Monica Geller approximately half of the show's episodes, and has since proven popular enough to be adapted into an internet meme. While each main character eventually evolved into household names the longer "Friends" ran, the once-obscure actors by whom they were portrayed gradually established themselves as celebrities. According to "Elle", the combined popularity of Monica and Cox established them both as television icons during the 1990s. Additionally, baby name books now commonly associate the name "Monica" with the character. As the role in which Cox "found fame", Monica remains the actress' most iconic role to-date, as well as the part for which
Monica Geller several cooking-related jobs throughout the series, having worked at five different restaurants, a trend that nearly coincides with her constant rotation of boyfriends in an ongoing search for the "perfect match". Michael Hogan of "The Guardian" believes that the character's "competitive, perfectionist, obsessive-compulsive nature made her ideally suited to a career as a chef." However, her love of cooking and food is also responsible for her having been extremely overweight as a child, throughout high school and college. The running gag of an overweight Monica is often used as a recurring backstory for the character throughout the series, first explored