THEN AND NOW: The stars of ‘Friends’

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• NBC’s hit show “Friends” premiered in September 1994 and focused on the lives of six characters.
• The cast has gone on to lead other TV shows and movies since the series ended in May 2004.
• Jennifer Aniston stars on “The Morning Show” and Paul Rudd is now a Marvel star.
• Visit Insider’s homepage for more stories.

Jennifer Aniston starred as Rachel Green, easily the most stylish character on the show.

At the start of the series, Rachel left her fiancé, Barry, at the altar. In an effort to be independent and not live off her father’s wealth, she got a job at Central Perk and cut up all her credit cards.

By the show’s end, she had a daughter named Emma with Ross, who she had an on-again, off-again relationship throughout the series.

Aniston won a SAG Award for outstanding performance by a female actor in a drama series for her role as Alex Levy on Apple TV Plus’ “The Morning Show.”

Aniston and Reese Witherspoon serve as executive producers on the show, which has a second season on the way.

Aniston has also continued showing off her comedic chops with tons of films over the years.

She starred in comedies like “He’s Just Not That Into You,” “Horrible Bosses,” and “We’re the Millers.” Aniston has also been recognized for her philanthropic efforts with St. Jude’s Research Hospital and Stand Up to Cancer.

The actress has always been vocal about shutting down questions regarding her personal life. In 2016, she penned a powerful essay clapping back at people who have body-shamed her and speculated about whether or not she’s pregnant.

“I’m fed up with the sport-like scrutiny and body shaming that occurs daily under the guise of ‘journalism,’ the ‘First Amendment’ and ‘celebrity news,’” she wrote.

“We are complete with or without a mate, with or without a child,” Aniston added. “We get to decide for ourselves what is beautiful when it comes to our bodies. That decision is ours and ours alone.”

Her essay was also praised by then-husband Justin Theroux, who she married in 2015. The couple revealed their split in early 2018.

Aniston starred as former beauty-pageant queen Rosie in the 2018 Netflix movie “Dumplin” and led the film “Murder Mystery” with Adam Sandler.

Aniston and the main cast members from “Friends” also reunited for an unscripted special for HBO Max.

David Schwimmer played Ross Geller, a paleontologist who was obsessed with dinosaurs since he was a child.

Ross had a son named Ben with a woman named Carol, who he divorced after learning that she was a lesbian. Ross went on to have another failed relationship with Emily, who he married in England after a whirlwind relationship. They split after Emily told Ross to cut off contact with Rachel, which he refused to do.

Schwimmer appeared on NBC’s “Will & Grace” revival and the 2019 film “The Laundromat.”

The actor voiced Melman the giraffe in the “Madagascar” movies. Schwimmer starred as Robert Kardashian on “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” His performance as the lawyer also earned him a Primetime Emmy nomination for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or a movie at the 2016 award show.

Schwimmer also had a recurring role as Debra Messing’s on-screen love interest, a blogger named Noah, on the “Will & Grace” revival.

In October 2018, Schwimmer made headlines due to his seemingly uncanny resemblance to a suspected criminal in Blackpool, England. The “Friends” star noticed the news and made a parody video, where he was seen pretending to steal a crate of beers and pleading innocent.

Schwimmer currently stars on the sitcom “Intelligence,” which was released on Peacock (NBC Universal’s streaming service) in 2020.

Ross’ younger sister and chef, Monica Geller, was portrayed by Courteney Cox.

Monica’s cleanliness frustrated her friends, but they always went to her apartment to hang out when they weren’t at Central Perk.

She and Chandler got married during season seven and adopted twins from a woman named Erica, played by Anna Faris. On the series finale, Monica and Chandler moved out of their purple-painted apartment so they could raise their children in Westchester, outside of the city.

Cox will reprise her role as Gale Weathers for the star-studded movie “Scream 5.”

The cast of the upcoming movie includes returning cast members Neve Campbell and David Arquette, plus “You” season two star Jenna Ortega and “The Boys” actor Jack Quaid.

After “Friends,” Cox starred on her own show called “Cougar Town.” The series lasted for six seasons, beginning on ABC and concluding on TBS in 2015.

You might have also seen the actress appear on shows like “Shameless,” “Modern Family,” and “Drunk History.”

In 2014, Cox got engaged to Snow Patrol guitarist Johnny McDaid, who she met through Ed Sheeran. During an appearance on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in January 2019, Cox said that she and McDaid aren’t engaged anymore, but they are still together.

“He’s not my fiancé. We were engaged to be married, but now we’re just together,” she said. “It’s actually better than it was before. Everything’s better.”

She’s still good friends with costars Aniston and Kudrow, and the three women are part of a group chat. They occasionally meet up, too.

Matthew Perry portrayed Chandler Bing, who was always making sarcastic comments.

Chandler was initially afraid of commitment, but that all changed when he started dating Monica during season five.

Perry has continued appearing mainly on TV shows, in addition to being open about his struggles with substance abuse.

During “Friends,” Perry became addicted to pain medications, lost a drastic amount of weight, and checked into rehab in 1997. He has since made efforts to focus on sobriety.

In August 2018, the actor revealed that he was hospitalized for several months after undergoing gastrointestinal surgery. Perry also alarmed fans after tweeting that he “got kicked out of therapy.” He later clarified, writing: “Easy guys, it was just one session. I’m back in therapy where I belong.”

On the acting front, Perry starred as Ted Kennedy on “The Kennedys After Camelot.” He also starred on “The Odd Couple,” “Go On,” and “Mr. Sunshine.”

In February 2020, Perry became the last of the six main “Friends” cast members to join Instagram, much to the delight of his costars and fans.

Lisa Kudrow starred as Phoebe Buffay, known for her incredibly catchy “Smelly Cat” song.

Phoebe worked as a masseuse and played the guitar at Central Perk in her spare time. She also had a twin sister named Ursula, who briefly dated Joey.

Kudrow is now an actor, producer, and writer.

After “Friends,” Kudrow landed parts in movies like “P.S. I Love You,” “Neighbors,” “Easy A,” and “The Girl on the Train.” You might have also seen her appear as Congresswoman Josephine Marcus on a few episodes of ABC’s “Scandal.”

In addition, Kudrow lent her voice to characters on “BoJack Horseman” and “The Boss Baby.” She also played Lori-Anne Schmidt on “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” and Sheree on “Grace and Frankie,” in addition to guest-starring on “The Good Place.”

Kudrow also created and starred on the Showtime series “Web Therapy,” which lasted for four seasons and got nominated for a Primetime Emmy.

Her most recent roles were on Netflix’s “Space Force” with Steve Carell and “Feel Good.”

The actress, who played Charmaine in the movie “Booksmart,” opened up about her struggles with body image and said that she “felt like this mountain of a woman” next to Aniston and Cox.

“I have a whole battle all the time,” Kudrow told comedian Marc Maron while appearing on his podcast. “I end up with, ‘So what? So, all right. You’re older. That’s a good thing. Why is that a bad thing?’”

Matt LeBlanc starred as struggling actor Joey Tribbiani.

Joey was a womanizer and had an obsession with food, particularly pizza and meatball sandwiches. His signature pick-up line was “How you doin’?”

LeBlanc’s most recent role was on the CBS sitcom “Man With a Plan,” which lasted for four seasons.

After “Friends,” LeBlanc landed a spin-off series called “Joey.” The series didn’t achieve the success that its predecessor had and ended after two seasons.

Since then, LeBlanc has appeared on Kudrow’s “Web Therapy.” The actor’s role on the show “Episodes,” which lasted from 2011 to 2017, earned him a Golden Globes win for best performance by an actor in a comedy or musical television series.

LeBlanc was also a cohost and presenter on the British show “Top Gear” from 2016 to 2019.

Paul Rudd portrayed Mike Hannigan, Phoebe’s husband.

They met after Joey set Phoebe up on a blind date during season nine.

On the final season of “Friends,” Mike and Phoebe got married outside of Central Perk, since there was a blizzard that ruined their previous ceremony plans.

At the wedding, Monica was the maid of honor, Joey officiated, Rachel was a bridesmaid, and Chandler gave Phoebe away. As for Ross, he was tasked with carrying Mike’s dog, Chappy, who was named a groomsman.

Rudd is now a Marvel star.

Rudd’s credits after “Friends” include roles in the comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” “I Love You, Man,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” and the 2013 “Anchorman” sequel.

He also starred as Bobby Newport on the hit series “Parks and Recreation,” which included his future Marvel costar Chris Pratt.

Rudd appeared in his first standalone MCU film, “Ant-Man,” in 2015.

Since then, he’s also appeared as Ant-Man/Scott Lang in “Captain America: Civil War” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp.” He reprised his role in “Avengers: Endgame,” which was released in April 2019, and stars on Netflix’s “Living With Yourself.”

He’ll return as Ant-Man for a third movie titled “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.”

Maggie Wheeler played Janice, whose go-to catchphrase was, “Oh my God.”

She had an on-again, off-again relationship with Chandler during the early seasons.

Maggie Wheeler has guest-starred on tons of shows.

For years, Wheeler voiced the character Trinette McGoon on the animated show “Archer.” You might have also seen her on “Hot in Cleveland,” “Californication,” “How I Met Your Mother,” and “Shameless.”

During an interview with ITV’s “This Morning,” the actress revealed how she created Janice’s over-the-top laugh.

“[It] happened organically in the first rehearsal, because I needed to find a way to laugh, because Matthew Perry is so funny,” Wheeler said.

She added: “I created Janice’s laugh just as a safety measure for when Matthew made me laugh.”

In 2019, the actress voiced Trudy Pickering in the animated “Addams Family” film.

Prior to finding fame on Disney Channel, Cole Sprouse played Ross and Carol’s son.

During season seven, Rachel babysat Ben and taught him a few pranks so she could be known as “Fun Aunt Rachel.”

Sprouse went on to star as Cody on “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and currently plays Jughead Jones on “Riverdale.”

The show is currently in its fifth season and got renewed for another installment.

After “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and its spin-off series, “The Suite Life on Deck,” Sprouse took a break from acting and studied archaeology at New York University. He also interned at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the American Museum of Natural History.

Sprouse and his twin brother, Dylan Sprouse, graduated in 2015. Cole didn’t start acting again until he got a role as Jughead on “Riverdale,” based on the Archie comics.

“I read the pilot for ‘Riverdale’ and really enjoyed it, so when I got the role I decided to fulfill my obligation and see where it would take me,” he told Bustle of his decision to return to the spotlight. “It seemed like the right project because it was interesting and well-written. It was a new character that I haven’t tried before.”

Next, Sprouse will star alongside Lana Condor in an upcoming film for HBO Max called “Moonshot.”