Monica Geller terms of ethnicity, Crane confirmed that both Monica and Ross are half-Jewish, with their father being Jewish and their mother being of non-Jewish European ancestry. However, "Television's Changing Image of American Jews" categorized Monica as a "masked" Jew, explaining that "the smart, funny, and insecure Ross seems more Jewish" than Monica, who the author dismissed as "china-doll like" in appearance and demeanor. In his book "Encyclopedia of American Jewish History, Volume 1", author Stephen Harlan Norwood agrees that, unlike the show's male Jews, Monica's Jewish "markers" have been virtually removed. Although Monica and Rachel have remained best friends since high
Monica Geller believes that Cox's own cleanliness closely resembles her character's; at times the actress would clean her co-stars' dressing rooms. Cox also shares the character's motherly nature. The actress enjoyed portraying Monica she was able to "bring more of my own personality to her, and I've never really been able to do that before." Starpulse.com observed that "As Monica, Cox never quite enjoyed the sort of watercooler storylines that co-star ... Jennifer Aniston had with David Schwimmer as the on-again, off-again Rachel and Ross." At one point, Cox had begun to regret her decision to accept the role of Monica over