Monica Geller minutes and forty-six seconds apart. Although the surprise addition of Monica and Chandler's twins was generally well received, critics questioned the fact that the babies are brought home from the hospital the same day as their delivery Monica is portrayed by American actress Courteney Cox. Crane and Kauffman had originally written the role of Monica for comedian Janeane Garofalo, their first choice, because they were attracted to her "edgier and snarkier" voice. However, Garofalo ultimately turned down the offer. Actress Jami Gertz was also offered the role but declined, while actress Leah Remini auditioned for Monica before ultimately being cast
Monica Geller best friend Rachel because the actress "had this cheery, upbeat energy", which was significantly different than how they had envisioned Monica at the time. Feeling she was not "quirky" enough to portray Rachel, Cox lobbied in favor of playing Monica instead because she was drawn to the character's "strong" personality, but the producers feared that she was not "tough" enough for the role, which was offered to actress Jennifer Aniston, alongside whom Cox would eventually co-star. Meanwhile, a close competitor for the role was actress Nancy McKeon; Littlefield recalled having greatly enjoyed both actress' auditions equally, and left the final