The Definitive Ranking Of Notable Guest Stars On "Friends"

The One With The Really Long List

74. Helen Baxendale as Emily Waltham

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 4-5

Emily is Ross's second wife, and the actual worst.

73. Jon Lovitz as Steve

NBC

Episodes:

Season 1, Episode 15, "The One With The Stoned Guy"

Season 9, Episode 14, "The One With The Blind Dates"

In Season 1, Lovitz stars as a restauranteur looking for a new chef who Monica tries to impress with her cooking, but it turns out he has been high the whole time. He returns in Season 9 as a guy who Rachel goes on an extremely bad blind date with.

72. Selma Blair as Wendy

NBC

Episode:

Season 9, Episode 10, "The One With Christmas In Tulsa"

Blair plays Wendy, one of Chandler's colleagues, who tries to seduce him while he is away from Monica in Tulsa over Christmas.

71. Greg Kinnear as Dr. Benjamin Hobart

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 6, "The One With Ross's Grant"

Dr. Hobart refuses to give Ross a research grant until he breaks up with his girlfriend, Charlie.

70. Ben Stiller as Tommy

NBC

Episode:

Season 3, Episode 22, "The One With The Screamer"

Stiller stars as Rachel's new boyfriend, who she breaks up with after the gang finds him aggressively screaming at Joey and Chandler's birds.

69. Dan Castellaneta as The Zoo Keeper

NBC

Episode:

Season 2, Episode 12, "The One After The Superbowl: Part 1"

Castellaneta — best known for his voice work on The Simpsons — plays a zookeeper who helps Ross find Marcel.

68. Rebecca Romijn as Cheryl

NBC

Episode:

Season 4, Episode 6, "The One With The Dirty Girl"

Romijn plays Ross's new girlfriend, who he has to break up with after discovering that her apartment is filthy.

67. Alex Borstein as Bitter Woman On Stage

NBC

Episode:

Season 9, Episode 20, "The One With The Soap Opera Party"

Borstein plays a woman who puts on a performance called "Why Does Nobody Like Me?" Chandler buys the gang front-row seats to the performance, but they ditch him when they find out that Joey is having a star-studded party, and Chandler ends up going alone.

66. Elaine Hendrix as Sally

NBC

Episode:

Season 9, Episode 3, "The One With The Pediatrician"

Hendrix plays a woman who Ross meets while waiting to see his pediatrician.

65. Richard Branson as The Vendor

NBC

Episode:

Season 4, Episode 23, "The One With Ross's Wedding: Part 1"

Businessman Branson has a cameo as a street vendor who sells Joey a stupid hat, much to Chandler's disgust.

64. Willie Garson as Steve

NBC

Episode:

Season 5, Episode 15, "The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey"

Garson plays Steve, a man in Ross's new building who hates him after he refuses to give money for the retiring handyman.

63. Jay Leno as Himself

NBC

Episode:

Season 1, Episode 11, "The One With Mrs Bing"

Talk show host Jay Leno cameos as himself, on his real-life show, interviewing Chandler's mom about her new book. Meta.

62. Alec Baldwin as Parker

NBC

Episodes:

Season 8, Episode 17, "The One With The Tea Leaves"

Season 8, Episode 18, "The One In Massapequa"

Baldwin plays Phoebe's extremely annoying new boyfriend, who everyone hates because he is too cheerful.

61. Penn Jillette as The Salesman

NBC

Episode:

Season 4, Episode 3, "The One With The 'Cuffs"

Jillette — half of comedy magician duo Penn and Teller — has a cameo as a salesman who attempts to sell Joey an entire set of encyclopedias. Joey only buys the "V" volume, because it's all he can afford.

60. Ellen Pompeo as Missy Goldberg

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 11, "The One Where The Stripper Cries"

Now best known for playing Dr. Meredith Grey on Grey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo plays a girl who Chandler and Ross fought over in college.

59. Gabrielle Union as Kristen Lang

NBC

Episode:

Season 7, Episode 17, "The One With The Cheap Wedding Dress"

Union plays a girl who Joey and Ross fight over after they both help her to move into her new apartment.

58. David Sutcliffe as Kyle

NBC

Episode:

Season 7, Episode 5, "The One With The Engagement Picture"

Rory Gilmore's dad plays Kyle, a guy who Phoebe dates. It turns out that Chandler and Ross know him, and they have nicknamed him "hums-while-he-pees."

57. Melora Hardin as Celia

NBC

Episode:

Season 1, Episode 15, "The One With The Stoned Guy"

Hardin plays a woman who Ross dates, but he has trouble when she asks him to talk dirty to her.

56. Jean-Claude Van Damme as Himself

NBC

Episode:

Season 2, Episode 13, "The One After The Superbowl: Part 2"

Rachel and Monica fight because they both want to go on a date with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

55. Emily Osment as Lelani Mayolanofavich

NBC

Episode:

Season 8, Episode 6, "The One With The Halloween Party"

Best known for playing Miley's BFF on Hannah Montana, a young Emily Osment plays a little girl who Rachel writes a check for after she runs out of Halloween candy.

54. Donny Osmond as Himself

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 11, "The One Where The Stripper Cries"

Donny Osmond cameos as the host when Joey appears on the real-life game show "Pyramid".

53. Charlie Sheen as Ryan

NBC

Episode:

Season 2, Episode 23, "The One With The Chicken Pox"

Sheen stars as Phoebe's love interest Ryan, who she gives the chicken pox to when he visits her during his time in the navy.

52. Mae Whitman as Sarah Tuttle

NBC

Episode:

Season 3, Episode 10, "The One Where Rachel Quits"

A young Mae Whitman plays a little girl whose Girl Scout Cookies Ross has to help sell after he causes her to break her leg.

51. Missi Pyle as Hillary

NBC

Episode:

Season 6, Episode 8, "The One With Ross's Teeth"

Missi Pyle plays a woman who Ross dates. He tries to impress her by whitening his teeth before their date, but leaves the solution on for too long as his teeth become blinding.

50. Jeff Goldblum as Leonard Hayes

NBC

Episode:

Season 9, Episode 15, "The One With The Mugging"

Jeff Goldblum plays Leonard Hayes, a famous actor who Joey tries to impress during an audition. Hayes is only impressed by Joey's acting when he desperately has to pee.

49. Ralph Lauren as Himself

NBC

Episode:

Season 6, Episode 8, "The One With Ross's Teeth"

Phoebe causes trouble for Rachel at work when she claims to have slept with Ralph Lauren, and Rachel's boss thinks that it was her.

48. Jim O'Heir as the Adoption Agency Worker

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 9, "The One With The Birth Mother"

Parks and Rec's Jerry/Larry/Terry/Garry has a small role as an employee of the adoption agency that sets Monica and Chandler up with the adoptive mother of their children.

47. Jason Alexander as Earl

NBC

Episode:

Season 7, Episode 13, "The One Where Rosita Dies"

Seinfeld's George plays an office worker who tells Phoebe that he is going to kill himself during her first day working as a call-in saleswoman.

46. Chrissie Hynde as Stephanie Schiffer

NBC

Episode:

Season 2, Episode 6, "The One With The Baby On The Bus"

The Pretenders' lead singer plays a woman who Phoebe competes with for her job as singer at Central Perk.

45. John Stamos as Zack

NBC

Episode:

Season 9, Episode 22, "The One With The Donor"

John Stamos plays Chandler's coworker, who Monica and Chandler invite to dinner to unknowingly interview him as a potential sperm donor.

44. Jennifer Grey as Mindy

NBC

Episode:

Season 1, Episode 20, "The One With The Evil Orthodontist"

The Dirty Dancing star plays Rachel's best frenemy who she teams up with after they find out that Barry has been cheating on both of them with each other.

43. Jane Lynch as Ellen

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 15, "The One Where Estelle Dies"

Jane Lynch plays a real estate agent who shows Monica and Chandler around the house next door to theirs. When she tells them there is a woman upstairs who's ready to make an offer, it turns out to be Janice.

42. Jill Goodacre as Herself

NBC

Episode:

Season 1, Episode 6, "The One With The Blackout"

After New York experiences a city-wide power outage, Chandler gets trapped in an ATM vestibule with Jill Goodacre.

41. Sean Penn as Eric

NBC

Episodes:

Season 8, Episode 6, "The One With The Halloween Party"

Season 8, Episode 7, "The One With The Stain"

Sean Penn plays Ursula's fiancé, who breaks up with her after Phoebe tells him she's been lying to him. He then starts dating Phoebe, but has to break up with her because she looks too similar to Ursula.

40. Sarah Ferguson as Herself

NBC

Episode:

Season 4, Episode 23, "The One With Ross's Wedding: Part 1"

Fergie (the Duchess of York) has a cameo as herself in a video that Joey takes when he meets her in London.

39. Susan Sarandon as Jessica Lockhart

NBC

Episode:

Season 7, Episode 15, "The One With Joey's New Brain"

Sarandon plays Joey's demanding costar on Days Of Our Lives, who gets written off when Joey's character returns to the show.

38. Danny DeVito as The Stripper

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 11, "The One Where The Stripper Cries"

Danny DeVito plays a stripper who Monica and Rachel hire for Phoebe's bachelorette party. When he turns up, he isn't what the girls expected, and their reaction to his dance makes him cry.

37. Dakota Fanning as Mackenzie

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 14, "The One With Princess Consuela"

A young Dakota Fanning plays a little girl whose parents own the house Monica and Chandler are buying. Joey makes friends with her when he goes to visit the house, and she gives him some advice about being away from his friends.

36. David Arquette as Malcolm

NBC

Episode:

Season 3, Episode 3, "The One With All The Jam"

Courteney Cox's soon-to-be husband plays a man who stalks Phoebe because he thinks she's her twin sister, Ursula.

35. Isabella Rossellini as Herself

NBC

Episode:

Season 3, Episode 5, "The One With Frank Jr"

Ross makes a list of the five celebrities he's allowed to sleep with if he ever gets the chance. When Isabella Rossellini walks into Central Perk, Rachel allows him to hit on her, even though he has dropped her from his list.

34. Gary Oldman as Richard Crosby

NBC

Episodes:

Season 7, Episode 23, "The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding: Part 1"

Season 7, Episode 24, "The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding: Part 2"

Gary Oldman plays a famous actor who is starring opposite Joey in a movie. Joey has trouble acting with him, because he spits whenever he reads his lines.

33. Tate Donovan as Joshua Burgin

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Season 4

Tate Donovan plays Joshua, a man who Rachel develops a crush on when he comes into her store as a customer. She eventually ends up dating him, but they break up because he feels that they are moving too fast. The relationship is completely over when he goes to Rachel's apartment in order to make amends, and she answers the door in a wedding dress shouting "I do!"

32. Elliott Gould as Jack Geller

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-10

Elliott Gould plays Ross and Monica's dad Jack, who often makes inappropriate comments.

31. Christina Pickles as Judy Geller

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-10

Christina Pickles plays Ross and Monica's mom, Judy, who often criticizes Monica for her appearance and her inability to find a boyfriend.

30. Noah Wyle as Dr. Jeffrey Rosen

NBC

Episodes:

Season 1, Episode 16, "The One With Two Parts: Part 1"

Season 1, Episode 17, "The One With Two Parts: Part 2"

Wyle, along with ER costar George Clooney, plays a doctor who Rachel and Monica develop a crush on while they are at the hospital.

29. George Clooney as Dr. Michael Mitchell

NBC

Episodes:

Season 1, Episode 16, "The One With Two Parts: Part 1"

Season 1, Episode 17, "The One With Two Parts: Part 2"

George Clooney is higher on the list because, let's face it, he's George Clooney.

28. Julia Roberts as Susie Moss

NBC

Episode:

Season 2, Episode 13, "The One After The Superbowl: Part 2"

Julia Roberts plays a woman who gets revenge on Chandler by leaving him in a public bathroom wearing women's underwear because he lifted up her skirt in the fourth grade.

27. Denise Richards as Cassie Geller

NBC

Episode:

Season 7, Episode 19, "The One With Ross And Monica's Cousin"

Former model Denise Richards plays Ross and Monica's cousin who comes to visit, but has to move out of Monica and Chandler's apartment because Chandler is attracted to her.

26. Winona Ryder as Melissa Warburton

NBC

Episode:

Season 7, Episode 20, "The One With Rachel's Big Kiss"

Ryder plays Rachel's ex-sorority sister who refuses to accept that she and Rachel kissed while they were at college. As soon as the two are alone, Melissa admits that she remembers, and confesses that she is in love with Rachel.

25. Bruce Willis as Paul Stevens

NBC

Episodes:

Season 6, Episode 21, "The One Where Ross Meets Elizabeth's Dad"

Season 6, Episode 22, "The One Where Paul's The Man"

Season 6, Episode 23, "The One With The Ring"

Bruce Willis plays the father of Ross's student and girlfriend, Elizabeth. He gets romantically involved with Rachel, who eventually breaks up with him because he keeps crying.

24. Freddie Prinze Jr. as Sandy

NBC

Episode:

Season 9, Episode 6, "The One With The Male Nanny"

Freddie Prinze Jr. guest stars as Sandy, the male nanny that Rachel hires to watch Emma, much to Ross's dismay.

23. Hugh Laurie as The Man On The Plane

NBC

Episode:

Season 4, Episode 24, "The One With Ross's Wedding: Part 2"

Laurie cameos as the man sitting next to Rachel on her flight to London. He gets annoyed with her when she tries to tell him her story.

22. Morgan Fairchild as Nora Tyler Bing

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-8

Morgan Fairchild stars as Chandler's mom, who writes romance novels for a living and is a source of embarrassment for Chandler.

21. Kathleen Turner as Charles Bing/Helena Handbasket

NBC

Episodes:

Season 7, Episode 22, "The One With Chandler's Dad"

Season 7, Episode 23, "The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding: Part 1"

Season 7, Episode 24, "The One With Monica And Chandler's Wedding: Part 2"

Kathleen Turner plays Chandler's estranged father, who is a transgender performer in Las Vegas. He left Chandler's mother — and a young Chandler — after coming out as gay.

20. Paget Brewster as Kathy

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Season 4

Brewster plays Joey's girlfriend Kathy, who Chandler falls in love with and kisses. Eventually Joey finds out about the kiss and he and Chandler fight, which leads to Chandler spending most of Thanksgiving in a box to show Joey that he is sorry.

19. Christine Taylor as Bonnie

NBC

Episodes:

Season 3, Episode 24, "The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion"

Season 3, Episode 25, "The One At The Beach"

Season 4, Episode 1, "The One With The Jellyfish"

Christine Taylor plays Ross's girlfriend Bonnie, who Rachel encourages to shave her head because she is jealous of her relationship with Ross. While the gang are at the beach, Rachel and Ross decide to get back together, which means that Ross has to break up with Bonnie.

18. Billy Crystal as Tim...

NBC

Episode:

Season 3, Episode 24, "The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion"

17. ... and Robin Williams as Tomas

NBC

Episode:

Season 3, Episode 24, "The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion"

Crystal and Williams cameo as two friends who sit down on the gang's couch to have an intimate conversation. They eventually leave when Tomas finds out that Tim has been sleeping with his wife.

16. Giovanni Ribisi as Frank Buffay Jr

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 2-10

Ribisi has a recurring role as Frank Jr, Phoebe's younger half-brother. Although they originally have trouble bonding, the two become closer as the series progresses and Phoebe acts as surrogate for Frank's children.

15. Debra Jo Rupp as Alice Knight Buffay

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 3-5

That 70s Show's Debra Jo Rupp plays Alice, Frank's teacher-turned-wife. Despite having reservations about their relationship, Phoebe agrees to act as surrogate for their children.

14. Brooke Shields as Erika Ford

NBC

Episode:

Season 2, Episode 12, "The One After The Superbowl: Part 1"

Model and actress Brooke Shields plays an obsessed fan of Joey's who believes that his character, Dr Drake Ramoray, is real. Joey goes on a date with her, and she calls him "Drake" the whole time — he is only able to break up with her after the gang manages to convince her that he is Hans Ramoray, Drake's evil twin.

13. Jennifer Coolidge as Amanda Buffamonteezi

NBC

Episode:

Season 10, Episode 3, "The One With Ross's Tan"

Jennifer Coolidge plays Amanda, an old friend of Phoebe and Monica's, who is equally annoying and hilarious.

12. Jennifer Saunders as Andrea Waltham

NBC

Episodes:

Season 4, Episode 24, "The One With Ross's Wedding: Part 2"

Season 5, Episode 1, "The One After Ross Says Rachel"

British comedienne Jennifer Saunders plays Emily's drunken stepmother who flirts with Ross after he and Emily get married. While Emily may have been the worst, casting Jennifer Saunders as her stepmother was a stroke of genius.

11. Cole Sprouse as Ben Geller

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 6-8

A young Cole Sprouse plays Ross's son Ben, who goes to school with Sting's son, amongst other things.

10. Jane Sibbett as Carol Willick

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-7

Carol is Ross's first wife and the mother of his son, Ben, who leaves him before the start of the series when she comes out as gay.

9. Jessica Hecht as Susan Bunch

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-6

Susan is Carol's lesbian partner, who often makes sarcastic comments and openly hates Ross.

8. Christina Applegate as Amy Green

NBC

Episodes:

Season 9, Episode 8, "The One With Rachel's Other Sister"

Season 10, Episode 5, "The One Where Rachel's Sister Babysits"

Christina Applegate plays Rachel's incompetent younger sister who still lives off of their father's money. She doesn't have a job, but believes that she is capable of anything, and is often shown as not caring about Rachel or her niece, Emma.

7. Reese Witherspoon as Jill Green

NBC

Episodes:

Season 6, Episode 13, "The One With Rachel's Sister"

Season 6, Episode 14, "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry"

Jill is Rachel's other sister, who in season six decides to leave home and become independent as Rachel did. She doesn't succeed, however: she keeps shopping and maxing out her credit cards, and she dates Ross just to spite Rachel. When Ross breaks up with her, she leaves the gang and goes back home.

6. Tom Selleck as Dr Richard Burke

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 2-6

Richard was Monica's boyfriend during the second season of the show. She met him as a child, because he was friends with her father, and they eventually broke up because Monica wanted more from the relationship than Richard did. Richard was Monica's first real love, and although she was obviously meant to be with Chandler, he was still a big part of the show.

5. Hank Azaria as David

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-9

The Simpsons' Hank Azaria plays David, Phoebe's first boyfriend on the show who she falls in love with before he leaves to do research in Minsk. He returns in season 9, but by that point she is already dating Mike.

4. Anna Faris as Erica

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Season 10

Anna Faris plays Erica, the biological mother of Chandler and Monica's adopted children — although at first they thought she was having one child, when she gave birth it turned out that Erica was having twins. She is a loveable and kind character, and Monica and Chandler name the female twin after her.

3. Maggie Wheeler as Janice Litman-Goralnik

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 1-10

Janice is Chandler's on-and-off girlfriend during the show's first few seasons, who he returns to whenever he is feeling lonely. She's known for her nasal voice, obnoxious laugh, and her catchphrase "OH. MY. GOD." — while she may seem like a main character, Janice was only in 19 episodes of the show.

2. Paul Rudd as Mike Hannigan

NBC

Episodes:

Several, Seasons 9-10

Paul Rudd plays Phoebe's husband Mike, who she marries midway through season 10. He comes from a wealthy family, and when Phoebe goes to dinner with his parents they believe that Mike is too good for her, but he tells them that he doesn't care what they think and that he loves her. When Phoebe's ex-boyfriend David comes back from Minsk, he asks her to leave Mike for him, but Phoebe ultimately chooses Mike. That's true love. <3

1. Brad Pitt as Will Colbert

NBC

Episode:

Season 8, Episode 9, "The One With The Rumor"

Jennifer Aniston's then-husband Brad Pitt plays the role of Will Colbert, an old friend of Ross's from high school who visits the gang for Thanksgiving dinner. During the meal, it turns out that Will hates Rachel, and while they were in high school he and Ross started an "I Hate Rachel" club, where they spread the rumour that Rachel had both male and female reproductive parts.