Nancy Dow

Nancy Maryanne Dow^{[citation needed]} (July 22, 1936 – May 27, 2016) was an American television and film actress. She was married to actor John Aniston and was the mother of actress Jennifer Aniston.^[2]

Nancy Dow
Publicity Photo of Nancy Dow
Born	Nancy Maryanne Dow (1936-07-22)July 22, 1936 West Hartford, Connecticut,[1] U.S.
Died	May 27, 2016(2016-05-27) (aged 79) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Nancy Aniston
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1966–2004
Spouses	Jack Melick ​ ​ (m. 1956; div. 1961)​ John Aniston ​ ​ (m. 1965; div. 1980)​
Children	2, including Jennifer Aniston

Early life

Dow was born in West Hartford, Connecticut, one of six daughters of Louise (née Grieco) and Gordon McLean Dow. Her maternal grandfather, Louis Grieco, was an Italian immigrant;^[3] her other ancestry included English, Scottish and Irish.^[4] Dow had five sisters: Linda, Martha, Sally, Joan, and Jean.^{[citation needed]}

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. In 1967 she appeared in The Wild Wild West.^[5][6][7] She also appeared in the 1969 film of The Ice House. Her final acting credit was in the 2004 Canadian film Pure.^[6][7]

Personal life

Dow was married to John T. "Jack" Melick Jr., a pianist/bandleader who was based in Dallas, from 1956 to 1961.^[8] The couple had one son, John T. Melick III (b. 1959),^[8] who became an assistant director and second-unit director.

In 1965, Dow married John Aniston. They had one daughter, Jennifer. The couple were married until 1980.^[6]

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).^[9] 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."^[10]

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. She died two days later at 79 years old.^[11]

Filmography

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