The actress adopted her first dog Norman from the set of ‘Friends’

Jennifer Aniston became emotional while remembering her late beloved dog, Norman, and her special bond with actress Shirley MacLaine.

While on The Drew Barrymore Show on Friday, Sept. 12, the The Morning Show actress, 56, couldn’t hold back tears after receiving a sentimental video message from her Rumor Has It costar, 91.

Barrymore asked Aniston, “What is Shirley MacLaine like?” to which Aniston shared, “She believes that we were mother and daughter in a previous lifetime. I think it’s why we had such an instant bond. She’s fantastic.” The two costarred in the 2005 rom-com, where MacLaine played Aniston’s grandmother.

The Never Been Kissed actress, 50, then surprised Aniston with a special message from MacLaine and her daughter, Sachi Parker. In her video, MacLaine commended Aniston for being “professional” while filming Rumor Has It, adding, “You were really wonderful to work with.”

When the video ended, Aniston was seen wiping away her tears as she expressed awe over MacLaine’s words. Asked why the message moved Aniston to tears, she explained, “I was with her when my dog passed away.” Aniston’s late pup Norman, a Welsh corgi-terrier mix, died in May 2011 when he was 15.

“I was at [MacLaine’s] ranch in New Mexico doing a past life regression retreat,” she shared of the moment she lost her pet, before joking: “Which sounds crazy when I say it like that.”

She then asked Barrymore’s dog, Douglas, who was nearby: “Are you worried about me because I’m crying? And my dog, I’m talking about Norman?”

Jennifer Aniston on The Drew Barrymore Show.The Drew Barrymore Show/YouTube

Aniston has been candid about her love for her pets in the past.

She is a dog mom to Lord Chesterfield and Clyde, who follow Aniston’s first two dogs — Norman, who died in 2011, and Dolly, who died in 2019 and remains deeply meaningful to her still. “You mention them, and I get a lump in my throat,” she told PEOPLE in 2024.

During the Wednesday, Sept. 10 episode of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, the Friends alum brought up Norman, sharing that she has a tattoo of the dog’s name on her foot, and that she met the canine when he appeared on her iconic sitcom.

She explained to Colbert that Norman appeared in one episode of the show, specifically “the one where Joey and Chandler babysit Ross’ baby, Ben, and they lose the baby. They left the baby on a bus.”

Jennifer Aniston’s dogs Lord Chesterfield and Clyde.Jennifer Aniston/Instagram

“They’re running through New York City streets, trying to find the bus that they left the baby on, and you know how New York has these wonderful dog walkers with 20 dogs on leashes. Norman was one of those dogs,” Aniston continued.

Aniston remembered going up to the animal trainer on the show and telling them that she was interested in adopting one of their dogs.

Surprisingly, the trainer told her, “We do actually have a dog who we are going to retire because he’s very stubborn, he doesn’t do what we tell him, and he never hits his mark.”

“I retired him and he became mine,” Aniston said of her late pet.