More than two decades after Friends aired its final episode, Jennifer Aniston is still reportedly earning millions of dollars every year from the sitcom that made her a global star. Her portrayal of Rachel Green helped turn the NBC comedy into a television phenomenon, and the show’s enduring popularity continues to reward its six principal cast members long after it ended in May 2004.While Aniston has built a successful career in Hollywood with films and projects such as The Morning Show, her reported earnings from Friends highlight the extraordinary financial power of a show that refuses to fade from popular culture.
How Jennifer Aniston and the Friends cast went from $22,500 to $1 million per episode
When Friends premiered on NBC in 1994, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer reportedly earned $22,500 per episode, according to Forbes.As the sitcom’s popularity soared, however, the six actors realised the importance of negotiating together. Ahead of the third season, they reportedly presented a united front during salary discussions, ensuring that individual negotiations would not undermine the group’s bargaining power.Their strategy paid off. By the final two seasons, all six cast members were reportedly earning $1 million per episode. According to Parade, Aniston, Cox and Kudrow became the highest-paid women on television at the time.Across the sitcom’s 10-season run, each actor reportedly earned approximately $90 million in salary alone, excluding bonuses and royalties. But their most lucrative decision would continue paying dividends long after the cameras stopped rolling.
The groundbreaking Friends deal that continues to make the cast millions
In 2000, the six Friends stars reportedly secured a groundbreaking profit-sharing arrangement that gave each of them a share of the sitcom’s syndication earnings. According to USA Today, the actors negotiated backend points amounting to a reported 2% of the show’s profits.Such deals had traditionally been associated more closely with creators and producers, making the cast’s arrangement a significant achievement for television performers.The decision proved extraordinarily lucrative as Friends continued to attract audiences through reruns, streaming platforms and international licensing agreements. According to Fortune, the sitcom generates more than $1 billion annually for Warner Bros. through broadcast rights, streaming and international deals.The cast’s reported profit-sharing arrangements have helped turn the sitcom into a continuing source of income, even more than 20 years after its finale.
Lisa Kudrow reveals the Friends cast still earns $20 million every year
In an interview with The Times published on April 23, 2026, Lisa Kudrow reportedly confirmed that she and the other principal cast members continue to earn around $20 million annually from Friends.When asked whether the earnings were because Phoebe Buffay was so great, Kudrow responded with humour before reflecting on the show’s enduring legacy.She also spoke about rewatching Friends after Matthew Perry’s death, explaining that the experience allowed her to appreciate the sitcom differently. Previously, she had tended to focus on her own performance and the things she felt she could have done better.This time, she praised Aniston and Cox, as well as Schwimmer and LeBlanc, for their performances and comic timing. She reserved particularly heartfelt praise for Perry, describing his contribution as extraordinary.Her reflections offered a reminder that the sitcom’s success was built on the chemistry and performances of all six actors, whose work continues to resonate with audiences around the world.
Jennifer Aniston built a successful career beyond Friends
While Friends continues to generate substantial income for Aniston, the actor has not relied solely on her iconic television role. She appeared in several films during breaks in the sitcom’s production and continued to pursue comedy and drama projects after the show ended.Aniston also worked towards becoming a producer, an ambition that reportedly met with initial resistance. She persisted, eventually establishing herself as both a leading actor and a producer.Her later career includes The Morning Show, the Apple TV series in which she stars alongside Reese Witherspoon. The acclaimed drama has become one of her major post-Friends projects and has been renewed for a fifth season.
