Nancy Maryanne Dow (July 22, 1936 – May 27, 2016) was an American television and film actress. She was married to actor

John Aniston John Anthony Aniston (born Yannis Anastassakis, , July 24, 1933 – November 11, 2022) was an American actor who played Victor Kiriakis on the NBC daytime drama series ''Days of Our Lives'', which he originated in July 1985 and played on and of ...

and was the mother of actress

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'' from 1994 to 2004, which earned her Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe, and Scr ...

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 town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The population was 64,083 at the 20 ...

, one of six daughters of Louise (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

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, a model, and an author. In 1966, Dow played a character called Athena in an episode of ''

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 ...

''. In 1967 she appeared in ''

The Wild Wild West ''The Wild Wild West'' is an American Western (genre), Western, spy film, spy, and science fiction on television, science fiction television series that ran on the CBS television network for four seasons from September 17, 1965, to April 11, 19 ...

''. She also appeared in the 1969 film of '' The Ice House''. Her final acting credit was in the 2004 Canadian film ''Pure''.

Personal life

Dow was 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 (b. 1959), who became an assistant director and second-unit director. In 1965, Dow married

. They had one daughter, Jennifer. The marriage ended in 1980. Dow and her daughter 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 William Bradley Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. In a Brad Pitt filmography, film career spanning more than thirty years, Pitt has received list of awards and nominations received by Brad Pitt, numerous a ...

, 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

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

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

. 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. May 25, 2016.

Filmography

*''

'' (1966) (TV series) – Athena *''

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

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dow, Nancy 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 Entertainers from West Hartford, Connecticut