So no one told you life was gonna be this way... Your 20s are a weird time. Your job’s a joke, you’re broke. Your love life’s D.O.A. It helps to have a good support system… or at least friends who can make you laugh. Friends is an iconic sitcom about a group of… friends who live in New York City (in surprisingly large apartments). They do normal everyday things like moving a huge couch up a tiny staircase, playing football, and dressing up like the Holiday Armadillo to give Ross’s multi-faith son a unique holiday experience. While some of them have known each other since high school, or birth in the case of Ross and Monica, some are newer to the group like Joey who joined after he became roommates with Chandler. They don’t always have their lives together and that’s okay! They’ve got each other to lean on. The One Where It All Began Monica Geller Monica Geller is Ross’s younger sister. She’s a chef who values cleanliness, tidiness, and order. She once purchased car cleaning supplies because she saw a dirty car in front of her building, despite not owning a vehicle herself. Phoebe used to live with her, but moved out when she was worried that Monica’s tidiness would hurt her friendship with carefree Phoebe. When she was younger, Monica was never the favorite child. Her parents heavily favored Ross, which could be the reason she used to eat her feelings. Rachel once told her that Mrs. Geller said Rachel was the daughter they never had. Ouch. They even used her childhood belongings to plug a leak in the garage, ruining them. However, they do love their daughter (even if they love Ross more). Monica has a fierce competitive side. In the heat of the moment, she wagered her apartment in a game of trivia against Chandler and Joey. She and Rachel lost on the last question because they didn’t know what Chandler did for work. Chandler Bing Could he be any snarkier? Miss Chanandler Bong joined the group when he roomed with Ross in college. Chandler joined the Geller family for Thanksgiving and Monica overheard him call her fat, which angered her. She lost weight in her rage, and later (unintentionally) severed his little toe at another Thanksgiving gathering. Chandler has unresolved issues from his childhood, stemming from his relationship with his estranged parents. His mother is a successful novelist, and his father is a drag artist in Las Vegas. They divorced when he was young, so he has commitment issues which makes him struggle in his relationships. He uses humor to cope with his insecurities to varying success. Chandler admits he loves Monica after seeing her wearing a turkey with sunglasses on her head, thinking it was hilarious. The friends don’t exactly know what Chandler does for work, only that he’s in IT. Ross asked this as a question in a trivia game between Chandler/Joey and Monica/Rachel. Phoebe Buffay Phoebe Buffay is the free-spirited guitar player of the group. She and her sister, Ursula, had a troubled childhood, which caused her to become homeless at 14. She did some unscrupulous things out of necessity, like when she robbed a kid (who later turned out to be Ross) of his backpack which had the artwork for his comic book, “Science Boy”. For work, Phoebe has a few side gigs she uses to pay the bills. She’s a masseuse and a singer/songwriter, often performing at Central Perk. While she may not be the most technically talented singer, her creativity is unmatched. Children love her for this and her brutal honesty about the facts of life. Phoebe performed songs about grandparents (their deaths) and cows (the horrors of the dairy industry) at a public library program, leading her audience of children to dub her “The Lady Who Sings About the Truth”. Phoebe’s spirituality is something she talks about often. She says that two of her past lives worked as Red Cross nurses. Central Perk Central Perk is a coffee shop on the same block as Monica’s apartment in Greenwich. The gang hangs out on the same orange couch most days. Rachel gets a job here after losing access to her dad’s money. She never had to work before this so she struggled to complete orders, often mixing up items. Her friends tease her about this because she even goofs their orders. She shows very little interest in her job, spending much of her on-the-clock time sitting and talking with her friends. When customers are rude, she delivers them “sneezers.” Rachel’s manager, Gunther, has a huge crush on her. She sometimes uses this to her advantage, like when she gets Joey re-hired after Gunther fires him for leaving work to audition for a role. She doesn’t reciprocate these feelings though, believing Gunther to be gay until he officially confesses his love to her. Phoebe regularly performs her music at Central Perk. Other artists perform there as well, once including Phoebe’s ex-singing partner Leslie. What are they feeding you? Phoebe’s musical endeavors often bring a level of discomfort to awkwardness to any event. She often writes songs about gripping topics such as sticky shoes, little black curly hairs, and suicide. One of her most popular songs is “Smelly Cat” which she sings multiple times throughout the show. While most of Phoebe’s songs don’t make it outside of Central Perk, “Smelly Cat” got a commercial release, though Phoebe’s voice was replaced by an older singer. The Central Perk hired a new musician (played by Chrissie Hynde of The Pretenders) one day and Phoebe did not care for her musical style, so she taught her how to play “Smelly Cat”. In 2015 Lisa Kudrow (who plays Phoebe) performed the song live with Taylor Swift on her 1989 tour. “Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, What are they feeding you? Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, It's not your fault!" Oh. My. God! Janice Litman-Goralnik first appeared as the longtime girlfriend of Chandler whom he was struggling to break up with. Phoebe helps him by breaking up with her on his behalf, but he soon gets back together with her. They break up, then get back together, then break up… Chandler rarely expects Janice’s returns. They run into each other through happenstance most of the time, with Janice always being the one to clock him. In her abrasive nasally voice, she calls out “Oh. My. God!” The rest of the group finds her annoying because of her voice, laugh, and inability to read the room. Despite getting under the skin of the group, Janice is quite kindhearted, supporting Rachel during childbirth when they end up in the same delivery room. She wants to move in next door to Monica and Chandler, so they make up a lie to not hurt her feelings. Chandler says that he still has feelings for her, which shocks her. Janice agrees to stay far away from him so as to not jeopardize his relationship with Monica. What the duck? Joey is known for picking up chicks, but the one he got with Chandler was a lot smaller (and feathery-er). Chandler didn’t originally want the animal and made Joey go return him. However, Joey came back with not only the chick, but also an adult duck. Chandler was mad, but the cuddly animals quickly grew on him. Chandler and Joey treat the chick and duck as their children. After Chandler kissed Joey’s girlfriend and Joey threatened to move out, Chandler said that the birds were having a tough year already (the apartment was robbed recently) and Joey moving out would make it even harder on them. Central Perk Smelly Cat Janice The chick and the duck "WE WERE ON A BREAK" Rachel Green Rachel Green (sometimes spelled Greene) was Monica’s childhood best friend. Ross had a crush on her, but she just saw him as Monica’s geeky older brother. He didn’t know how to deal with his feelings, so he created the “I Hate Rachel Green Club” with his friend Will (portrayed by Brad Pitt who was married to Jennifer Aniston) who was bullied by Rachel and had genuine hatred for her. Years later, Rachel leaves her fiancé Barry at the altar, giving up her financially comfortable life for one of personal freedom. She begins to work at Central Perk and invites herself to move in with Monica. Despite her distaste for work, she is willing to help her friends. Like when Ross asked her to help move a couch up the stairs, she obliged even though he was over-explaining the process, insisting that she “PIVOT” when there was nowhere to pivot, as it was already touching the wall. Her relationship with Ross is… complicated, but they eventually have a beautiful baby girl named Emma. Ross Geller Ross has been divorced more times than Joey has eaten food in the shower. His first marriage ended because his wife came out as a lesbian. They have a child together named Ben, who spends most days with his moms. Ross has an on-and-off relationship with Rachel. They drunkenly got married in Las Vegas, and Ross has reservations about getting an annulment. That becomes his downfall as they have to get a divorce because he waited too long to deal with the issue. This was his third divorce. Another point of contention in their relationship was when Ross slept with another woman while the two were on a break. Feeling down and alone, Ross adopted Marcel the monkey as a roommate. Eventually, Ross has to give up Marcel when he starts hitting puberty and refuses to be quelled by his favorite song, “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”. Later there is a break-in at the zoo and Marcel goes missing. The gang investigates and learns that Marcel has become an actor. Joey Tribbiani How you doin’? Joey is the class clown of the group. Professionally, he is an actor most known for his role in Days of Our Lives. He played Dr. Drake Ramoray until he fell out of the writers’ good graces. They killed his character by making the neurosurgeon fall down an elevator shaft. Later he returns after a brain transplant with Jessica Lockhart who has a habit of throwing drinks in her enemies' faces before she slaps them. Joey’s favorite things in the world are food and women. He’s said on multiple occasions “Joey doesn’t share food” even when on dates. When in a car with Ross, they hear what they believe to be a gunshot. Joey lunges, saving Ross. However, Joey was just saving his meatball sub. Joey is the least book-smart friend. This makes him insecure, so he purchased a single encyclopedia to give him an edge in conversation. He knows all there is to know about words that start with the letter “V”.