Who Plays Nina On Friends & Who Are Her Very Famous Parents?
You'd be forgiven if you only have a hazy memory of Nina, the character Jennifer Grant played on "Friends." A lot of celebrities passed through the landmark sitcom over the years, many of whom weren't particularly famous at the time. Ellen Pompeo had a guest turn in Season 11, "The Office" standout Craig Robinson showed up in Season 10, future "Riverdale" star Cole Sprouse was one of the two twins playing Ross Geller's (David Schwimmer) son Ben, and for crying out loud, Jon Favreau was Monica Geller's (Courteney Cox) boyfriend for six episodes way back in the third season.
So who is Nina, exactly? She appears in precisely one episode of Season 1, showing up in Episode 16, "The One With Two Parts." (She was in the first of the two parts.) Nina plays a pretty simple role: she's a pretty girl who works with Matthew Perry's Chandler, but he's told he has to fire her. Chandler, in his usual fashion, makes the entire thing worse by asking her out, and when he's pressed by his boss about her presence at work, Chandler takes a very dignified route: he tells his boss that she's mentally unwell and refuses to leave. You can pretty much imagine how it all goes from there, but at least Nina gets the last word: she staples Chandler's hand to his desk. As Lucille Bluth might say, "good for her."
So what about Grant? Turns out she's got a pretty solid Hollywood pedigree.
Who are Jennifer Grant's parents?
You've probably heard the name of Jennifer Grant's dad before — because her dad is Cary Grant. One of Hollywood's most iconic leading men and a symbol of the industry's golden age, Grant appeared in beloved screwball comedies like "Bringing Up Baby," "The Awful Truth," and "His Girl Friday" before teaming up with one of Hollywood's greatest and most legendary directors, Alfred Hitchcock. The two worked on four of the director's twisted, dark thrillers: "Notorious," "Suspicion," "To Catch a Thief," and one of Hitchcock's most celebrated films, "North by Northwest." Some of Grant's late career gems include "The Touch of Mink" and "Charade;" in the latter, he starred alongside a young Audrey Hepburn.
Grant might be the more famous of Jennifer Grant's parents, but Dyan Cannon has had a pretty incredible Hollywood career, rising to prominence as both an actress and filmmaker. Known for movies like "Heaven Can Wait," "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (which earned her an Oscar nomination), "The Last of Sheila," and "Revenge of the Pink Panther," and she also played a pivotal role in "Ally McBeal." Cannon has stepped behind the camera as well. She wrote, directed, and starred in the autobiographical project "The End of Innocence" in 1990, and even before that, she earned an Oscar nod for directing the short film "Number One" in 1976. Thanks to that, Cannon became the first woman in Oscars history to be nominated for work both on and off camera.
Jennifer Grant has been working since her time on Friends
Grant might not be the biggest name in the industry, but perhaps this is because, by all accounts, her father tried to talk her out of acting in the first place. She ended up in the industry anyway, and aside from "Friends," she appeared on shows like "Ellen," "Walker, Texas Ranger," and the short-lived WB series "Movie Stars," in which she played a main role.
The actress has also appeared in a handful of smaller movies like "My Engagement Party," "The View from the Swing," and "Welcome to California." In 2017, she appeared as (obviously) herself in the documentary "Becoming Cary Grant." Appropriately, though, Grant got a huge break in 2021 when she showed up in Damien Chazelle's ode to Old Hollywood, "Babylon," where she played the supporting role of Mildred Yates alongside Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt.
You can revisit Grant's turn on "Friends" on Max now.