The award-winning Friends sitcom has long been considered one of television’s best comedies of all time. It’s been 15 years since the finale, and we’re still watching re-runs of our favorite gang, fresh-faced and navigating through adulthood - there’s no feeling quite like the warm-hearted nostalgia from Friends. Since being introduced in 1994, we’ve fallen in love with the show and its characters, and witnessed them grow up over the course of 10 seasons. With the 25th anniversary on the way, what better time to check out the Friends cast now - what they’ve achieved since the show, and what they’re currently working on.
Jennifer Aniston (Rachel)
Ageless beauty Jennifer Aniston received five Primetime Emmy nominations (including one award) for her role as Rachel Green in Friends. Introduced to us in episode 1 as a runaway bride, Rachel tracked down her former best friend, Monica - sitting with the rest of the Friends gang in the Central Perk café - and began living in Manhattan as a waitress and Monica’s long-term roommate. As the seasons progressed, Rachel eventually secured a coveted job at Ralph Lauren, and continued sitcom’s most enduring on-off relationship with Monica’s brother, Ross. Friends made all our dreams come true in part two of the series finale when the iconic Ross/Rachel duo finally rekindled their relationship.
During the Friends series, Aniston was married to Brad Pitt - who made a cameo appearance on the show in 2001 - before announcing their split in 2005. In 2011, Aniston commenced a relationship with actor/screenwriter Justin Theroux, but separated in 2017 after being married for only two years. Despite her relationship misfortune, Aniston remains one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors, and is also the first of the Friends cast to be given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Aniston has appeared in several blockbusters such as Bruce Almighty, The Break-Up, Marley and Me, Horrible Bosses, and We’re the Millers. This year, Aniston will star alongside Adam Sandler in the upcoming Murder Mystery film, and with her Friends on-screen sister, Reese Witherspoon, in The Morning Show TV drama.
David Schwimmer (Ross)
Actor/director David Schwimmer played Ross Geller, Monica’s older brother and Rachel’s on-off partner throughout the series. After his wife left him for another woman, Ross fell in love with Rachel Green (for the second time since high school) - the pair eventually began dating in season 2. The palaeontologist-turned-professor is probably the most intelligent of the Friends gang, and is remembered for his goofy yet endearing personality.
Since Friends ended in 2004, Schwimmer directed Run, Fatboy, Run and Trust; he also starred in Duane Hopwood - a film that, despite its reception, was most notable for Schwimmer’s acclaimed performance as a divorced father and alcoholic struggling to get his life back on track. In 2016, Schwimmer excelled in American Crime Story as the late Robert Kardashian, for which he received his second Primetime Emmy Award nomination. The actor also had a recurring role in the Will & Grace revival last year. In 2010, Schwimmer married artist, photographer and producer, Zoë Buckman, but announced their separation in 2017 - the couple have a daughter together.
Courtney Cox (Monica)
Monica Geller was neurotic, competitive, controlling, highly-organised and, above all else, a neat freak - and we loved her for it. Played by actor, producer, and director Courteney Cox, Monica lived with Rachel for five seasons until Chandler moved in with Monica instead. In the season 6 finale, Monica surprised Chandler in what become one of the most romantic proposals in sitcom history - after having thought he’d ruined their relationship, Chandler walked into the apartment to find Monica in a room full of lit candles.
Since the series finale, Courteney Cox has continued her success—in 2014, she released her first feature film, Just Before I Go, and starred as the lead in Cougar Town from 2009-2015, which she co-created with several others including her former husband of 14 years, David Arquette (appearing as a cameo in Friends season 3). Cox and Arquette also starred in the Scream horror franchise together. In 2004, the couple gave birth to a daughter, whose godmother is Cox’s on-screen and real-life close friend, Jennifer Aniston. Although Cox and Arquette divorced in 2013, the pair remain good friends and continue an ongoing business relationship with their company, Coquette Productions. Cox has since been in a relationship with Snow Patrol band member, Johnny McDaid.
Matthew Perry (Chandler)
Chandler Bing is best known for his witty, sarcastic quips, self-deprecation and relatively-low emotional stability, largely due to his parents’ traumatic divorce, as well as their eccentric occupations - his mother being an erotica author, and father a professional drag queen. Portrayed by Canadian-American actor Matthew Perry in the show, Chandler is Ross’s best friend since college, former on-off boyfriend of the obnoxious (and annoyingly nasal) Janice, and finally the partner/husband of Monica.
Perry’s most notable TV roles outside of Friends include those on The Good Wife, Go On and The Odd Couple; he also appeared on former co-star Courteney Cox’s Cougar Town for one episode. Perry also starred in The Whole Nine Yards alongside Hollywood icons Bruce Willis and Salma Hayek, and 17 Again with Zac Efron. Although he suffered a years-long battle of alcohol and Vicodin addiction (even during filming), Perry has since followed up his recovery by helping others reach sobriety.
Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe)
We loved Phoebe Buffay for her bohemian flair and terrible guitar-playing in the show’s iconic Central Perk café. Portrayed by Lisa Kudrow, Phoebe gave us the much-needed comic relief whenever things got a little too emotional - she also gave us our favourite ’90s song, ‘Smelly Cat’, that’s very much burned in our brains. Though, there’s no denying Phoebe had the most eventful life out of the Friends gang - motherless from a young age and homeless at 14, Phoebe is the identical twin to Ursula, the half-sister of Frank, the former lover of a scientist, and eventually the wife of a lawyer-turned-pianist.
Since playing Phoebe Buffay for which she received several accolades (including a Primetime Emmy Award), Kudrow continued her TV success - the actor co-created, produced, wrote and starred in the Showtime comedy series Web Therapy from 2011-2015, and in HBO’s comedy/drama The Comeback. Kudrow also performed alongside Hollywood A-listers in several notable films, including Analyze This, P.S. I Love You, The Other Woman, Easy A, and The Girl on the Train. Kudrow has been married to an advertising executive Michael Stern since 1995 - the pair have a son together who was born during (and written into) Friends season 4 when Phoebe became the surrogate mother for her half-brother’s children.
Matt LeBlanc (Joey)
Actor, comedian and TV host Matt LeBlanc played Joey Tribbiani in Friends - the simple-minded but good-natured struggling Italian-American actor. Forever a ladies man, Joey is most remembered for his love of (many) women and food, in particular sandwiches and pizza. Unlike the rest of the Friends gang, Joey never married or partnered up, but instead moved to LA to focus on his acting career.
In 2004, LeBlanc starred in the short-lived Friends spin-off, Joey, which picked up roughly where the hit series left off that same year. LeBlanc has since appeared in former co-star Lisa Kudrow’s comedy show Web Therapy, and more notably in the British comedy series Episodes from 2011-2017, which won him a Golden Globes award for best actor. LeBlanc’s most notable film appearances were in the Charlies Angels franchise alongside on-screen partner Lucy Liu, Syriana with George Clooney and Matt Damon, and in All The Queen’s Men. The actor has also been the co-host/presenter of British motor series Top Gear since 2012, where he met his current partner (and the show’s producer) Aurora Mulligan.
