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 as "Family Ties" and "Ace Ventura: Pet Detective", the "Los Angeles Times" Steve Weinstein believes that Monica was the first major role in which Cox was cast based on her abilities as a comedic actress as opposed to her beauty. Cox believes that she owes winning the role to her brief stint as Gabriella Easden on the short-lived sitcom "The Trouble with Larry", which she considers to be the first time she played a character who "was the funny one", which in turn earned the actress a recommendation for "Friends" following its cancellation. When "Friends" premiered, Cox was the show's