It feels like yesterday they were sipping oversized lattes and navigating the messy reality of their twenties. But the pilot aired in 1994. Think about that for a second. We’ve spent decades watching reruns of Ross, Rachel, Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe, which makes it incredibly easy to forget that time actually moves forward for the actors, even if it’s frozen on Netflix. People constantly search for how old are the cast of Friends because the show’s timelessness creates a weird sort of cognitive dissonance. You see Jennifer Aniston’s face on a billboard and she looks incredible, then you flip to a Season 2 episode where she’s wearing a denim vest, and your brain just short-circuits trying to bridge the gap.
They aren't kids anymore.
Most of the cast is now comfortably into their late fifties. One is in his sixties. It’s a strange realization for a generation that grew up using "The Rachel" haircut as a reference point for youth.
Jennifer Aniston: The ageless Rachel Green
Jennifer Aniston was born on February 11, 1969. That makes her 56 years old as of early 2026. Honestly, she’s basically the poster child for "aging gracefully" in Hollywood, but she’s been very vocal about how much work it actually takes. It isn't just "good genes," though her father, John Aniston, was a soap opera legend who worked well into his late 80s.
She was 25 when the show started. Imagine being 25 and suddenly becoming the most famous woman on the planet because of a sitcom. By the time the series finale aired in 2004, she was 35. She’s spent the last two decades building a massive film career and recently returned to TV with The Morning Show, where she plays a character who is explicitly grappling with the industry's obsession with youth. It’s meta. It’s also very real.
Aniston has often spoken to outlets like Vogue and Allure about her regimen, which involves a lot of Pvolve workouts and collagen peptides. She seems to have a healthier relationship with aging than most people in her tax bracket. She isn't trying to look 20; she just looks like the most energized 56-year-old you’ve ever seen.
Courteney Cox: Monica’s drive hasn't faded
Courteney Cox is actually the "oldest" of the female leads. Born June 15, 1964, she is 61 years old.
🔗 Read more: Jack Blocker American Idol Journey: What Most People Get Wrong
When Friends began, Courteney was actually the biggest star in the group. She’d already been the girl pulled on stage in the Bruce Springsteen "Dancing in the Dark" video and had a stint on Family Ties. She was 30 when she first stepped into Monica’s apartment.
She’s been refreshingly honest about the pressures of staying young in Hollywood. In several interviews, most notably with Bear Grylls and The Times, she admitted to overdoing it with facial fillers at one point because she didn't realize she looked "a little off" to the public. She eventually had them dissolved. "I’ve had to learn to embrace movement and realize that fillers are not my friend," she basically told NewBeauty. That kind of transparency is rare. It makes her feel more like the Monica we know—obsessive, sure, but ultimately grounded in a desire to do things "right."
Lisa Kudrow: The Phoebe Buffay wisdom
Lisa Kudrow was born on July 30, 1963. She is 62 years old.
Kudrow was 31 when the pilot aired, making her the oldest member of the main cast. She’s always had a slightly different energy than the others—maybe because she was a bit more established in her personal life during the show's run. She married Michel Stern in 1995, and her real-life pregnancy was actually written into the show as Phoebe’s surrogacy storyline.
She’s stayed busy with projects like The Comeback and Web Therapy, which are arguably some of the smartest comedies of the last twenty years. Lisa has a degree in Biology from Vassar College, and you can kind of see that intellectual depth in how she handles her public image. She doesn't seem to chase the fountain of youth with the same intensity as the tabloid-staple stars. She’s Phoebe, but with a lot more cynicism and a lot more wit.
David Schwimmer: Still Ross after all these years
David Schwimmer was born on November 2, 1966. He is 59 years old.
💡 You might also like: Why American Beauty by the Grateful Dead is Still the Gold Standard of Americana
Schwimmer was 27 when the show started. He was the first one cast. He’s always been more of a "theatre guy," which explains why he’s spent so much of his post-Friends years directing or performing on stage in London and Chicago.
He’s aged exactly how you’d expect Ross Geller to age if Ross became a respected professor who occasionally got annoyed by TikTok. He’s kept a relatively low profile compared to Aniston, but his performance as Robert Kardashian in The People v. O. J. Simpson reminded everyone that he’s a seriously heavy hitter in the acting department. He turns 60 later this year, which is a wild thought for anyone who remembers him wearing those tight leather pants.
Matt LeBlanc: Embracing the silver fox look
Matt LeBlanc was born July 25, 1967. He is 58 years old.
Matt was 27 when he started playing Joey Tribbiani. He famously had about $11 in his pocket when he auditioned. Now? He’s doing just fine.
Of all the cast members, LeBlanc has leaned most into the "dad" aesthetic. He let his hair go gray years ago—actually, he started greying during the show and had to dye it black for years. On Top Gear and Man with a Plan, he leaned into that silver-haired, rugged look. He seems the most relaxed about the whole "aging in public" thing. Joey would probably have a hard time with it, but Matt seems to love just hanging out on his ranch and tinkering with engines.
Remembering Matthew Perry: The tragic gap
When we talk about how old are the cast of Friends, there is a heavy silence where Matthew Perry should be.
📖 Related: Why October London Make Me Wanna Is the Soul Revival We Actually Needed
Matthew was the youngest of the group. Born August 19, 1969, he would have been 56 years old now. He was only 24 when he started playing Chandler Bing.
His passing in October 2023 at the age of 54 was a gut punch to the fans and his castmates. His memoir, Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing, laid bare just how much of his "youth" was consumed by the struggle with addiction. Looking back at the show now, you can almost track his health by his weight fluctuations in different seasons. It’s heartbreaking. His absence in the "current age" conversation is a reminder that while the show feels like a permanent fixture of our lives, the people behind it are fragile.
Why we care about how old the Friends cast is
It isn't just celebrity worship. It’s about our own timelines.
When you see Jennifer Aniston or Matt LeBlanc aging, you’re forced to reckon with the fact that you aren't the same person you were in 1994 or 2004 either. We use them as a yardstick for our own lives. There’s also the "reunion factor." The 2021 HBO Max reunion was the first time many fans saw them all together in high definition without the "Hollywood gloss" of a scripted movie. Seeing them sit on that couch, grey hair and fine lines visible, was a moment of collective realization.
The "Friends" are in their 50s and 60s. Their "kids"—the actors who played Emma or the twins—are now in their 20s. Cole Sprouse, who played Ross's son Ben, is in his 30s. If that doesn't make you want to go buy some eye cream, nothing will.
The legacy of the "Friends" generation
These six actors changed how TV stars were paid. They negotiated as a unit, eventually making $1 million per episode. That financial security has allowed them to age on their own terms. They don't have to take every job that comes their way.
- Jennifer Aniston focuses on high-end Apple TV+ dramas.
- Courteney Cox has her home fragrance brand, Homecourt, and the Scream franchise.
- Lisa Kudrow does brilliant character work in indie projects.
- David Schwimmer focuses on directing and serious drama.
- Matt LeBlanc mostly enjoys his retirement with occasional TV hosting.
Actionable steps for the "Friends" obsessed
If you’re feeling nostalgic or just want to keep up with the cast as they enter this next decade of their lives, here is what you should actually do:
- Watch the 2021 Reunion: If you haven't seen it, watch Friends: The Reunion on Max. It’s the most honest look at how they’ve changed and how they feel about each other now.
- Read Matthew Perry’s Memoir: It provides a necessary, if painful, context to the show. It changes how you view Chandler’s humor.
- Follow their current ventures: Don't just watch the reruns. Check out The Morning Show (Aniston) or The Diplomat (where Kudrow often pops up in discussions of great comedic timing).
The cast of Friends might be getting older, but the cultural footprint of the show isn't shrinking. Whether they are 25 or 65, they’ll always be the people who were there for us when the rain started to fall. Just don't be surprised when you realize Ross is almost eligible for a senior discount.