Thanks to her success as half of the series' perennial romantic couple, Ross and Rachel, she propelled from films like 1993's oddball horror flick Leprechaun to rom-coms tailor-made for her, like Picture Perfect (1997) and Along Came Polly (2004). The previously unknown Jennifer Aniston was the breakaway star from the breakaway hit that was Friends - and the only one to earn an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy for her performance on the show. NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images Marc Piasecki/WireImage

(And judging from the combined track records of this bunch, they rarely turn out well!) Helpful hint: If you become suddenly, wildly famous as the star of a major sitcom, you might want to cool it on the slew of rom-com roles you will inevitably be offered.

So let's take a look back at the careers of our six best Friends and where they are today. And last year, the syndicated series cemented its move from Netflix to HBO Max with a widely viewed and Emmy-nominated reunion special in 2021, complete with appearances from former guest stars, a Friends fashion show, and emotional table reads. But the actors never strayed too far from their fellow castmates, as they often appeared in each other's follow-up sitcoms. This is a conundrum that faced the cast of NBC's Friends, which ran for a full decade from 1994 to 2004, resulting in six very different present-day portraits of fiftysomething success.

It's a 'problem' any struggling actor would kill for: You star in an iconic hit TV series for a full decade - impacting hairstyles, fashion, and catchphrases ('We were on a break!') - while the syndication rights ensure you'll be beloved for generations to come. Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images HBO Max

Who we are now cast