Friends: Every Main Character's Age At The Start Of The Series - CBR

It's not very easy to determine the age of the Friends main characters in Season 1, but the show offers plenty of clues. Friends follows the lives of six pals from their mid-20s to their mid-30s. Monica, Rachel, Phoebe, Chandler, Ross, and Joey remain in each other's lives through the ups and downs of adulthood. They find love, grow in their careers, and evolve as they become more mature and grounded.

Friends has 10 hilarious seasons, allowing audiences to watch their favorite characters live their lives and grow over a decade. Throughout the sitcom's 10-year run, the main characters experience considerable development individually and as a group. At the beginning of the series, they are young, directionless 20-somethings. Throughout Friends, they turned into mature grown-ups, some of them with children. But how old are the characters in Friends in Season 1?

Updated on April 22, 2025, by Ajay Aravind: Friends may not have aged very well, but it remains one of the major pop-cultural touchstones of the 1990s. Powered by the admittedly hilarious antics of the six main characters, the series influenced the entire sitcom genre. That said, it was often criticized for its lack of attention to detail, specifically regarding the Friends characters' ages. This article is updated with more relevant information and to reflect CBR's current style guide.

Ross Geller's Age Is One of the Most Consistent

Ross Was 26 Years Old in Season 1

Ross Geller is Monica's older brother and Rachel's main love interest throughout Friends. When fans first meet him, he's a somber and depressed man struggling through a recent divorce from his ex-wife Carol. There's no mystery to his age at the beginning of the show, as Ross clearly states in the first episode of Friends that he is "26 and divorced." Ross likes to act as if he's the most mature member of the group, always lecturing his friends and playing the older brother not only to Monica but to the whole group.

As Friends continued, most of his comments about his age and birthday are somewhat consistent with Ross being born in 1967. This lines up with other statements he makes, like when he says he's 29 in Season 3 when Chandler offers Ross chocolate milk. He states in Season 9, Episode 2, "The One Where Emma Cries" that his birthday is October 18, and given the series begins in September 1994, when he's 26, that'd make Ross' birth year 1967. However, Ross' age in Friends shows some inconsistencies as well, much like the rest of his friends' ages. When Gunther is making a list of birthdays to get Rachel's, Ross starts saying his birthday is in December before being cut off.

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Starting the show as a 26-year-old divorcee, Ross was in a dark place when Friends began. Carol had just come out as a lesbian and started living with her partner Susan, which Ross didn't take very well. To make matters worse, Carol was pregnant with his son, and Ross wasn't mature enough to co-parent with his ex-wife and her new girlfriend. However, as the show progressed, Ross came to see the real love between Carol and Susan, even becoming a part of their wedding. He also got to parent another child, this time with Rachel. While Ross suffers a lot of heartbreaks, in the end, he stays with Rachel, the love of his life.

Monica Geller Was a Little Older Than Rachel Green

Monica Was 24-25 Years Old in Season 1

Monica Geller is Ross' competitive younger sister who is also obsessed with cleaning, a trait that drives Phoebe to move out of her apartment. Monica's apartment serves as the primary meeting place for the group, and Monica fills in the role of Mother Hen. In the pilot episode of Friends, Rachel calls off her wedding and arrives at the coffee shop, where she runs into Monica and eventually stays with her at Monica's apartment. Rachel is Monica's high school friend, and the two are around the same age.

However, Monica's birthday is never officially stated in Friends. Fans can deduce her age by clues given, and the fact that she's two years younger than Ross and went to school with Rachel. In Season 1, Episode 22, "The One With The Ick Factor," where Monica is dating a younger man, it is revealed that she is 26 years old. The episode aired in May 1995, meaning at the beginning of the series, Monica would have been 25 years old. But Monica's age is one of the most inconsistent of the Friends characters' ages. In different episodes throughout Season 1, Monica is either 24, 25, or 26. Yet, many fans agree that Monica was most likely 25 in Friends Season 1.

Independently of Monica's exact age in Friends, she begins her show in her mid-20s, still trying to figure out everything in her life. Her work life becomes a roller coaster when she's fired, and she has to go through several unsatisfying jobs before finding one she truly likes. She dates her father's best friend, Richard, for a very long time, only to realize they are in very different places. However, in the end, Monica finds a great job in one of New York's finest restaurants and true love in Chandler, with whom she forms a family. The end of the series sees Monica and Chandler moving to a new house and starting a new chapter in their lives.

Rachel Green Is the Youngest of the Six Friends

Rachel Was 24 Years Old in Season 1

Rachel Green's age and birthday throughout Friends are a little inconsistent. The most consistent birthday for Rachel is May 5th, which is mentioned several times throughout the series. However, other details and celebrations have mentioned Rachel's birthday in February. In Season 7, Episode 14, "The One Where They All Turn Thirty," which aired in 2001, Rachel turns 30, which would make her birth year 1971. Yet, her 29th birthday is in 1999 since they organize her birthday party in Friends' Season 5, Episode 18, "The One Where Rachel Smokes." This would put her age at around 23 or 24 in Friends Season 1.

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However, Rachel is supposedly the same age as Monica, as the two were best friends in high school. Monica states she's 26 in an episode from 1995, which could mean Rachel was 24 in 1994 and 25 in 1995. Before the era of streaming and binge-watching, TV series didn't have as much consistency. This is particularly true with sitcoms such as Friends, where episodes were written without much regard for continuity or the friends' ages. However, it can also be possible that Rachel was purposefully lying about her age at some point, which would still be in character with Rachel's personality. The only thing fans can agree on is that Rachel was the youngest of the beloved Friends group.

As the youngest character in Friends, Rachel was a bit lost at the beginning of the series. The show begins when Rachel enters Central Perk in her wedding dress as she escapes her own wedding ceremony. She proceeds to start living with Monica, applying for the only job she is almost qualified to do: serving coffee. Rachel likely has the most character development in Friends: she goes from a spoiled rich girl to an independent woman. She manages to make a profitable living in the fashion section and becomes self-reliable.

Chandler Bing Was Around the Same Age as Ross

Chandler Was 26 Years Old in Season 1

Image via NBC

Chandler Bing is Ross' best friend from college. Out of all the friends, Chandler's age and birthday are referenced the least in Friends. There are only a few comments and clues about his birthday, however. In "The One Where Rachel Smokes," the group throws a surprise party a month early for Rachel, and she remarks that Chandler's birthday is before Rachel's. Many agree Rachel's birthday is on May 5th, which would put Chandler's birthday sometime in April. However, this bit of information isn't really helpful considering Rachel's age fluctuates throughout the series.

In Season 6, Episode 17, "The One With Unagi," Monica mentions that Chandler's birthday is in a month and a half. This episode takes place on February 24, putting Chandler's birthday again around early April. There aren't any real mentions regarding Chandler's actual age or birth year, but Chandler's relationship with Ross makes him around the same age.This means thatChandler was most likely also 26 in the first season of Friends.

In the first season, Chandler is one of the few people in the group with a stable job, but it turns out he hates it. While Chandler made a pretty decent living for several seasons, even taking care of Joey's bills, he eventually quit to pursue his dream with Monica's support. Chandler was a bit insecure at 26, but 10 years later, he was a confident married man, ready to face any challenge, such as a new job and raising twins.

Joey Tribbiani's Age Is Very Inconsistent in the Series

Joey Was 25-26 Years Old in Season 1

Image via NBC

Joey Tribbiani is Chandler's loyal best friend and roommate. This is a particular case because Joey's mental age heavily differs from his real age. Since the beginning of Friends, Joey is presented as a somewhat dumb, immature man; a teenager stuck in a man's body. Like the other friends' ages, Joey's age and birthday change throughout the series. Joey's age seems to change as the writers try to make it fit the episode's narrative. Since Friends came out before the era of streaming, trying to know exactly how old the characters are at the beginning of the series involves a little bit of guesswork in a few cases.

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In Season 1, Episode 23, "The One With The Birth," Joey states he is 25. However, in Season 2, Episode 16 "The One Where Joey Moves Out," Joey states he is 28. Then, in Season 6, Episode 19, "The One With Joey's Fridge" in the sixth season of the show, Joey mentions spring break in 1981, and Monica states he was 13 at the time, which would put his birth year in 1968. That would make Joey 26 in Friends Season 1. In Season 10, Episode 4, "The One With the Cake," Ross says that Joey will be 52 in 2020, when Emma turns 18. This supports the idea that Joey was born in 1968.

A 26-year-old man in the first season, Joey was single and almost jobless, a status he pretty much kept during the entire series. Still, Joey had a couple of meaningful romances that show how much he grew during the show. He also managed to finally make a stable career out of his passion for acting. Many people thought Joey was idiotic, but he was pretty wise at times and was good at finding his own happiness.

Phoebe Buffay Was the Oldest of the Group

Phoebe Was 27-28 Years Old in Season 1

Image via NBC

Phoebe Buffay is the most interesting character among the six friends. Her complicated childhood made her misremember some things about her life and even her own age, which makes Phoebe's age one of the hardest to decipher among the Friends characters' ages. Phoebe's wild stories, which she lets slip every so often, are shocking and sometimes heartbreaking, and they let fans figure out more about Phoebe's life.

In Season 3, Episode 5, "The One With Frank, Jr.," fans learn that Phoebe's birthday is February 16. In "The One Where They All Turn Thirty," Phoebe's twin sister Ursula tells her they are 31, not 30 as Phoebe thought. In Season 4, Episode 1, "The One With The Jellyfish" from Season 4, which aired in 1997, she mentions she's 29, which would make Phoebe around 26 or 27 in Friends Season 1. In Season 9, Episode 15, "The One with the Mugging," it is implied that Phoebe was older than Ross when she lived on the street and accidentally mugged him. This would make Phoebe the oldest character in Friends' main cast.

Phoebe had a pretty difficult life, but she managed her happy ending. Phoebe always pursued her dreams and was constantly making music and starting new projects. She eventually married Mike, the love of her life, despite having to choose between him and the one who got away, David. In the end, the audience knew Phoebe was going to be in a good place because she always knew how to fend for herself.

How Old Are Friends' Main Characters at the End of the Show?

The Six of Them End the Series in Their Mid-to-Late 30s

By the time Friends drew to a close, fans witnessed a decade of events in the lives of Ross, Monica, Rachel, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe. Despite inconsistent birthdays and strange date rotations, it's possible to draw a parallel between the age of Friends' main characters and the show's 10-year run on air. The fact that every season of Friends has a Thanksgiving or a Christmas episode indicates that each season is a full year, resulting in continuity errors regarding the characters' ages.

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Despite the variabilities, it's possible to conclude that every main character in Friends is in their late 30s at the end of the show, with Phoebe approaching the 40-year-old landmark. They may have started as younger and immature versions of themselves, which allowed the spark of comedy to blossom into a pop-cultural inferno. That said, the six Friends end their character arcs on largely final notes, with the exception of Joey.

How Old Would the Six Friends Be in 2025?

They Would All Be in Their Late Fifties

Image via NBC

Joey was the first and only Friend to leave the US East Coast in order to boost his acting career in Los Angeles. The spinoff Joey ran for two seasons without even being a fraction as successful as its predecessor, causing NBC to cancel the show. Joey was seemingly planning to give its titular protagonist a chance to earn the same life of domestic bliss shared by his friends, something that can never happen now. Still, Joey did mention that all his "friends got married and had kids and moved on," suggesting that the other Friends remained true to their original endings.

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Now that they are vastly more mature than they used to be, however, it's clear that any reboot wouldn't have the same comedic impact as Friends itself. As such, fans have wondered about the trajectories of their character arcs over the last two decades. Fans laws saw the six friends together in "The Last One, Part 2," where all of them prepare to embark on the next stage of their respective journeys. Chandler Bing sarcastically delivered the last line of the series, and the camera later came to a final stop at the door to Monica's apartment.

All the Friends Are Likely Still in Close Contact

Image via NBC

Twenty years later, Rachel would have likely risen in the fashion field, perhaps even developing her own fashion label. Her travels to Paris could have caused friction between her and Ross, but this only strengthens their enduring relationship. Their daughter Emma would have graduated college by 2025, with Ross and Carol's son Ben already having reached 30. For his part, fans hope that Ross ended up winning at least one Nobel Prize, but they can settle with his becoming the Dean of the Paleontology department at New York University.

Phoebe could have certainly become an Internet sensation with dubstep renditions of "Smelly Cat," but she genuinely wanted to explore her life with Mike. Neither of them had children by the Friends series finale, but they might follow in Monica and Chandler's footsteps and adopt a baby or two. Still, Phoebe is too eccentric to limit herself to maternal duties, so fans can imagine her delightfully innovative career path. Perhaps even a wellness studio run by 58-year-old Phoebe swarming with famous NYC clientele.

Meanwhile, Monica and Chandler have settled down at their house in New York's Westchester County with two new children to look after. Monica might have given up her high-stress career in favor of something simpler, like opening a bakery. Still, it's far more likely that she's a successful restaurant owner and celebrity chef. On the other hand, Chandler's distaste for his job suggests a future in homemaking and child-rearing. With Joey's ambiguous conclusion, fans can assume Joey moved back to New York to reconnect with the others. After all, Chandler did say Joey would have a special room above their Westchester garage. Overall, the best outcome for all of them would be remaining in close contact and growing old together.

Friends

Like Follow Followed TV-14 Comedy Romance Release Date 1994 - 2004 Network NBC Showrunner Marta Kauffman Directors Kevin S. Bright, Gary Halvorson, Michael Lembeck, James Burrows, Gail Mancuso, Peter Bonerz, David Schwimmer, Robby Benson, Shelley Jensen, Terry Hughes, Dana De Vally Piazza, Alan Myerson, Pamela Fryman, Steve Zuckerman, Thomas Schlamme, Roger Christiansen, Sheldon Epps, Arlene Sanford, David Steinberg, Joe Regalbuto, Mary Kay Place, Paul Lazarus, Sam Simon, Todd Holland Writers Jeff Astrof, Mike Sikowitz, Brian Boyle, Patty Lin, Bill Lawrence, R. Lee Fleming Jr. Franchise(s) Friends

Cast

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• Jennifer Aniston Rachel Green
• Courteney Cox Monica Geller

Follows Chandler, Joey, Monica, Phoebe, Rachel and Ross, friends who live in the Manhattan borough of New York City.

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