Friends cast now - politics row, tragic drug death and major star looking 'unrecognisable'

Unbelievably it has been 30 years to the day since Friends first aired - so here's a look at what David Schwimmer, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc and Matthew Perry all got up too after starring in the hit show

It was a Friday night in 1994 when a new sitcom following the lives of a bunch of twenty-somethings navigating the highs and lows of life in New York first aired on TV.

While at first glance it looked like these six friends Rachel, Ross, Monica, Joey, Chandler and Phoebe had it all - we soon laughed along with them at their dating disasters, attempts at adulting and hilarious mishaps. Three decades since they first won us over, we take a look at where the sitcom stars are now.

Today, September 22, 2024, marks 30 years since the premiere of Friends. Widely considered one of the best sitcoms of all time, at the height of its success Friends was broadcast in 60 countries and watched by 22 million viewers per episode. Today, it’s still one of the most streamed shows on Netflix and has a whole new fanbase of Gen Zers. Some 20 years since the last ever episode we take a look at where the Friends cast are now.

READ MORE: Friends' 30th anniversary will be 'a little fraught' after Matthew Perry's death, creators admit

READ MORE: Friends star slams iconic sitcom and makes race claim 30 years on

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston’s career took off when she was cast as Rachel Green - a spoiled rich kid trying to make it on her own without daddy’s trust fund.

Friends’ fans couldn’t get enough of Rachel and Ross’ on and off romance - Ross’ declaration “We were on a break’ has even become a catchphrase that has made its way into cultural history.

Hearts melted when writers dished up the perfect ending and saw them get back together for the final episode 20 years ago.

Jennifer’s off-screen love life has proven just as intriguing to fans - particularly her marriage to Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt who ironically made a guest appearance on Friends' Thanksgiving episode in 2001 playing a character who hated Rachel.

In real life, the couple split up In January 2005 after almost five years of marriage amid rumours that Brad had become close to his Mr and Mrs Smith co-star Angelina Jolie, who he began officially dating soon after.

Following their divorce, America’s girl next door dated John Mayer, Paul Sculfor and Vince Vaughn, before marrying Justin Theroux but their marriage ended in divorce just two years later.

Her career has remained lucrative - she’s one of the highest-paid actresses in the world and since finishing filming for Friends she has starred in films such as The Break-Up (2006), Marley & Me (2008) and We’re The Millers (2013).

She is currently starring in the Apple TV+ drama series The Morning Show as Alex Levy where she is an executive producer on the show and has won Primetime Emmy, Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards.

Jennifer isn't afraid to say what she thinks, criticising Donald Trump ’s vice-presidential candidate, JD Vance, for calling Democrats a "bunch of childless cat ladies with miserable lives".

"I truly can’t believe that this is coming from a potential VP of the United States," she wrote on Instagram. "All I can say is… Mr Vance, I pray that your daughter is fortunate enough to bear children of her own one day."

David Schwimmer

David played Ross Geller in the sitcom, Monica’s older brother who had an on/off romance with Jennifer's character Rachel Green.

No one was shocked when it later transpired that Jennifer and David also had feelings for each other in real life. During the reunion show in 2021, they both said it never progressed because they were both seeing other people. "The first season I had a major crush on Jen," Schwimmer said, to which Aniston added that "it was reciprocal".

Away from the cameras, David had relationships with other well-known leading ladies such as singer Natalie Ibruglia and Minnie Driver. David later married English artist, photographer and writer Zoë Buckman who he had a daughter with in 2011 before splitting up in 2023.

Schwimmer reportedly led a campaign for pay rises throughout the series, taking their salaries from $22,500 per episode in season one to $1m for the finale.

He has also worked as a director, including many episodes of Friends during his time on the series.

Following Friends he starred as Robert Kardashian in O.J. Simpson : American Crime Story, which earned him an Emmy nomination to match his previous one from Friends. He also had a voiceover stint in the Madagascar franchise as a very nervous giraffe named Melman and recently admitted he didn’t become a huge filmstar like co-star Jennifer Aniston because he turned down Will Smith’s role in Men in Black.

Matthew Perry

Playing funny man Chandler Bing on screen allowed Matthew Perry to hide his struggles with pills and booze which he openly talked about later in life.

His sarcastic, quick witted one liners had viewers in stitches but sadly his battle with drug addiction cost him his life and he died at home in October last year. On screen he finally learns how to commit and settles down with Monica Bing but off screen he suffered a string of failed relationships which left him 'sad and depressed' as he longed for a wife and a family.

Perry dated several famous actresses throughout his life, including Julia Roberts and Lizzy Caplan (Mean Girls) but never married.

He never found lasting love once admitting he was mystified by the fact that he wasn't the only Friends star who was unlucky in love.

In his memoir Friends, Lovers and The Big Terrible Thing published in 2022, he gives an honest and often hilarious look at what his life was like when the cameras were off. He had film success with Fools Rush In before Friends fame in 1997 and later starred in The Whole Ten Yards (2004), and 17 Again (2009).

Matthew spent most of his life addicted to alcohol and painkillers which snowballed during the 10 years he appeared on the show.

Perry turned his $10m Malibu beach compound into Perry House, a men's sober living facility in 2012, and the project received an award from the White House the following year. Sadly, he died of a Ketamine overdose in his heated pool aged just 54. A physician and a woman infamously known as "the ketamine queen" are set for a joint trial next year over the death of the Friends icon according to a judicial decree.

The duo are implicated among five individuals accused of exploiting the American star's vulnerability following his relapse into addiction last autumn. S

Santa Monica doctor Salvador Plasencia is accused of engaging Perry's in-house assistant Kenneth Iwamasa to deliver ketamine to the star. Plasencia will share the dock with purported drug trafficker Jasveen Sangha dubbed by law enforcement as "the ketamine queen" who allegedly exchanged ketamine worth $11,000 (£8,553) for cash with Perry.

Courteney Cox

Courteney Cox played clean freak Monica who had a string of failed romances but finally married Matthew Perry's Chandler in season 7.

Her relationship with Chandler was only supposed to be a secret fling at Ross’ disastrous London wedding. However, fans loved the storyline so much that writers kept them together and ended the series with the couple adopting twins and moving out of the city to the suburbs.

In real life, Courteney was married to David Arquette who she met on the set of the horror film Scream in 1999 before divorcing in 2013.

The couple have a daughter Coco, born in June 2004 whose godmother is Jennifer Aniston. Cox also dated actor Michael Keaton, Jason Statham and is currently in a relationship with boyfriend Johnny McDaid who she has had an on/off relationship.

While Monica was her most famous role making her a worldwide name, Courteney had some success before Friends starring in Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" music video.

Since 2004 she’s starred in the Scream franchise and directed and produced the black comedy film Just Before I Go. She has launched her own lifestyle brand HomeCourt and just released a perfume which she says her Friends character Monica Geller would “work well with’ thanks to its spicy and grounded notes.

She's also just celebrated her 60th birthday and says her stringent beauty regime - which included cryotherapy - keeps her looking young. Cryotherapy, a treatment involving exposure to extremely low temperatures, helps reduce inflammation and improve skin tone.

Matt LeBlanc

Matt LeBlanc is best known for playing loveable ladies' man Joey Tribbiani who is remembered for his pick up line ‘How you doin?’, along with his charming dim-wittedness and obsession with sandwiches. His one liners and charm won over many leading ladies and legions of fans. The scene where he wears all of Chandler’s clothes and lunges while going commando and mimics his flatmate by saying ‘Could I be wearing any more clothes?’ is pure comedy gold.

Away from the cameras he reportedly dated a string of actresses and models including Minnie Driver and Kate Hudson. In 2003 he married model turned actor Melissa McKnight in 2003 who he had daughter Marina with before splitting up in 2006. LeBlanc, who hasn't appeared on screen since the Friends reunion in 2021, appears to be single after splitting from Aurora Mulligan in 2022.

Matt was reportedly down to his last eleven dollars before landing the role of Joey Tribbiani in Friends. While playing Joey in Friends was no doubt his biggest role, he has had success since starring as a fictionalised version of himself in Episodes from 2011–2017, for which he won a Golden Globe Award.

He also co-hosted Top Gear from 2016 to 2019 and played the lead role of Adam Burns in the CBS sitcom Man with a Plan.

Last month he looked unrecognisable as he made a rare public appearance in Los Angeles - the first time he has been photographed in public following the passing of his friend and former co-star Matthew Perry in October 2023.

Lisa Kudrow

Quirky, eccentric and free-spirited, Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe who provided so many laughs for Friends fans during its ten-year stint. She often sang her quirky songs at their favourite coffee shop Central Perk, changed her name to Princess Consuela Banana-Hammock and was the surrogate for her brothers triplets. Phoebe would come out with one-liners like ‘I wish I could, but I don’t want to’.

Lisa is the only Friend cast member whose love life has seemingly run smoothly and is married to Michael Stern with whom she shares a son Julian. Although he keeps his life quite private, we do know that he is an advertising executive who was born and raised in France. The couple found out Lisa was pregnant when she was still working on Friends and the actress's pregnancy was written into the show when Phoebe was a surrogate for her brother Frank and his wife.

In 2007, Kudrow received praise for her starring role in the film Kabluey and appeared in the film P.S. I Love You. She produced and starred in the Showtime program Web Therapy (2011–2015), which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She’s also starred in films including The Girl on the Train (2016), Long Shot (2019), Like a Boss (2020) and Better Nate Than Ever (2022).

Sign up to the Irish Mirror'sdaily newsletter hereand get breaking news and top stories direct to your inbox.