Nancy Maryanne Dow (July 22, 1936 – May 25, 2016) was an American actress who appeared in a small number of films and television shows. She was married to actor John Aniston with whom she had a daughter,

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

Early life

Dow was born in

West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, west of downtown Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. The population was 64,083 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The town's popular downtown area is colloquially ...

, one of six daughters of Louise ( née Grieco) and Gordon McLean Dow. Her maternal grandfather, Louis Grieco, was an Italian immigrant; her other ancestry included English, Scottish and Irish. Dow had five sisters: Linda, Martha, Sally, Joan and Jean.

Career

Dow was an actress, model and author. Dow acted in a few television shows, including ''

The Beverly Hillbillies ''The Beverly Hillbillies'' is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on CBS from 1962 to 1971. It had an ensemble cast featuring Buddy Ebsen, Irene Ryan, Donna Douglas, and Max Baer Jr. as the Clampetts, a poor, backwoods family f ...

'', where she played Athena in one episode.

Personal life

Dow was also married to John T. "Jack" Melick Jr., a pianist-bandleader who was based in Dallas from 1956 to 1961.Interview with John T. Melick, Jr, June 2011 The couple had one son, John T. Melick III (born 1959), an assistant director and second-unit director. Dow and her daughter Jennifer were estranged for six years, partially because Dow wrote a book about their relationship, entitled ''From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir'' (1999). In 2005, after Aniston's divorce from Brad Pitt, she and her mother reportedly reconciled. Aniston described the gradual progress of her new relationship with her mother: "It's been really nice. It's crazy what, you know, your life kind of being turned upside down will lead you to. ... For us it's ... It was the time and it was going to happen when it was supposed to happen. So this is good. It's baby steps."

Health and death

In 2011 and 2012, Dow had several strokes, which affected her ability to speak and walk. On the morning of May 25, 2016, she was taken by ambulance from her home in

Toluca Lake, Los Angeles Toluca Lake is an affluent neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley northwest of downtown. The name is also given to a private natural lake fed by wells and maintained by neighboring property owner ...

. She died two days later at 79 years old.Jennifer Aniston's Mother Nancy Dow Has Died: She 'Passed Peacefully Surrounded by Family and Friends,' Says Actress
People.com; May 25, 2016.

Filmography

*''

'' (1966) (TV series) – Athena *'' The Wild Wild West'' (1967) (TV series) – Tersa *'' The Ice House'' (1969) – Jan Wilson *''Pure'' (2004) – Lynne

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Nancy Jennifer Aniston 1936 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Connecticut American film actresses American people of English descent American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American people of Scottish descent American television actresses People from West Hartford, Connecticut