See What the “Friends” Cast Did After the Iconic Show Ended 22 Years Ago
See What the “Friends” Cast Did After the Iconic Show Ended 22 Years Ago
Grace Gavilanes, Emily KrauserThu, June 18, 2026 at 1:21 PM UTC
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Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, David Schwimmer as Ross Geller, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing, Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green and Courteney Cox as Monica Geller on 'Friends' in 1994Credit: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU/getty -
Friends aired on NBC for 10 seasons from September 1994 to May 2004
The cast featured Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc
Perry, who played the relatable Chandler Bing, died at his home in October 2023
It's been 22 years since the cast of Friendsbid an emotional farewell to fans and their iconic New York City apartment.
The NBC sitcom premiered on Sept. 22, 1994, and ran for 10 seasons. Centered on six best friends living and working in Manhattan, Friends quickly received critical acclaim and became one of the most popular TV shows of all time.
Not only did the series skyrocket the careers of its ensemble cast — Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer and the late Matthew Perry — but the core six maintained a close friendship in real life since the show's two-part finale on May 6, 2004.
While reuniting for Variety and CNN's Actors on Actors interview series in June 2026, Aniston and Kudrow reminisced about initially meeting at the cast's first table read, where everyone felt shocked to be there.
"I knew these people were really special, and I knew the show was really special, so something felt special," Aniston told CNN when asked if they knew the show would be successful.
In addition to various reunions over the years, the cast notably got back together for HBO Max's Friends: The Reunion special in May 2021 — not knowing it would be the last gathering for all six actors before Perry's death in 2023.
"It's funny, when we do get together, it's like no time has passed," LeBlanc told PEOPLE at the time. "We pick up right where we left off."
After being there for audiences for more than 230 episodes, including the ones celebrating Thanksgiving, catch up on what the cast members have been up to after grabbing their last coffee on-screen.
01 of 06
Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green
From left: Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green on 'Friends'; Jennifer Aniston attends 'Elle' Women in Hollywood at the Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills in L.A. on Nov. 17, 2025Credit: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank; Kayla Oaddams/WireImage
Aniston played Rachel Green, who became so much more than the shopping-obsessed runaway bride introduced in season 1. Not only did her character land a coveted job at Ralph Lauren, but she also — much to everyone's delight — finally ended up with Ross (Schwimmer) on the show's series finale.
She won an Emmy in 2002 for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance on Friends. Aniston kept the laughs going in Horrible Bosses (2011) and its 2014 sequel, We're the Millers (2013), Murder Mystery (2019) and Murder Mystery 2 (2023). She has also taken dramatic turns in indie films such as Cake (2014), The Yellow Birds (2017) and Dumplin'(2018).
In 2019, the Los Angeles native returned to the small screen alongside Reese Witherspoon, who portrayed her Friends on-screen sister Jill, on Apple TV's The Morning Show. For the latter, she's earned a SAG Award (now the Actor Awards) and two Emmy nods for her portrayal of Alex Levy on the drama.
In her personal life, Aniston has been dating hypnotherapistJim Curtis. PEOPLE first confirmed the relationship in July 2025. She previously had high-profile marriages to fellow actors Brad Pitt and Justin Theroux.
02 of 06
David Schwimmer as Ross Geller
From left: David Schwimmer as Ross Geller on 'Friends'; David Schwimmer attends opening night of 'Oedipus' on Broadway at the Studio 54 Theatre in N.Y.C. on Nov. 13, 2025Credit: NBCU Photo Bank; Bruce Glikas/WireImage
Oh, Ross Geller. We rooted for Schwimmer's paleontologist-turned-professor despite not always agreeing with his decisions throughout the show's 10-year run.
Cut to 2016, and within a few seconds of viewing The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, audiences completely forgot about his Friends character and became enraptured by his portrayal of the late defense attorney Robert Kardashian Sr.
Schwimmer then had a seven-episode arc on the second season of the Will & Grace reboot as Grace's foe-turned-boyfriend Noah. From 2020 to 2023, he starred as Jerry Bernstein on the British cybercrime comedy Intelligence, created by his costar Nick Mohammed. In 2025, he led the second season of the Goosebumps anthology series. He's also guest-starred on his former Friends castmates' shows, including Kudrow's Web Therapy and LeBlanc's Episodes.
On the big screen, the New York-born actor appeared in John Carter (2012),The Laundromat (2019) and Little Death (2024). He also lent his voice to the character Colin Belfast for season 1 of the psychological thriller podcast series Homecoming.
Off-screen, Schwimmer shares daughter Cleo with British artist Zoë Buckman, with whom he was married from 2010 to 2017. He has been romantically linked to UCLA medical school grad Eliana Jolkovsky since January 2025.
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Courteney Cox as Monica Geller
From left: Courteney Cox as Monica Geller on 'Friends'; Courteney Cox attends the 'Scream 7' global premiere at Paramount Pictures Studios in L.A. on Feb. 25, 2026Credit: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank; Eric Charbonneau/Getty
Hands down the most organized friend, Cox's Monica Geller won us over with her neurotic antics and, of course, her super-romantic proposal to Chandler (Perry).
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Since the series wrapped, Cox has continued to shine on TV. The actress not only starred on ABC's Cougar Town, which ran from 2009 to 2015, but also directed a handful of its episodes. She stepped behind the camera for her first feature film as well, 2014's Just Before I Go. Cox returned to the small screen in 2022 for the Starz comedy-horror series Shining Vale.
She's also directing David Harbour in the biopic Evil Genius, which wrapped filming in December 2025, per a post Cox shared on Instagram; however, the crime thriller doesn't have a release date as of June 2026.
After first portraying Gale Weathers in the original Screamfilm in 1996, the Alabama native has reprised the role in every sequel since, including 2026's Scream 7.
Like Schwimmer, she's also reunited with her Friends costars on-screen, including Kudrow on Web Therapy and Perry on Go On. Aside from Hollywood, Cox launched the very Monica-coded home and body care brand Homecourt in January 2022.
She was married to her Scream costarDavid Arquette from June 1999 until their divorce was finalized in May 2013, and the friendly exes co-parent daughter Coco. Cox has been in a relationship with Snow Patrol musician Johnny McDaid since 2013.
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Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay
From left: Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay on 'Friends'; Lisa Kudrow visits 'Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen' in May 2026Credit: NBCUniversal via Getty; Charles Sykes/Bravo via Getty
Kudrow's Phoebe Buffay was the bohemian comic relief, who introduced us to our favorite song of the '90s, "Smelly Cat," remained constantly at odds with her twin, Ursula (also played by Kudrow), and married Mike (Paul Rudd).
Following her time on the show, Kudrow has stayed busy with roles on TV shows such as Web Therapy, Space Force and Time Bandits and in the films The Girl on the Train (2016), Long Shot (2019), Like a Boss (2020), Better Nate Than Ever (2022) and The Parenting (2025).
The L.A. native is also beloved for her role as Valerie Cherish on the cult-favorite comedy series The Comeback, which premiered in June 2005 and ended with its third and final season in May 2026.
Kudrow has been married to advertising exec Michel Stern since May 1995; the pair share adult son Julian.
05 of 06
Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani
From left: Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani on 'Friends'; Matt LeBlanc attends the Children's Hospital Los Angeles' CHLA Gala at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, Calif., on Oct. 8, 2022Credit: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank; Momodu Mansaray/Getty
Sure, Joey Tribbiani might have been a bit of a ladies' man — okay, a big ladies' man — but his charm and iconic opening line ("How you doin'?") made the soap opera actor all the more lovable. LeBlanc reprised the role for the two-season spinoff show Joey.
Following Friends, the Massachusetts native has had a successful career on the small screen, earning a 2012 Golden Globe for his role as an exaggerated version of himself on Showtime's comedy Episodes, which aired from 2011 to 2017. He also led the Emmy-nominated CBS series Man with a Plan for four seasons from 2016 to 2020.
LeBlanc shares one child, daughter Marina, with ex-wife Melissa McKnight.
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Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing
From left: Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing on 'Friends'; Matthew Perry attends the 'GQ' Men of the Year Party at the West Hollywood EDITION in West Hollywood, Calif., on Nov. 17, 2022Credit: Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank; Robin L Marshall/WireImage
Leave it to Perry's Chandler Bing to deliver a sarcastic remark or punch line. Not only did the character keep us laughing throughout the show's run, but it simultaneously made us "aww" whenever he and Monica shared a sweet moment.
The Canadian-American actor stayed busy after Friends, starring in Birds of America (2008) and 17 Again (2009), as well as on the shows Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, Mr. Sunshine, The Good Wife, Go On, The Odd Couple and The Good Fight. His last credited role was as Ted Kennedy in the four-part miniseries The Kennedys After Camelot, opposite Katie Holmes.
After struggling with sobriety, Perry went on to help others living with drug and alcohol addictions. In 2018, he suffered a gastrointestinal perforation that left him bedridden for three months. Perry wrote about his experience with fame and substance abuse in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.
Perry died at 54 at his home on Oct. 28, 2023. An autopsy report obtained by PEOPLE in December 2023 revealed the actor died from acute effects of ketamine, with contributing factors including drowning, coronary artery disease and the effects of buprenorphine (a medication used to treat opioid use disorder).
On Aug. 15, 2024, five individuals — including two doctors and Perry's personal live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa — were arrested in connection with his accidental overdose, and all have been sentenced as of May 2026.
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