| Nancy Dow | |
| Birth Name: | Nancy Maryanne Dow |
| Birth Date: | 22 July 1936 |
| Birth Place: | West Hartford, Connecticut,[1] U.S. |
| Death Place: | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 1966–2004 |
| Children: | 2, including Jennifer Aniston |
| Othername: | Nancy Aniston |
Nancy Maryanne Dow (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]
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.
Dow was an actress, model and author. Dow acted in a few television shows, including The Beverly Hillbillies, where she played Athena in one episode.[5] [6]
Dow was also married to John T. "Jack" Melick Jr., a pianist-bandleader who was based in Dallas from 1956 to 1961.[7] The couple had one son, John T. Melick III (b. 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).[8] 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."[9]
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.[10]