Monica Geller, played by Courteney Cox, was the mother hen of Friends. She’s the cook, the organizer, and often the voice of reason in the show’s main cast of six friends. She also happens to be a chef and owns her own restaurant and catering company that plays an important role in her life as well as to the show’s plotlines. Here’s everything you need to know about Monica from Friends! Monica Geller: The Mother Hen of Friends
Table of Contents
Introduction
As a bossy perfectionist, Monica is often seen trying to improve other people. She’s quick to point out mistakes and flaws with sometimes mean-spirited criticism. As such, she can come off as bossy and judgmental, even though she doesn’t intend to be. When it comes to her own flaws and faults, however, she is far less forgiving and quick to try to hide her mistakes.
Before making friends…
We all have them in our lives. And chances are we have one (or several) who, at times, drives us nuts. However, no matter how frustrating they can be, it’s best to remember that they’re always there for a reason–and if you don’t have a Monica in your life right now, know that she’ll always be there when you need her most. Here are some reasons why Monica is friends with us all…
Before becoming friends…
Monica and Rachel were enemies at school. Monica was popular and Rachel was not. However, they end up becoming friends after they both become attracted to Joey in Season One’s The One With The Blackout (S1E7). They fall out with each other again when Rachel dates Ross behind Monica’s back in Season Two (S2E3), but reconcile once more before moving into their apartment together in Season Three (S3E5).
Before introducing friends…
It’s worth mentioning that Monica Geller is played by Courteney Cox, who has a strong resemblance to Rachel Green. In fact, it was Cox who approached producers about switching roles with Jennifer Aniston because she felt that Monica was funnier than Rachel. However, after seeing how Monica treated her friends and family, it became clear to me why Cox wanted to play Rachel instead. I think everyone can relate to when a friend or family member (or both) starts trying to control everything you do for their own good. For example, when a friend suggests something unhealthy for dinner but you want something more healthy, your friend’s knee-jerk reaction is often don’t even think about it, which quickly turns into full-blown nagging.
Before moving out…
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which originally aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004. It now airs on Nick at Nite. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. Main characters are Monica (Courteney Cox), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry) and Ross (David Schwimmer). It was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions and Warner Bros. Television without a single word being changed in what follows.) Title: And One More Thing…
After relationships end…
The end of a relationship can be devastating, but it doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re going through a breakup or want to maintain happy relationships moving forward, here are four ways to make sure that happens. 1) Set boundaries with your ex-partner: It’s important not to let emotions push you into friends with benefits territory, which can lead to hurt feelings on both sides later down the road if things don’t work out. 2) Schedule in time for yourself and friends : If you’re spending all your time moping around over your ex or constantly trying to contact them by phone or text, it’s time for a change.
After having kids…
Monica had two children, Jack and Erica. Overweight as a child, Monica fears she is destined to become obese again, a fear that continues even after she becomes thin. In one episode, Monica states she cannot eat a burger without thinking about how many calories are in it. With her appearance-oriented personality and status as a chef in New York City restaurants, she faces enormous pressure to remain thin; and whenever she gains weight (particularly when pregnant), she goes into hysterics. She often seeks out food when stressed or bored. One of her friends describes her as addicted to food.
There are ups and downs…
Monica is in love with Chandler Bing, whom she marries at the end of season seven. They divorce after season ten. Monica is known for her competitive nature, obsessive-compulsive attention to detail, bossiness and perfectionism. Monica’s personality and maternal instinct polarizes her from her roommates; they either see Monica as nice or needy. Despite being very intelligent, having excelled in school (as shown by flashbacks), graduating summa cum laude and winning awards for various achievements, she has an inflated sense of self worth and is extremely insecure about nearly everything – although not always logically so.
Friendship fights happen…
Monica is infamous for her explosive fights with her friends and family. She doesn’t always deal with issues in a mature way, but we still love her! In fact, a relationship doesn’t have to be perfect to last forever… Her difficult and needy personality only adds to Monica’s charm. She may come off as too intense or even demanding at times, but she has a big heart and sometimes that can overwhelm her better judgment. A lot of us don’t realize how much we rely on those closest to us until they are not there anymore…it takes more courage than you might think to mend broken relationships. By learning from our mistakes and forgiving others when they make mistakes too, we set ourselves up for happiness both now and later on down the road.
Families become involved…
Monica has an on-again, off-again romantic relationship with Jewish Paleontologist Richard Burke. They have a daughter, Erica, who Monica marries in season ten. She’s been married to Chandler Bing since season seven and they have twins, Jack and Emma. During season 1 she dates her cousin/building’s superintendent Joey Tribbiani; later he moves in with her for a brief period when his acting career fails until he becomes successful again. On rare occasions over the series she has other sexual partners such as Danny Devito & Giovanni Ribisi; but normally has very few sexual encounters outside of main relationships.
Enemies occur…and peace talks begin…after all is said & done..over a bottle of wine!
The term ‘Truce’ derives from a French word meaning ‘seasoning with salt’. During times of war, when two or more groups were constantly at war, they would agree to a truce. To end hostilities and begin to work together as friends instead as enemies. With no winner or loser…just another way to spice up life after all is said & done..over a bottle of wine!
Is Courtney Cox anything like Monica?
No, not really. As an actress on a hit sitcom for ten years (15 if you count Friends and Arrested Development), it’s hard to imagine Cox hasn’t acted like Monica in real life at least once or twice. But Cox is much quieter than her character in real life; she doesn’t have such extreme likes and dislikes, and she definitely doesn’t obsess over things like Monica does. Though Cox was overweight as a child, she doesn’t seem to see herself as anything like Monica now. She does admit that there’s one thing about herself that’s very similar to her character: I’m funny and I’m kind of bossy, she says. Source : dailymail UK
Who was originally supposed to play Monica in Friends?
Courteney Cox has been friends with David Arquette since childhood. When she told him that she was going to be offered a role in a new TV show, he thought it would be perfect for her. He called up his agent, who got in touch with Paul Junger Witt and David Crane (the creators) and told them about Courteney. They ended up offering her the part of Monica Geller before they had even met her, which just goes to show how much faith they had in David’s judgement!
Are Courteney and David Schwimmer still married?
After meeting on set, Cox and Schwimmer dated for three years. In June 1997, they broke up because their careers had kept them apart. In February 2002, they reunited and married at a private residence in Beverly Hills, California. They have two children together, daughter Coco Riley (born September 2004) and son Kyd Miller (born November 2006). On December 6, 2015 they announced that they were getting divorced after ten years of marriage.
Did David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox date?
No. David Schwimmer and Courteney Cox were never an item while they were on Friends. Rumors claimed that they hooked up at one point, but it’s not true. They first met when they were just kids, in 1984 when Schwimmer was 14 years old and Cox was 15 years old. Cox played Polly Grant, Ross’s girlfriend for a season on Family Ties before landing her iconic role as Monica on Friends. To add to all of that, in 2016 she told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live that she didn’t even really know Schwimmer back then! I had a crush on him for a couple years, she confessed.
