston couldn’t help but laugh at the unexpected twist after all these years of friendship.
“Who is Laura?” Aniston joked. “What? Who is Laura from Hell?”
Interestingly, Witherspoon’s journey began in acting with her role as Dani Trent in “The Man in the Moon.” She shared that she shortened her given name to Reese, which is her mother’s maiden name.
She added that Reese is actually her middle name.
To which Aniston quipped, “Ah, like Norma Jeanne?”—likely referencing Marilyn Monroe’s true name, Norma Jean Mortenson.
“Yeah, like Laura Jeanne Reese,” Witherspoon confirmed.
Witherspoon, a mother of three, seems to enjoy mixing in some humor about names. Aniston, still piecing everything together, was asked by Witherspoon for her own middle name.
“Joanna,” Aniston answered.
“I was old today [when I learned that],” Witherspoon mused. “Is someone calling you JJ?”
Aniston quickly replied, “No.”
“Well, I’m doing it now,” Witherspoon joked, breaking the fourth wall and glancing at the camera.
The two women initially met back in 2000, with Witherspoon guest-starring on “Friends,” where Aniston played Rachel Green.
Witherspoon portrayed Jill Green, Rachel’s sister, in a couple of episodes. They later came together again for Apple TV+’s “The Morning Show,” which premiered its fourth season recently.
