Monica Geller character on "Friends"", citing her cleanliness, bluntness and role as "the heart of the group", among others. Loiacono enthused that Monica "didn't just have one defining aspect; she had many, and they were all equally hilarious. Not to mention, her ambition and vulnerability resulted in some of the show's most touching and heartbreaking moments". Additionally, Loiacono dismissed the fact that Cox has never received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Monica as "downright criminal". In 2015, HitFix wrote a similar article entitled "5 Reasons Monica Geller is the Best "Friends" Friend", published in tandem with Cox's 51 birthday.
Monica Geller the crew attempted to conceal Cox's pregnancy using a combination of baggy, loose-fitting costumes and props instead. However, at times the actress' growing belly was still detectable by viewers in spite of the crew's best efforts. At the beginning of season one, Monica is 25 years old. Rita Loiacono of SheKnows Media believes that Monica is the show's most fully realized character from the very beginning of the series because her "quirks were developed to a tee." Like several strong female sitcom characters who were popular throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Monica possesses a natural maternal instinct, constantly "vocalising a