Rachel Green

Rachel Karen Green (or sometimes Greene) (born May 5, 1970) is a fictional character on the popular U.S. television sitcom Friends (1994-2004), played by Jennifer Aniston.

Background

Rachel appeared in the Pilot episode running into Central Perk in a rain-soaked wedding dress in search of her old friend Monica Geller, with whom she had had little contact since high school (except that she came to the Gellers' house for Thanksgiving during their freshman year of college as seen in a flashback scene). Rachel, unlike Monica, was popular during high school, and had always been promiscuous, which is steadily reflected in a comical sort of way throughout the series until the last couple of seasons. Rachel had fled her wedding to Barry Farber (or Barry Finkle, as has also been mentioned) having discovered she desired the gravy boat that she had been given as a wedding gift more than she desired Barry, Rachel was stuck in a state of arrested development, an adult woman who emotionally had not outgrown adolescence.

Rachel's parents are rich and generally disapproving of her lifestyle in the city. Her mother, played by Marlo Thomas, was comically snobbish and her lack of hands-on mothering skills came into when she offered to be the nanny to Rachel and Ross' baby. Her father, Dr. Green was stern and intimidating, as seen in his behaviour towards Ross when Ross and Rachel were dating.

In comparison to her sisters, however, Rachel was definitely the most grounded and down to earth Green daughter. Her sister Amy (played by Christina Applegate), was rude and shockingly tactless, while her younger sister Jill (played by Reese Witherspoon), was spoiled and vain.

Rachel's on-again and off-again relationship with Ross eventually produced a baby, Emma. Rachel's pregnancy was actually the second one of the group after Phoebe had acted as a surrogate to her brother's children. The show ended with Rachel getting back together with Ross. It is unknown whether or not they would marry again (They had drunkenly married on a trip to Las Vegas at the end of season 5). However a hint is dropped in the season premiere of the spin-off Joey where Joey states that all his friends were married, settled and started a family.

Personality

Rachel's personality evolved somewhat over the series. Early on, the focus was on her as a spoiled daddy's girl stereotype, although later in the series, especially after having her baby, Rachel became less self-absorbed. However, she was still the friend most focused on image and very selfish. She was often described as one of the most popular but also one of the snobbiest girls in school, and (Aniston's then-husband) Brad Pitt even once guest-starred as a jilted enemy from high school still angry at her treatment of him. Image-conscious Rachel had had a nose job at some point when she was a teenager, due she claimed, to a deviated septum. Flashback episodes show the teenaged Rachel with her much larger nose and the intimation is that the operation was for image rather than necessity, a fact seemingly confirmed by a flippant comment from her sister Amy regarding Emma - "Aren't you worried that she's going to inherit your real nose?". After an unhappy stint as a waitress, she was encouraged by her friends to follow her interests into the world of high fashion. Her focus on image and fashion often came at the expense of any domestic skills, of which she was mocked for having few. In one episode, for example, she memorably used meat when making the group a trifle for Thanksgiving dessert after misreading the recipe.

Relationships

Ross

Rachel is perhaps most famous for her turbulent relationship with Monica's brother Ross Geller. Ross had apparently harboured a crush for Rachel since ninth grade. When Rachel moved to the city, Ross tried to re-kindle his affection, and after a rocky start the two finally got together in "The One With the Prom Video". After an argument over Rachel's friendship with a male co-worker, Rachel announced that they were taking "a break". Ross, thinking that Rachel was ending the relationship, got so drunk that he slept with "the cute girl from the copy place", Chloe. When Rachel found out, she broke up with Ross in a famous scene that involved Ross and Rachel arguing in Monica's living room whilst the other four friends were trapped in Monica's bedroom. From then on, the two shared an almost-on again-almost-off again relationship. First, Ross said Rachel's name instead of Emily's at his disastrous wedding ceremony in London. Later, on a trip to Las Vegas, the two got married after a drinking binge. Unable to get an annulment, they had to divorce, despite Ross' panic over being a "triple divorcee". Rachel and Ross later had a baby, Emma, who was conceived after a one-night stand, although they chose to remain just friends and live together to raise Emma. Eventually, in the final season, Rachel and Ross finally got together after she almost moved to Paris for a new job.

Other relationships

• Ex-Boyfriends: Chips Matthews, Paolo, Josh, Danny, Tag Jones, Paul Stevens, Gavin Mitchell, Joey Tribbiani
• Ex-Fiance: Barry Farber/Finkle
• One Night Stand: Melissa Warburton

Family Members

• Father: Leonard Green
• Mother: Sandra Green
• Sisters: Jill Green, Amy Green
• Daughter: Emma Green

Career

Rachel got her first job as a waitress at Central Perk. She turned out to be hopeless, taking long breaks to sit with her friends and getting orders mixed up regularly. In the third season, after encouragement from Joey and Chandler she quit her coffee shop job to enter a career in fashion, working as a personal assistant at Fortunata Fashions and a personal shopper at Bloomingdale's. She finally became a buyer at Ralph Lauren, where she memorably had an affair with her assistant.

Dwellings

Rachel has lived with all of the friends at some stage. For six years, Rachel lived in Monica's apartment and they had a likeable, enduring chemistry which was to become one of the main elements of the show. She then moved in with Phoebe, with whom she squabbled over things like Pottery Barn furniture and their morning jogging routine. After her and Phoebe's apartment burned down, she moved in with Joey, but then after having her baby moved in with Ross. Later, she moved back in with Joey again.

It is often incorrectly stated that she has never lived with Chandler, however, in the previously mentioned episode in which her and Phoebe's apartment burned down, she briefly moves back into Monica's apartment (in which Chandler is also a resident) before moving in with Joey the next day (as punishment) after it is discovered that it was her abandoned hair straighteners which she had left turned on that started the fire.

Surname

Some inconsistency in the spelling of the surname has led to confusion as to the correct spelling. In the credits it is always spelled as "Green", particularly when referring to the surnames of her parents. However, within the show itself it has been spelled "Greene", including when her name was written on an invitation and subsequent RSVP.^[1] Considering the fact that the spelling "Greene" was seen on an invitation sent out by an outside party, the correct surname most probably spelled "Green" based on the show's credits. The name plate on her office door also says Greene.

The subtitles of the DVDs also change: in the earliest seasons' DVDs it's spelled Greene, than changing it to Green.

The invitation was sent to Rachel by Ross, whom one would assume knew how to spell her name correctly.

Age and birthday

Although Rachel's age is treated inconsistently by the show's writers, the best evidence is that she was born on May 5, 1970 or 1971.

• Birthday Month and Day

In Season Four's "The One With Joey's New Girlfriend", Rachel tells Gunther her birthday is May 5, and this is consistent with the month of birthday parties thrown for her on the show, e.g. the party in Season One's "The One Where Rachel Finds Out", which aired in May, 1995, and Season Five's month-early surprise party in "The One Where Rachel Smokes", which aired in April 1999. Rachel's 30th birthday, however, is celebrated in February in Season Seven's "The One Where They All Turn Thirty", which aired on February 8, 2001. (There is no question that the party is on the birthday itself: Rachel at one point says "In Guam I'm still 29".) Rachel also mentions that her birthday is after Valentine's day in The One with the Girl from Poughkeepsie ("next thing you know, it'll be Valentine's day, then my birthday, then... Bang! They're lighting that damned tree again".) A birthday in February is also consistent with Rachel's statement to a police officer in Season 7 that she is an Aquarius (Jan. 21-Feb. 19) --May 5th would make her a Taurus.

• Year of Birth

A 30th birthday in 2001 (Season Seven's "The One Where They All Turn Thirty") implies that Rachel was born in 1971. Her 30th birthday is celebrated as the last while the 30th birthday of others are shown in the flashback which makes her the youngest of all six. However, a 29th birthday in 1999 (Season Five's "The One Where Rachel Smokes") implies that she was born in 1970. In other episodes, Rachel's stated age is inconsistent with birth in either 1970 or 1971, and advances at varying speeds. Chandler refers to her as 28 in Season 3's "The One Where Rachel Quits" (December 12, 1996), but 15 months later Rachel describes herself as 28 in Season 4's "The One with the Fake Party" (March 19, 1998).

Trivia

• Rachel, like Ross, has kissed all five of her fellow Friends castmembers. She kissed Ross numerous times during their romantic relationships, she kissed Chandler at a college party in "The One Where the Stripper Cries", she kissed Phoebe when Phoebe wanted to know what the fuss was after Rachel convinced her that she shared a passionate kiss with her old sorority buddy in "The One with Rachel's Big Kiss", she kissed Joey numerous times during their brief relationship, and she kissed Monica after striking a deal with Chandler and Joey to get their apartment back if they kissed for one minute in front of them, though this is off-screen.

• One of Rachel's trademark expressions when shocked or angry was to drag out the enunciation of the word "no". This was periodically paired with Monica's "I know!".

• Two of Jennifer Aniston's real life boyfriends portrayed characters on the show: Tate Donovan as Rachel's boyfriend Joshua during the fourth season and Brad Pitt as Will, a high school classmate whose intense dislike of Rachel was revealed when he came to Thanksgiving dinner in "The One with the Rumor". (Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston were married by the time the episode aired.)

• In season 8, she sees all male friends naked.

• Rachel was both the first credited Friend and the last introduced.

Notes and references

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