Allison Janney praises Anna Faris' professionalism post-split

Actress Allison Janney has heaped praise on Anna Faris for working through the pain of her marriage split, insisting her Mom co-star is "as professional as ever".

Anna and her estranged husband Chris Pratt stunned fans earlier this month (Aug17) when they announced their separation after eight years of marriage.

The House Bunny star returned to work days later, recording a new episode of her podcast Anna Faris Is Unqualified, and heading back to the Los Angeles set of her hit sitcom Mom.

Allison, who portrays Anna's mother in the TV series, addressed her pal's tough personal situation in an interview with Us Weekly at the Television Academy's Performers Peer Group Celebration in Beverly Hills on Monday (21Aug17), admitting the 40-year-old has been coping well, all things considered.

"She's fantastic. She's a professional," Janney said. "It's hard to do but she's coming to work with a smile on her face and knows her lines and is as professional as ever."

The pair's cast and crewmembers have also been sympathetic to Anna's marriage breakdown and Allison explains they are all doing their best to keep her spirits up.

"Everyone there loves and supports her, and we're just surrounding her with love," the 57-year-old added. "She's getting her work done. She's great."

Chris has yet to personally comment on the break-up, but Anna thanked fans for their support in a brief message at the top of her first post-split podcast, released on 15 August (17).

"I just want to thank you all so much for all the love I've been receiving and I truly love you," she told her audience.

She also appeared to hint at one of the problems which led to her separation from Chris, the father of her four-year-old son Jack.

"Life is too short to be in relationships where you feel this isn't fully right or somebody doesn't have your back, or somebody doesn't fully value you," Anna said as she advised one listener. "Don't be afraid to feel your independence if things aren't right.

"I made that mistake, I think, a little bit..., and if that would be the final piece of advice I could give you, that would be know your worth, know your independence."