Ross Geller

Lore & Background

Ross is a paleontologist and has a Ph.D. His romantic feelings toward Rachel Green, which began as a high-school infatuation, are an ongoing theme of his narrative arc. Raised on Long Island, Ross is the elder brother of Monica Geller, and son of Jack and Judy Geller. Ross and Monica are Jewish and see themselves as at least cultural Jews, with Ross taking a more active role in wanting to teach his son, Ben, about the faith. Ross gets divorced and is newly single in the first episode because his wife, Carol, has realized she's a lesbian. Later in the series, he dates Rachel, but they split up when he sleeps with another woman the night they decide their relationship is "on a break". After his relationship with Rachel ends, Ross marries Emily Waltham, the niece of Rachel's boss. However, because Ross says "I, Ross, take thee, Rachel" instead of Emily during the nuptials, the marriage doesn't last long. In season 5, Ross and Rachel drunkenly marry in Las Vegas, and ultimately that marriage results in a divorce as well. Throughout the series, Ross gets divorced three times. A running theme in Ross's narrative is his competition with Monica, manifested through wrestling and paranoia. As children, they took part in a family football game for the "Geller Cup" every Thanksgiving. This tradition ended in its sixth year after Monica "accidentally" broke Ross's nose. The siblings came up with a dance in primary school called "The Routine", which they performed as adults at Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve in a New Year's Eve TV broadcast. Ross often comes into conflict with Phoebe Buffay over evolution, gravity, and whether Phoebe's mother was reincarnated as a cat. It is also revealed that Phoebe once mugged Ross (stealing a copy of the comic book Science Boy that Ross had created) when they were teenagers. Since college, Ross's best friend has been Chandler Bing. In college, they were in a band called Way/No Way, and Ross blamed Chandler when he was caught smoking marijuana. They become brothers-in-law after Chandler married Monica. Ross is friends with Rachel Green, whom he has had a crush on since high school. Rachel viewed Ross as 'Monica's geeky older brother' during high school. Ross is also close friends with Joey Tribbiani and helps him with auditions. He kisses Joey once in order to help him practice a role as a gay man, only to find out that Joey had already done the audition and didn't get the part. Ross has two children: his son, Ben, was conceived while Ross and Carol were still married and born at the end of Season 1. Ross shares joint custody of Ben with his ex-wife Carol and her wife Susan. Ben appeared in a total of 24 episodes (25 including uncut episodes) and was played chronologically as follows: as an infant by Michael Gunderson in Seasons 1 & 2, by brothers Charles Thomas Allen and John Christopher Allen from Seasons 3 to 5, and by Cole Sprouse from Seasons 6 to 8. Ross' daughter with Rachel, Emma Geller-Green, was born at the end of Season 8. Rachel's pregnancy was revealed in the season finale of Season 7. The conception of Emma was the result of a one-night stand, which was later revealed in the Season 8 episode, "The One With The Videotape". Ross claims to have "given up a career in basketball" to become a paleontologist and claims that the ideas for Jurassic Park and Die Hard were stolen from him. He also had a major interest in music, playing the keyboard for hours in the basement of their house in Long Island. Ross also claims credit for the Got Milk? slogan. Ross had a pet in the first season of the show: a white-headed capuchin monkey named Marcel (although the monkey used in the series was a female called Katie).

In Their Own Story

Ross begins the series as a divorced father seeking stability but often finds himself creating chaos through insecurity and jealousy. His rivalry with Monica shapes much of his early behavior, though they share an unbreakable sibling bond. Professionally, he excels in paleontology. His romantic arc is the show's central thread, oscillating between Rachel Green and other partners like Julie, Bonnie, Mona, Chloe, Janice, and Emily over many seasons. Key moments include his initial marriage to Carol, marrying Emily, drunkenly marrying Rachel in Las Vegas, and ultimately having a daughter with Rachel years later.

Reader's Guide

Over the course of the show, Ross dates a considerable number of women. He is married three times and divorced three times. His proclivity to marry and divorce is a running gag within the series. Julie: An old graduate school colleague, portrayed by Lauren Tom. She first appears in the final scene of the Season 1 finale, returning with Ross from an archeological dig in China. They start dating in Season 2 but break up after Ross discovers Rachel's feelings for him and decides he wants to be with her instead. It is heavily implied that she starts a relationship with Russ, an ex-boyfriend of Rachel's with an uncanny resemblance to Ross. Bonnie: A love interest (played by Christine Taylor) introduced to Ross by Phoebe. Bonnie is formerly a militant bald woman who no longer shaves her head. She enjoyed a sex-filled relationship with Ross until a conniving Rachel broke them up by first encouraging Bonnie to shave her head again, which she knows will bother Ross, and later by revealing she was interested in reuniting with Ross. Mona: A love interest he met at Monica and Chandler's wedding (portrayed by Bonnie Somerville). Ross becomes paranoid after Mona proposes to send out Christmas cards together, and in a panic decides to give her a key to his apartment. It is later revealed that Mona is unable to say "I love you" yet, and delivers what the female friends refer to as "an emotional slap in the face" with "I love spending time with you". The relationship ends when Mona discovers that Rachel is living in Ross's apartment after Ross neglects to tell her this himself. When he hides in her apartment to retrieve his shirt while she is on a date with another man, Mona, under the belief that Ross wants to win her back, admits she still has feelings for him but states that they both need to move on. Chloe: Ross's only connection with Chloe (referred to in a few prior episodes as "the cute girl from the copy place with the belly button ring") was a one-night stand during a break in his relationship with Rachel, which interferes with their attempt to get back together. Although only covered over two episodes in Season 3, Ross' fling with Chloe would be the basis of the "We were on a break!" running joke that would last until the very end of the series. Janice: Ross has a brief fling with Janice, Chandler's ex-girlfriend, in Season 5. Phoebe said they would have very hairy children. Janice ironically dumps Ross because he whines too much.

Did You Know?

• Ross was the first person to be cast on Friends because the writers were already developing his character in David Schwimmer's voice.
• Ross's pet monkey Marcel was actually a female named Katie.
• Ross claims the ideas for Jurassic Park and Die Hard were stolen from him.
• Ross and his sister Monica created a dance called 'The Routine' in primary school, which they performed as adults on Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.
• Ross's son Ben appeared in 24 episodes (25 including uncut episodes) and was played by three different actors across the series.