Courtney Cox marked 20 years after 'FRIENDS' finale — the show still generates wealth for her

Even 30 years since its premiere,  the landmark  NBC sitcom, F.R.I.E.N.D.S continues to thrive. Earlier this year, the show celebrated its finale's 20th anniversary, with stars and fans across the globe pouring tributes. One of them was a star of the show herself, Courtney Cox, who shared a heartfelt message on social media.

The 20th anniversary of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. finale

On May 6, the actress, 59, shared an emotional post to mark the 20th anniversary of the hit show's final episode. “It’s been 20 years since the series finale of Friends,” Cox wrote in the caption of her Instagram post.  “I don’t know how we were able to act through all the tears. Forever grateful," she added while sharing a clip from the show. 

In the scene shared, Monica (played by Cox),  Ross (David Schwimmer), Rachel (Jennifer Aniston), Joey (Matt LeBlanc), Chandler (Matthew Perry), and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), are seen in the iconic apartment for one last time before they all moved on with their lives.

Courtney Cox's journey with F.R.I.E.N.D.S.

In 1994, Courteney Cox's career took a fortunate turn when she landed two significant roles – one in Jim Carrey's hit film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and the other as Monica Geller in the immensely popular comedy series Friends. Initially, she was asked to audition for the role of Rachel on Friends, but ultimately, she secured the iconic part of Monica, becoming her most famous role.

Courteney's stellar performance kept her alongside the other actors throughout the show's ten successful 10-season run, until its finale in 2004. Not only did the show bring immense fame to its stars, it has kept paying massive dividends to them, to this day. 

During the first season of Friends, each cast member earned $22,500 per episode, totaling $540,000 for the season. Their salaries increased to $40,000 per episode in the second season, amounting to $960,000 for that season. For the third season, the cast negotiated as a group and secured a deal of $75,000 per episode, resulting in $1.875 million for the season.

The subsequent seasons saw further raises, with $85,000 for season 4 ($2.04 million), $100,000 for season 5 ($2.5 million), and $125,000 for season 6 ($3.125 million).

Before season 7, the cast negotiated another significant raise, earning $750,000 per episode for seasons 7 and 8, totaling $18 million per season. Seasons 9 and 10 saw each cast member earning $1 million per episode, amounting to $24 million for season 9 and $18 million for season 10.

When adding up their base salary alone, each cast member of Friends earned around $90 million from the show before backend bonuses and ongoing royalties.

In 2000, the Friends cast negotiated backend points, allowing them to earn royalties from the show's syndication sales. The show generates over $1 billion yearly in syndication royalties and streaming deals. Each cast member can earn $10-20 million in royalties in certain years.

She gained widespread fame for her role as Monica Geller in the beloved television series Friends, appearing in all 236 episodes across its ten-season run from 1994 to 2004 as per this article by Celebrity Net Worth.