Here's how the 'Friends' cast looked in the first episode, the 2004 finale and the show's 2021 reunion

When Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) appeared in the first episode of "Friends" in 1994, she had just fled her own wedding to Barry Farber (Mitchell Whitfield).

Fast-forward to the finale in 2004. She had gotten off the plane, that would've taken her to a new job in Paris, to be with Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) after the many ups and downs in their relationship over the years.

Aniston was 25 when "Friends" started, and 35 when it ended after 10 seasons. She joined her costars for HBO Max's "Friends: The Reunion," in 2021, and said she found filming more difficult and emotional than she expected because of how much her personal life had changed since the series ended. At the time of the series finale, she had been married to Brad Pitt.

She told The Hollywood Reporter: "Then you get there and it's like, 'Oh right, I hadn't thought about what was going on the last time I was actually here.'"

Courteney Cox's Monica Geller is the reason Rachel ended up becoming part of the group in the first episode. She recognizes her former classmate at the Central Perk coffee house and invites Rachel to move in with her after hearing that her father had cut her off financially.

Like Rachel, Monica was also single when the series began. But by the finale, she was married to Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), and they had adopted a pair of twins. In the final minutes of the episode, we see them leaving the iconic "Friends" apartment to move to Westchester.

Cox's career continued to flourish following the end of "Friends." She went on to star in the successful ABC show "Cougar Town."

In 2022, Cox told "Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist" that she didn't remember filming much of the iconic series.

She explained: "That was because I just have a bad memory. It's really basic. I don't remember any trauma in my childhood, but I have like three memories. I don't know. I don't know why."

Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry) is Ross' best friend from college, and when the series starts he's living with Joey. In the first episode, Chandler and Joey try to support Ross now that he's single again, although they both make fun of the situation.

While Chandler makes jokes about everything, he does get serious with Monica. They move into a house in Westchester County with their twins in the series finale.

Fans were concerned when Perry's speech sounded slurred in the reunion special, although he apparently had dental surgery on the same day, according to the reunion's director, Ben Winston.

The star has been open about his problems with substance abuse in the past, and previously said that Jennifer Aniston reached out to him a lot while they were still filming the show to offer him support.

Lisa Kudrow's Phoebe Buffay is already part of the group in the series premiere when they meet Rachel in Central Perk. In the episode, she joins Chandler and Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) in teasing Monica after she goes out with someone and denies it was a date.

Ten years later, by the series finale, Phoebe is married to Mike (Paul Rudd) and acting as a surrogate mother for her brother Frank (Giovanni Ribisi) and his wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp). In the finale, she helps Ross get to the airport so he can try and win back Rachel.

When promoting "Friends: The Reunion," Kudrow said she was most surprised by the fact that Justin Bieber was involved with the special.

Matt Leblanc's Joey Tribbiani is a struggling actor at the beginning of the series. However, he slowly becomes more famous after he lands a starring role on "Days of Our Lives" as Dr. Drake Ramoray.

In the finale, Joey helps Chandler and Monica pack up all their stuff from the apartment before they move into their new house in the suburbs. He offers the pair a housewarming gift of a duck and a duckling as a housewarming present, but Chandler ultimately tells him that he should be the one to keep them.

LeBlanc went on to star in the short-lived spin-off series, "Joey," in which his character moves in with his nephew and dates their building's superintendent.

LeBlanc joined the rest of the cast at "Friends: The Reunion," and his appearance quickly became a meme online after Irish Twitter said he looked like everyone's favorite uncle.

When Ross Geller (David Schwimmer) showed up in the first "Friends" episode, he instantly let audiences know what they were in for. His wife Carol (Jane Sibbett) had called off their marriage after coming out as a lesbian and Ross was feeling lovesick.

Ross' love life continued to be a series of highs and lows. But in the end, his love for Rachel prevailed. Although she rejected him at first, Rachel ultimately decided to get back together with Ross and the show ended with the pair reunited again once more. get off the plane to Paris for her new job, and the pair finally got together.

During the reunion, Schwimmer complained about working with two capuchin monkeys who played Ross' pet, Marcel. This didn't go down well with monkey trainer Mike Morris who worked on the show. Morris said Schwimmer was simply jealous of how funny the monkeys were.