All About Where the Cast of ‘Friends’ Is Now: Emmy Nominations, Lifelong Friendships, and More
Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox and Jennifer AnistonCredit: Getty ImagesThey’ve each carved their own path.THE GIST
Friends became one of the most popular TV shows of all time during its original run from 1994 to 2004.
The main cast included Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry.
Each cast member followed their own path in the industry after the show wrapped, leading to more Emmy nominations, iconic roles, and lifelong friendships.
From 1994 to 2004, Friends changed TV forever. Over its 10 seasons, the series received massive critical acclaim (earning a whopping 67 Primetime Emmy nominations overall), while becoming one of the most popular TV shows of all time.
Leading the series was the show’s tight-knit group of friends: Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and Matthew Perry. Onscreen, their characters got together, broke up, leaned on each other, argued over their apartments, and, most of all, made viewers laugh, smile, and cry in its most emotional moments.
“It was great; we really did get along,” Kudrow said of their on-set dynamic on the Armchair Expert podcast, per People. “We also worked hard at being friends. That six-way relationship took some work, and we did it.”
Though fans were sad when the show came to an end in 2004, the cast members were just getting their careers started. From Aniston establishing herself as a rom-com leading lady to Schwimmer’s iconic voice-acting work, the Friends cast continued their careers in the business, each carving their own path.
Below, see how they continued their careers and lives, both professionally and personally, since Friends wrapped.
Jennifer Aniston
Jennifer AnistonCredit: Getty Images
During her time as Rachel Green on Friends, Jennifer Aniston proved she was a powerhouse. In 2002, she won her first Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy for the role and established herself once and for all as a Hollywood leading lady.
While she starred in Friends, Aniston dedicated herself to a film career, with movies like Leprechaun (1993), Picture Perfect (1997), and The Good Girl (2002). She then became a rom-com darling, with movies like Along Came Polly (2004), Marley & Me (2008), The Break-Up (2006), and He’s Just Not That Into You (2009).
One of her breakout roles came in 2014 when she starred in Cake. The indie film led to her first Critics Choice Award nomination as well as a Golden Globe nomination.
Jennifer Aniston attends ‘The Morning Show’ Season 4 screening on June 7, 2026 in Los Angeles, California.Credit: Getty Images
After years starring in dramas, Aniston dipped her toes back into comedy with some hilarious performances in the Horrible Bosses movies (2011 and 2014), We’re the Millers (2013), and alongside Adam Sandler in Just Go With It (2011), Murder Mystery (2019), and its 2023 sequel.
In 2019, she made her long-awaited return to the small screen as news broadcaster Alex Levy in Apple TV’s The Morning Show. The role, which reunited her with her Friends onscreen sister Reese Witherspoon, earned Aniston two Emmy nominations and a SAG Award (now the Actor Awards) in 2020. “For years I feel like we have kind of grown up together,” Aniston told the crowd in her acceptance speech, per Us Weekly. “I know the few times I have been invited back into this room over the last 20-something years, it has been so special, the times that I have been invited. And to be up here is truly an honor.”
As for her personal life, Aniston was married to Brad Pitt from 2000 to 2005, as well as Justin Theroux from 2015 to 2018. She has been dating life coach and hypnotherapist Jim Curtis since July 2025.
Aniston’s maintained lifelong friendships with her former Friends castmates, particularly with Cox, whom she considers a best friend. “There’s absolutely no judgment in Court,” Aniston told More in 2014, per E! News. “You’ll never feel scolded. She’s extremely fair, ridiculously loyal, and fiercely loving.”
Courteney Cox
Courteney CoxCredit: Getty
Even before joining Friends as Monica Geller, Courteney Cox already had an impressive career. Known for her role in NBC’s Family Ties in the late ‘80s, and as the girl Bruce Springsteen dances with in 1984’s “Dancing in the Dark” music video, Cox already had several credits before Friends ever came along.
During her time playing Monica, she starred in another legendary role as Gale Weathers in Scream (1996). The horror movie not only became a cult classic, but has continued to put out sequels to this day, with the most recent installment, Scream 7 (2026), also starring Cox. “I’m such a fan of this franchise and where it started,” Cox told . “I’m so proud.”
Cox’s other major credits include the role of Jules Cobb in Bill Lawrence’s beloved comedy series Cougar Town, which lasted for six seasons from 2009 to 2015. The show led to Cox earning her first Golden Globe nod. She went on to star in Dirt, Shining Vale, and Mothers and Daughters. She’s taken on several directorial projects, too, including the true crime dramedy Evil Genius (2026), which premiered at the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival.
As for her personal life, Cox was married to actor David Arquette from 1999 to 2013, and the two share a daughter, Coco Arquette, who was born in 2004. Aniston is Coco’s godmother.
Lisa Kudrow
Lisa KudrowCredit: Getty Images
During her time as Phoebe Buffay in Friends, Lisa Kudrow earned six Emmy nominations and one win, making her the most award-nominated member of the show.
Unsurprisingly, her kooky Phoebe isn’t the only role that’s been memorable in her career. In 1997, she starred as Michele in the cult-classic comedy Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion alongside Mira Sorvino. The comedy movie is set to have a sequel, titled Romy and Michele 2, whichisscheduled to premiere on Hulu in 2027.
Other notable credits of Kudrow over the years include 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).
In 2005, she became known for her role as Valerie Cherish on the HBO comedy series The Comeback, which premiered in June 2005. It returned for a third and final season in May 2026. Kudrow received an Emmy nomination for each season of The Comeback, including an Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series nod in 2026.
Beyond her work life, Kudrow has been married to advertising exec Michel Stern since May 1995. They share one son, named Julian, who was born in 1998.
Matt LeBlanc
Matt LeBlancCredit: VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
Matt LeBlanc had already starred in TV shows like TV 101, Top of the Heap, and Married... With Children, before he took on the role of heartthrob Joey Tribbiani in Friends. For the role, he received several major award nominations, including three Emmy nods and a Golden Globe nomination.
Right after Friends wrapped, LeBlanc starred in the show’s spin-off, Joey. The series lasted just two seasons, but scored LeBlanc another Golden Globe nod. Since then, he’s gone into semi-retirement, only returning to acting occasionally. Among those post-Friends roles were the popular CBS sitcom Man With a Plan and Showtime’s Episodes, on which he played an exaggerated version of himself. Episodes ran from 2011 to 2017 and earned him a Golden Globe and four Best Actor in a Comedy Emmy nominations.
Notably, LeBlanc is also a race car-driving enthusiast and hosted the U.S. version of Top Gear from 2016 to 2019.
On the personal side, LeBlanc has one daughter, Marina Pearl LeBlanc, with his ex-wife, Melissa McKnight. He also shares a special bond with McKnight’s kids from a previous relationship, Tyler and Jacquelyn.
David Schwimmer
David SchwimmerCredit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images
Viewers sometimes had a love-hate relationship with David Schwimmer’s Ross Geller on Friends, but that’s what made his role so memorable. For the show, Schwimmer was nominated for one Emmy Award.
Since the show wrapped, Schwimmer has starred in a number of different TV and movie roles, spanning from portraying Robert Kardashian on FX’s The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story, which earned him an Emmy nomination, to voice-acting as the nervous giraffe named Melman in the Madagascar franchise. Other notable credits include HBO’s Band of Brothers, Will & Grace, Intelligence, and leading 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.
Off-screen, Schwimmer shares daughter Cleo with British artist Zoë Buckman, with whom he was married from 2010 to 2017. Cleo was born in 2011.
Matthew Perry
Matthew PerryCredit: Getty Images
Few onscreen characters were more memorable than Matthew Perry’s funny and charismatic Chandler Bing, which scored him his first Emmy Award nomination. He kept his charm going in rom-coms during and after Friends, including Fools Rush In (1997),Three to Tango (1999), and 17 Again (2009), costarring Zac Efron.
He also continued a career in TV comedy, starring in ABC’s Mr. Sunshine, NBC’s Go On, and a new version of The Odd Couple on CBS. Perry’s other notable roles include his turn on NBC’s The West Wing, which earned him two Emmy nominations, and on TNT’s The Ron Clark Story in 2007, which earned him another Emmy nod and his first Golden Globe award nomination. Perry’s last credited role was as Ted Kennedy in the four-part miniseries The Kennedys After Camelot, opposite Katie Holmes.
In addition to acting, Perry battled with substance and alcohol abuse throughout his life, and opened up about his experiences in his 2022 memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing. “I had to wait until I was pretty safely sober — and away from the active disease of alcoholism and addiction — to write it all down,” Perry told People. “And the main thing was, I was pretty certain that it would help people.”
Perry died at his home on October 28, 2023. He was 54. His autopsy confirmed that 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). “We are devastated to learn of Matthew Perry’s passing. He was a true gift to us all. Our heart goes out to his family, loved ones, and all of his fans,” the official Friends and Warner Bros. social media accounts posted following the news.
Netflix is releasing a three-part docuseries about the actor, called The One About Matthew Perry, later this month on October 27, 2026.
on InStyle
Source: Entertainment