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Friends Cast: Then and Now
Friends may be long gone from NBC -- and recently departed from Netflix -- but the stars of the 1994-2004 comedy favorite are still there for us.
PHOTOS: See what Friends cast looks like today
Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and the extended cast are working, reuniting on Instagram, and, of course, forever living their Central Perk selves in classic Friends episodes (headed your way in 2020 via the new HBO Max streaming service).
Start clicking to see the stars back in the day -- and today.
Matthew Perry Then
Perry served up the zingers as Chandler Bing, Ross Geller's massively insecure best friend (and eventually Monica Geller's surprisingly stable husband).
Matthew Perry Now
Seen at an outdoor movie screening in Los Angeles in 2017, Perry earned two Primetime Emmy nominations for his recurring role as a lawyer on The West Wing. (He'd previously earned one nom for playing Chandler.) Other post-Friends credits include Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, the 2015-2017 revival of The Odd Couple and the miniseries, The Kennedys After Camelot.
Courteney Cox Then
Cox cooked up comedy as Monica Geller, the Type A-personality foodie who was Ross' sister (and eventually Chandler's bride). From Seasons 6-10, she was billed as Courteney Cox Arquette, the result of her then-marriage to actor David Arquette.
Courteney Cox Now
From 2009-2015, Cox starred on the sitcom Cougar Town. In 2020, she played herself on an episode of ABC's Modern Family.
Jennifer Aniston Then
Aniston won a Primetime Emmy, established a film career and launched a hairstyle craze in her breakout role as Rachel Green, the runaway bride who ran into Central Perk -- and built a new life with her friends.
Jennifer Aniston Now
Aniston has starred in box-office hits such as We're the Millers and Marley and Me. In 2019, she returned to the small screen via the Apple TV+ series, The Morning Show (pictured).
Matt LeBlanc Then
LeBlanc scored three Primetime Emmy nominations -- and his own short-lived Friends spinoff -- as Joey Tribbiani, the dopey, but adorable, actor who loved women and Little Women.
Matt LeBlanc Now
No one was laughing about the failure that was Joey after LeBlanc earned four Primetime Emmy nominations for playing a version of himself on the comedy Episodes. In 2016, he debuted in CBS' Man with a Plan (pictured).
Lisa Kudrow Then
Kudrow played her first Buffay -- Ursula -- on NBC's Mad About You. She is best known for playing Ursula's nicer, if spacier, identical twin, Phoebe Buffay, on Friends; the role earned her a Primetime Emmy in 1998.
Lisa Kudrow Now
Kudrow. seen at the 2019 Creative Arts Emmys, has rated multiple Emmy nominations for producing NBC's and TLC's Who Do You Think You Are?, and starring in HBO's The Comeback, which she co-created.
David Schwimmer Then
Schwimmer played Monica's nerdy and needy brother, Ross Geller; his paleontologist character declared his love for Rachel once and for all in the Friends finale.
David Schwimmer Now
Schwimmer earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for playing lawyer Robert Kardashian in The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story. He played the love interest of Grace Adler (played by Debra Messing) during Season 2 of NBC's Will & Grace revival (pictured).
James Michael Tyler Then
Aside from the main cast, no one appeared in more Friends episodes than Tyler, who played Gunther, the snarky manager of Central Perk who was hopelessly in love with Rachel.
James Michael Tyler Now
Tyler's post-Friends credits include a 2012 appearance on Matt LeBlanc's Episodes. In 2019, he reminisced about Gunther's best lines for NBC's Today (pictured).
Reese Witherspoon Then
Witherspoon was already an established movie star (Cruel Intentions, Election) when she appeared in two Season 6 Friends episodes as Rachel's sister Jill.
Reese Witherspoon Now
Witherspoon has gone on to win an Oscar (Walk the Line) and become an Emmy-winning producer (HBO's Big Little Lies). In 2019, she re-teamed with Jennifer Aniston to executive produce and star in the Apple TV+ drama series, The Morning Show (pictured).
Paul Rudd Then
Then best known for Clueless and Wet Hot American Summer, Rudd appeared in Friends' Seasons 9-10 as Mike Hannigan, the nice guy who dates and marries Phoebe.
Paul Rudd Now
Now a giant in the Marvel Cinematic Universe -- as Ant-Man, no less -- Rudd was seen in 2019 in the Netflix comedy-drama, Living with Yourself (pictured).
Maggie Wheeler Then
Wheeler appeared in more than a dozen Friends episodes over the series' 10-year run as Janice, Chandler Bing's on-again, off-again girlfriend with the unmistakable laugh.
Maggie Wheeler Now
Wheeler has lent her voice to Comedy Central's Archer and the animated Addams Family big-screen movie. In 2019, she sat on the original Central Perk couch to help promote the 25th anniversary of Friends.
Cole Sprouse Then
Cole Sprouse was 7 and a Hollywood veteran who'd shared roles with his twin, Dylan Sprouse, in Grace Under Fire and Big Daddy, when he won the recurring Friends role of Ross Geller's son, Ben, in Season 6. He was the third actor to play Ben, but the first to carry significant storylines.
Cole Sprouse Now
Cole Sprouse and Dylan Sprouse found Disney Channel fame via The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck. Since 2017, Cole Sprouse has played Betty Cooper's main squeeze, Jughead Jones, opposite real-life girlfriend Lili Reinhart, on The CW's Riverdale (pictured).
Jane Sibbett Then
On Friends, in episodes spanning Seasons 1-7, Sibbett played Ross' first wife -- and first ex-wife -- Carol, who was the mother of Ben. She was the second actress to play Carol after Anita Barone, who originated the part in Season 1's "The One With the Sonogram at the End."
Jane Sibbett Now
Sibbett has several post-Friends TV credits, including a turn in the 2019 Lifetime holiday movie, A Date by Christmas Eve (pictured).
Listen to TV Guide's holiday-movie podcast, All I Want For Christmas Is This Podcast!
Aisha Tyler Then
In Friends' Seasons 9-10, Tyler played Charlie Wheeler, a decidedly not-nerdy paleontologist who casually dates Joey, and seriously dates Ross (before he finds his way back to Rachel, of course).
Aisha Tyler Now
Tyler, seen at the CES 2020 trade show, has played Dr. Tara Lewis on CBS' Criminal Minds since 2015.
Elliott Gould Then
The Oscar-nominated star (Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice) played Ross and Monica's dear old dad, Jack Geller, in more than a dozen Friends episodes.
Elliott Gould Now
Recent credits for the always-working Gould include stints in Showtime's Ray Donovan, the George Clooney-Brad Pitt Ocean's Eleven movies and Netflix's The Kaminsky Method (pictured).
Helen Baxendale Then
In Friends' Seasons 4-5, the British actress played Ross' British second wife -- and second ex-wife -- Emily Waltham.
Helen Baxendale Now
Of late, Baxendale stars on the BBC-produced family comedy Cuckoo (pictured), which featured Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Andy Samberg.
Jessica Hecht Then
On Friends, Hecht played Susan, the woman who steals Carol's heart from Ross. She appeared on several episodes, including "The One with the Lesbian Wedding" (pictured), one of TV's landmark moments from the 1990s.
Jessica Hecht Now
In 2019, Hecht reunited with Jane Sibbett, the actress who played Susan's wife, on NBC's Today (pictured). Post-Friends, Hecht has worked on HBO's Succession, Red Oaks and Breaking Bad.
Paget Brewster Then
Friends was Brewster's big TV break. In Season 4, she appeared as Kathy, the actress who drives a wedge between Joey (who's her boyfriend) and Chandler (who's her next boyfriend).
Paget Brewster Now
Brewster's considerable post-Friends credits include Community, Huff and Harvey Birdman: Attorney at Law. Since 2006, she has been part of CBS' Criminal Minds (pictured), sometimes appearing alongside fellow Friends alum Aisha Tyler.
Eddie Cahill Then
In Friends' Seasons 7-8, Cahill made an impression as Tag Jones, Rachel's boyfriend who, well, revealed Rachel's poor judgment: Tag was a young assistant at Ralph Lauren ... and Rachel was his boss.
Eddie Cahill Now
Cahill guest-starred in 2019 as a killer cult leader in CBS' CSI: New Orleans (pictured). He previously starred as homicide detective Don Flack on CBS' CSI: NY.
Lauren Tom Then
Tom was a long-working actor who'd starred in The Joy Luck Club when she was cast on Friends as Ross' girlfriend -- and Rachel's rival -- Julie. She appeared in Seasons 1-2.
Lauren Tom Now
Tom has worked extensively as a voice actor (Teen Titans Go!, Futurama). In 2019, she guested on ABC's The Rookie (pictured).
Christina Pickles Then
The British-born Pickles was a veteran of St. Elsewhere when she was cast as Ross and Monica's exasperating, but loving, mom, Judy Gellar. Like her TV husband, Elliott Gould, Pickles appeared on more than a dozen Friends episodes.
Christina Pickles Now
In the 2000s, Pickles graduated to grandmother roles. She played one on How I Met Your Mother, and on the short-lived Tina Fey-produced sitcom, Great News (pictured).
Tom Selleck Then
Selleck was a bona-fide TV icon (from the original Magnum, P.I.) when he joined Friends for a recurring stint starting in Season 2 as optometrist Dr. Richard Burke, the almost-great love of Monica.
Tom Selleck Now
Selleck has continued with his TV-icon ways. Since 2010, he has starred as New York City Police Commissioner Frank Reagan on CBS' Blue Bloods.