Friends fanatic? Accustomed to a classic rom-com? 90’s babe? If you answered yes, you’ve definitely heard of Jennifer Aniston.

Well, on October 15th, she managed to single-handedly break Instagram AND smash a Guinness World Record… all by posting a picture to Instagram for the first time. It’s safe to say, she’s been making headlines ever since.

Up until now, Jennifer managed to resist the ever-growing popularity of Instagram, but in a recent interview with The Guardian, she admitted she wanted to join the platform so she could have more control over her public image (i.e. other than the articles we’re fed by the tabloids) – totes get this. She’s also using the photo-sharing platform to promote her new series, The Morning Show which will be available with Apple TV+ subscription.

She’s undoubtedly created a loyal fan club over the years, starring in soooo many great movies that are perfect for a cosy Sunday afternoon Netflix and chill. From The Break Up, to Just Go With It, and let’s not forget the tear-jerker (ok, buckets of teats) Marley & Me. Can we just talk about the fact that even though a new Friends episode hasn’t been created in 15 years, it still manages to be talked about daily? on social media and we all have the mate who spontaneously quotes the top rated in every-day chat.

We already knew she was popular, but just how popular?

Well we found out two weeks ago, when she not only crashed the app by posting a picture with her Friends co-stars… she managed to break a world record by gaining ONE MILLION followers in just 5 hours and 16 minutes! Since posting her first picture she’s already hit the 18.5 million followers mark.

The previous Guinness World record-holders I hear you ask? Royalty. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. When they created their account, they managed to rack up one million followers in 5 hours and 45 minutes.

There’s no denying how extremely impressive it is that a film-star managed to beat (arguably) the most famous couple in the spotlight right now. Instagram is littered with Harry & Meghan fan accounts, and following their press headlines and recent documentary, they’ve been at the forefronts of the nation’s hearts.

Now that is a modern-day popularity contest to remember.

Despite her Instagram debut, Jennifer has reportedly bought another phone to stop her getting too addicted to the app (we all know how easy this is). In an interview with The Los Angeles Times, she said, “I decided to get two phones … so one sits in my office and when that has to happen, I’ll commit to that”.

Business Insider found that not only did Aniston have fans queuing to follow her (when she crashed the app, there was a literal follow queue) … she managed to create an impressive ripple effect for her Friends co-stars. The first image she uploaded to her account which just so happened to be with her Friends cast, generated a whopping 14.9 million likes and over 500,000 comments!

Considering she has 18.5 million followers in total, that is a spectacularly high rate of engagement!

Her four co-stars managed to have over 50% growth on their accounts, totalling an extra 6 million followers. Pretty sure they’ll be fancying some more selfies in the future…

So, it will be interesting to observe just how Jennifer Aniston will use Instagram and her newly found influence among her 18.5 million followers. I wonder if she, like many other already highly paid celebrities, will use Instagram to leverage brand deals and cash in on her influence? Will she start to make up for lost time by giving her fans an insight into her everyday life using Instagram stories? Or, will she reframe from over-posting to maintain some of her privacy?

Out of her eight posts, she’s already keeping it real with her fans. Posting a picture with the caption, “I’m just a girl….standing with hair and makeup. A stylist. A photographer. A lighting crew, wind machine, props, and a computer …. asking you to think I woke up like this.” – the Instagram VS reality post gets a thumbs up from me.

Other news titles showing the Jennifer Aniston effect is in full swing:

You can now buy a Friends-inspired eyeshadow palette and brush set

This is the lipstick Jennifer Aniston always wore on Friends

Yes, MAC still stocks the shade ‘Paramount’ – £17.50!

 
There is definitely no denying the power of Instagram…