'This Is What's Beautiful, This Is You': Jennifer Aniston's Most Inspiring Quotes About Empowerment and Self-Worth

Jennifer Aniston has penned a passionate essay on women being judged for their marital and maternal status – but it's not the first time she's spoken about empowerment

Photo: Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic

Jennifer Aniston had fans applauding on Tuesday for the essay she penned addressing false pregnancy rumors. Not only did she explain that we wasn’t pregnant, but the Friends alum expressed her dismay at how women are judged for their marital and maternal status.

“We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child,” Aniston, 47, wrote. “We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone.”

This isn’t the first time Aniston has spoken out about empowerment and standing up for one’s self. Check out some of her most insightful words on the issue below.

• “I think once you figure out who you are and what you love about yourself, I think it all kind of falls into place.”
– to Diane Sawyer in 2004

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• “The women that inspire me are the ones who have careers and children; why would I want to limit myself? I’ve always wanted to have children, and I would never give up that experience for a career. I want to have it all.”
– to Vanity Fair in 2005

• “Women are realizing it more and more knowing that they don’t have to settle with a man just to have that child. Times have changed and that is also what is amazing is that we do have so many options these days, as opposed to our parents’ days when you can’t have children because you have waited too long.”
– during a press conference for The Switch in 2010

• “I think people honestly just want to see me as a mom and married and barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen. And I just want to say, ‘Everybody relax!’ ”
– to PEOPLE in 2011

• “You can undo a lot of things. If you’re not happy, you can become happy. Happiness is a choice. That’s the thing I really feel. Like with friends who refuse to get happy, who refuse to rise above the place where they’re at.”
– to Glamour in 2013

• “I don’t like [the pressure] that people put on me, on women – that you’ve failed yourself as a female because you haven’t procreated. I don’t think it’s fair. You may not have a child come out of your vagina, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t mothering –dogs, friends, friends’ children.”
– to Allure in 2014

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• “Inner confidence. Peace. Kindness. Honesty. A life well-lived. Taking on challenges and not feeling shame for things that haven’t gone the way you felt they should have. And not feeling like a failure or allowing people to critique your life and make you feel like you’ve failed at something. That’s just toxic noise.”
– on her definition of beauty, to PEOPLE in 2016

• “As women, we do feel that we have to live up to an expectation whether it is on camera or going to the market or whatever it is. The truth of the matter is that that is not always the way it is. We don’t always have our high heels on. We don’t always have our hair and makeup on.”
– during a Cake press conference in 2014

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• “I think it’s always important to reflect anyway, no matter what age you’re approaching or what milestone is in front of you. Reflection should be almost a daily thing if possible. Because I was never a ‘where do you see yourself in five years’ person. I had no idea, and I didn’t have a checklist, which really creates a lot less stress in your life.”
– to the

Associated Press in 2014

• “When I was younger, I think I took a lot for granted and would beat myself up over things that were unnecessary. Now it’s like, whatever state I’m in, whatever shape my body’s in [works for me]. I think you just have to really appreciate that this is what’s beautiful, this is you!”
– to Huffington Post in 2015