Originally representing East Germany, former figure skater Katarina Witt made history when she became the first female since 1936 to win back-to-back in the singles at the Winter Olympics. She first struck gold in 1984 in Sarajevo and then four years later in Calgary.

East Germany’s end meant that Witt had complete freedom to pursue dreams outside of figure skating. Not only did she appear in Playboy magazine, but she also had her own memoir published in 2005 – Only With Passion. In 2013, a biopic aired on ESPN about Witt’s life both before and after the unification of Germany. Most recently, Witt helped Munich’s bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics. However, it was ultimately Pyeongchang, South Korea that were given the opportunity to host the games.

Not only did 15-year-old Tara Lipinski make a name for herself at the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, but she also made history. The Philadelphia-born figure skater made jaws drop when she became the youngest ice skater ever to win gold at the Olympics. Not only that, but she also became the youngest athlete in any sport to win the gold. The achievements don’t stop there though. Lipinski also became the World Champion in 1997, as well as the Champions Series Final champion in both 1997 and 1998.

Just a couple of years after reaching the peak of her powers, Tara Lipinski left the competitive stage and started touring with shows such as Stars on Ice and Champions on Ice. Eventually, the former figure skater became a commentator on NBC, working alongside fellow athlete and best friend Johnny Weir. Lipinski and Weir have been credited with bringing the sport to a younger audience. In 2016, she became an executive producer for a future drama series on Hulu about figure skating.

Figure skater Nicole Bobek had a shaky time leading up to her Olympic outing. Scott Hamilton had good things to say about her. “She lights up the building like nobody else,” he said. Bobek ended up being in a powerful trio, alongside Michelle Kwan and Tara Lipinski, who were expected to clean up in 1998. However, she didn’t get the success she was hoping for.

Nicole Bobek has changed a lot since her figure skating years. Now has a deep passion for performing at circuses. One of her most notable performances came in 2015 when she performed a hoop routine at a skating show hosted by Nancy Kerrigan. She now teaches power skating and edge skills to junior hockey players.

Three-time World Championship medalist Sarah Cohens biggest setback came at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin when she “only” managed to win the silver. Despite trying to return to Team U.S. for the third time in 2010, Cohen missed out and wasn’t sure what her next move would be. As a result, she retired from competitive skating. “I missed that crystal-clear sense of purpose and direction,” she said. “Once you leave the world of an elite athlete, that clarity is hard to find.”

Since her figure skating years, Sasha Cohen has dabbled in acting, make appearances on shows such as CSI: NY, as well as the movie Blazing Saddles. She also worked as a guest correspondent at the Academy Awards. In 2016, she managed to get a degree in political science from Colombia University. In 2016, Cohen received the praise that was due when she was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

Just before the turn of the Millenium, Michelle Kwan was quickly becoming the new the star of U.S. figure skating. She made her Olympic debut at just 18 years of age, with a silver in the 1998 tournament. She also won the bronze in 2002. However, it is her five World Championships that have developed her into one of the most successful competitors in the history of American figure skating. Everything came to a standstill though after she had a severe injury in 2006.

After the injury in 2006, Michelle Kwan decided to dedicate some time to her education. She ended up studying at both the University of Denver and Tufts University before becoming a coordinator for a presidential campaign. Since then, Kwan has worked for the U.S. Department of State’s Education and Cultural Affairs Bureau. She has also had an eventful personal life, marrying White House National Security Staff member Clay Pell.

Peggy Fleming’s biggest triumph came in 1968 at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble. It was here that she won the gold for Team U.S. in the ladies’ singles. Amazingly, it was the only gold that Team U.S. won in the entire tournament. In her career, Fleming has won the World Championship three times. Just two years after winning gold at the Winter Olympics, she tied the knot with her teenage sweetheart, Greg Jenkins, who was a former amateur figure skater.

It has been half a century since Peggy Fleming won gold at the Winter Olympics and she has filled in those fifty years with a variety of activities and life-changing moments. She survived breast cancer in the 90s and had two kids with her husband Greg – sons Andy and Todd. The couple actually had a vineyard/winery during their time in California, which at one point, sold 2,000 cases of wine per year. They have recently sold the vineyard and are enjoying retirement together.

Probably the most iconic figure skaters to come out of the United Kingdom, Jayne Torvill and Christopher Dean, often referred to as “Torvill and Dean,” had one of the most illustrious careers of all time. Out of the 18 competitive medals they won, 16 of them were gold. Their 1984 Winter Olympic triumph is hailed as one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport, where they became the highest scoring figure skaters of all time, with twelve perfect 6.0s to their names.

Although their career came to a sour end when they won the bronze at the 1994 Olympics in Lillehammer, Torvill and Dean have remained ambassadors of the sport since their retirement. After touring with Stars on Ice, they went to Sarajevo in 2014 and recreated the Bolero, celebrating 30 years since their Olympic triumph. The duo is still known for their incredible story.

An absolute heroine back in her home country, Ukraine, Oksana Baiul was only 16 years old when she won the gold at 1994’s edition of the Winter Olympics, which was set in Lillehammer, Norway. It was a truly incredible time in figure skating, with legends such as Tonya Harding, Nancy Kerrigan, and Katarina Witt all competing at the same time. However, the young Baiul beat all of them to the gold. She also became World Champion in the ladies’ singles in 1993.

Unfortunately, things weren’t so pleasant for Oksana Baiul after her triumphs as a teenager. The 90s saw the former figure skater deal with alcohol issues. Despite this, Baiul continued to perform in shows such as Cold as Ice. She has also appeared in reality TV shows such as the skating show Master of Champions. Baiul even had a role in season 13 of The Apprentice! Her most recent endeavor came in 2018 when she starred in the biopic about the Norwegian figure skater Sonja Henie, aptly titled SONJA – Queen of Ice.

One of the highlights of the 1998 Olympics was when French figure skater Surya Bonaly performed a one-bladed backflip, which made every single member of the audience drop their jaw. After believing the Olympic panel to have a racist bias during her performances, she executed the crazy move, which is actually illegal. To this day, she is the only figure skater to have ever performed such a move at the Olympics. Bonaly has one the French Championship a staggering nine times.

These days, Surya Bonaly does things a little more to the book. She has to, seeing that she is now coaching a new generation of figure skaters. She coaches in the town she lives in, in Minnesota. Not only is she focused on teaching the youth, she is also heavily involved in righteous causes and can consider herself a true activist. Bonaly is not just a vegetarian, she has also appeared in a variety of ads for PETA.

As famous for sharing the same first name as the King of Rock n’ Roll as he was for his figure skating credentials, Elvis Stojko became the first athlete in his sport ever to achieve a quadruple-triple combo. The truth was that Stojko was a unique character in the world of figure skating, rocking heavy metal costumes, and performing aggressive moves. “I was ridiculed,” Stojko said. “I was told to get in touch with my feminine side. I said, ‘Buddy, I don’t have a feminine side.'”

To this day, Stojko still performs about 70 times per year. He has performed on many occasions with his wife, who is also a former figure skater. However, there is so much more to Stojko’s career than just skating. He has ventured into other hobbies such as go-kart racing and kung-fu. He even ended up on Broadway, playing Billy Flynn in the classic Chicago. Stojko is also scheduled to perform in the upcoming Canadian edition of Stars on Ice.

Despite the fact that pairs figure skating requires a certain level of intimacy that isn’t usually found in younger skaters, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner had a strong working connection from an early age. In 1979, the pair made history when they became the first U.S. champions in nearly two decades. However, tragedy would soon follow when Gardner suffered a terrible groin injury, shattering their dreams at the 1980 Winter Olympics. They were outright favorites to win the gold.

Despite their huge disappointment back in 1980, Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner have remained close friends ever since. In fact, they recently celebrated 50 years of working together at the Ice Theater of New York. Nowadays, Babilonia coaches from time to time, while Gardner is not only a choreographer but has also starred in his own show Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story. “Through all of it, it’s the friendship for me,” Babilonia said in an interview.

Frenchman Philippe Candeloro will be best remembered, not necessarily for what he did do, but what he didn’t. We’ll make things a little clearer. When Candeloro had an accident in one of his performances, it ended up looking like a neatly executed move. He spun around before slipping to his knees. It is now his signature move. The mishap didn’t seem to bother the skater so much though, especially after winning bronze at both the 1994 and 1998 Winter Olympics.

Ever since his skating career came to an end, Philippe Candeloro has turned to the world of news broadcasting and sports journalism. However, the former figure skater got into a bit of a controversial situation for what he called someone on live air. When he was watching Japanese figure skater Shizuka Arakawa performing, Candeloro said that the Olympic champion was worth “a bowl of rice.” After widespread uproar came flooding his way, he apologized for the remarks.

A World Champion at one stage in his career, Brian Orser will never fully get over the moment that he was overpowered by his biggest rival, Brian Boitano, in what many called the “Battle of the Brians.” He won the gold back in 1987 at the World Championships in Cincinnati and was also a silver medalist at both the 1984 and 1988 Winter Olympics. However, in the two aforementioned competitions, he narrowly missed out on the gold, first to Scott Hamilton, and secondly, to Boitano.

Despite this age-long disappointment, Orser has managed to heal some of these wounds with his rejuvenated venture into the world of coaching. He has been touring for 17 years before he realized that he needed to grow up. In 2014, Orser’s determination to move forward paid off when he coached Japanese skater Yuzuru Hanyu to the gold at the Olympics. Back in 1998, Orser came out as gay and is currently in a relationship with Rajesh Tiwari, who directs the Brian Orser Foundation.

One defining feature of Scott Hamilton’s game was that he loves to do backflips. Not only was it a skill that not many other skaters could do, but it was also illegal in the U.S. and the Olympics. Despite this, Hamilton has kept things professional and ended up winning four World Championships, as well as four consecutive U.S. Championships. These all came between 1981 and 1984. The apex of his success came at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, when he won the gold.

It was actually Hamilton who founded Stars on Ice back in the 80s. However, when the 90s came around, the former figure skater had a bout with testicular cancer, which he overcame in 1997. That’s not all though; Hamilton found out that his short height was the result of a childhood condition, which caused numerous brain tumors between 2004 and 2016. Since then, Hamilton founded the CARES Initiative, which focuses on cancer research. In 2018, he became an ambassador at the Winter Olympics.

No American pair has been able to reach the same heights that Kitty and Peter Carruthers did back in 1984. This pair of siblings from Massachusetts cast all their Soviet rivals aside when they won the silver. Despite the fact that Kitty had tendinitis at the time, they still managed to come away with a medal. So overwhelmed by their achievement, Kitty and Peter embraced each other for a good minute in front of a standing ovation.

Peter Carruthers has gone on to become a famous broadcaster for numerous skating events and is now married with two kids. As for Kitty, she is working as a coach in Houston. Despite their individual lives, the siblings often reunite on special occasions, most recently on a TV special in 2013. They even skated together during the special. “We were silly enough to skate, and we had a blast,” Kitty said. “We realized we still had a little something,” Peter added.

What makes Viktor Petrenko’s career so special is that he got to represent not one, but two countries. This is because he originally represented the Soviet Union, before it split up. This was followed by a period when he represented his country of origin, Ukraine. However, it was his time spent with the Unified team that saw him achieve the most success in his career. The pinnacle of which came in 1992 when Victor Petrenko took home the gold.

Viktor Petrenko hasn’t let his retirement from figure skating deter him from remaining involved with the sport. If anything, the Ukrainian is as passionate as ever, coaching numerous stars and even helping Oksana Baiul make a name for herself, who would go on to win the gold two years after Petrenko did. He has coached the likes of Johnny Weir, who won the championship three times, as well as stars such as Ukrainian Natalia Popova and Czech Michal Brezina.

The Chicago native Janet Lynn captured the hearts of millions of Americans when she took to the ice rink at the 1972 Olympics in Sapporo. Although she only went home with the bronze, it was generally a fantastic time for Lynn, as she had also won the bronze medal at the World Championships in Calgary the previous year. She has also been the U.S. national champion a staggering five times in her career! She also won the silver at the 1973 World Championships in Bratislava.

Soon after her Olympic endeavors, Janet Lynn made a smooth transition to professional skating, nailing a deal worth $1,455,000 with the Ice Follies. At one point, she was the highest paid female athlete on the planet. In recent times, Lynn has got in touch with her spiritual side, becoming a Christian motivational speaker and is heavily involved in a variety of conservative political initiatives. She has also appeared on TV, starring alongside John Curry in the made-for-TV The Snow Queen.

What makes Shizuka Arakawa special is that she is the first Japanese skater to take home the gold as a figure skater. Not only that, but she is also just the second figure skater from her country to walk away with any Olympic medal. The first was Midori Ito back in 1992, who won the silver. Arakawa struck gold at the 2004 World Championships in Dortmund before winning her highest honor two years later at the Winter Olympics in Turin.

Another figure skater to make a smooth transition into professional skating, Shizuka Arakawa has done a lot of commentary work on Japanese TV. She has also stepped behind the camera, creating her own show by the name of Friends on Ice. Arakawa took part in the ABC series Thin Ice, skating alongside the Olympic silver medallist Stephane Lambiel. She received a huge honor when she carried the Olympic torch during the start of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

Three years after winning the World Championship in 2002, Irina Slutskaya did exactly the same thing in her home city of Moscow! Slutskaya is one of the most decorated Russian figure skaters of all time with two Olympic medals to her name, six World Championship medal, nine European Championship medals and nine medals from the Grand Prix Final! A staggering 14 of all the medals she has accumulated over the years are gold! She is also the first female to perform a triple lutz-triple loop combo!

Although she had an opportunity to perform for the Champions on Ice, Irina Slutskaya decided to return to Russia from the U.S. Back in her home country, she has hosted a variety of reality shows such as Stars on Ice and Ice Age. A few years later, she starred in a Russian soap opera about figure skating called Hot Ice. When the Winter Olympics took place in Sochi in 2014, Slutskaya acted as an ambassador. She is married to Sergei Mikheev.

One of the most beloved figure skating pairs in recent memory, there seems to be nothing that Meryl Davis and Charlie White can’t achieve. Together, the pair have won Olympic gold and have also been World Champions on two separate occasions. They are the first American pair to have won both the Olympic gold and the World Championship. That’s not all though. Amazingly, Davis and White are the longest lasting pair to come out of the States.

Naturally, Meryl Davis and Charlie White still perform together professionally. However, they announced to the public in 2017 that they were not planning on returning to competitive figure skating. Despite being attached to the hip, Davis and White are not romantically involved and have healthy relationships with other people. In 2017, Davis got engaged to retired figure skater Fedor Andreev after dating for six years. White, on the other hand, has been married to Tanith Belbin since 2015.

Long before Shizuka Arakawa was waving the flag for Japan, Midori Ito was breaking all sorts of records herself. The Nagoya native made history when she became the first female ever to land seven successful triple jumps in one competition. That’s not all though. Not only did Ito win the 1989 World Championships but would go on to win the silver at the Winter Olympics three years later. She is also prolific in the NHK, winning six gold medals.

Ever since her competitive career came to an end in the mid-90s, Midori Ito has kept herself busy in a variety of ways. In 1998, she lit the Olympic torch at the start of the Winter Olympics in Nagano. However, Ito ended up making a comeback to competitive figure skating in 2011. For two consecutive years, Ito reached second place in the ISU Adult Figure Skating Competition. In 2003, Ito was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

This is one figure skater who has been a hit in both the singles and the pairs competitions. Not only did Kristi Yamaguchi win the gold at the 1992 Winer Olympics in Albertville, France, but she also became World Champion in both 1991 and 1992. She also won the National Championships in 1989 and 1990 with her pairs partner Rudy Galindo. Since her retirement, Yamaguchi has been inducted into both the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame as well as the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame.

The nineties was primarily a time for Yamaguchi to focus on professional tours, primarily with the Stars on Ice. It was also during this time that the former figure skater tried her hand in philanthropy, establishing the “Always Dream Foundation” in 1996. The charity’s main goal is to give children better literacies from an earlier age. Yamaguchi was a huge success in season six of Dancing with the Stars. Then, in 2011, she wrote the children’s book Dream Big, Little Pig!

1976 was truly the year for Dorothy Hamill. It was the year when the former figure skater won both the ladies’ singles event at the Winter Olympics, which took place in Innsbruck, Austria, as well as the World Championships. Her Olympic triumph was particularly impressive seeing that she was the last to win gold without hitting a triple jump. Hamill is also renowned for having created her own move – the “Hamill camel.” It’s essentially a camel spin that evolves into a sit spin.

Like many successful figure skaters, Dorothy Hamill turned to professional performances after her Olympic and World Championship triumphs. One of her keynote performances was on the show Broadway on Ice and Hamill also made an appearance on the 16th season of Dancing with the Stars. However, after just two episodes, she had to pull out after receiving a nasty injury. Since then though, Hamill has bounced back with performances in shows such as Go Figure: The Randy Gardner Story.

One of the younger athletes on this list to have competed in figure skating, Sarah Hughes made her presence known at the turn of the Millennium when she won the bronze medal at the 2001 World Championships in Vancouver. Just a year later though, Hughes took her game to the next level when she won the gold in the ladies’ singles at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. She finished 1st, with Irina Slutskaya and Michelle Kwan coming in at 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Shortly after her Olympic triumph, Sarah Hughes enroled at Yale University where she eventually graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies. It was also during this time that she decided to take a break from her studies to tour with the Smuckers Stars on Ice. Being Jewish, Hughes received a huge honor in 2005 when she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. She is currently studying at the University of Pennsylvania Law School.

Just six years after he started pursuing a career in ice skating, Johnny Weir won the 2001 World Junior Championship. It only seemed like more glory would follow, with Weir winning the U.S. Figure Skating Championship for three consecutive years (2004, 2005, and 2006). His highest achievement came in 2008 when he won a bronze for Team U.S. at the World Championships and was the only medal that Team U.S. won in the competition. He has also competed in two competitions on the Olympic stage.

Since retiring from professional skating in 2013, Johnny Weir has joined forces with his best friend outside the rink, Tara Lipinski, and together the duo have been successful analysts for a number of figure skating shows. As a result of their success, Weir and Lipinski have worked on huge events such as the red carpet at the Academy Awards. After coming out in 2011, Weir ended up divorcing his husband in 2015 and has since lambasted the movie I, Tonya, the biopic about Tonya Harding.

Debi Thomas will be best remembered for becoming the first ever African-American to win a medal at the Winter Olympics. In the 1988 games in Calgary, she ended up winning the bronze. However, the historic moment didn’t shock many in attendance, especially since Thomas had already been in the top three on three separate occasions in the World Championships. She eventually reached the number one spot in 1986. Thomas is also known for her rivalry with Katarina Witt, which was called the “Battle of the Carmens.”

Debi Thomas managed to enroll at Stanford University during her Olympic days. Despite this, she decided to retire from figure skating at just 21 years of age. She eventually graduated from Stanford and moved to medical school, which is where she became an orthopedic surgeon. However, things weren’t so easy for Thomas. She developed a reputation as a difficult doctor to work with and ended up establishing her own private practice before filing for bankruptcy. Her medical license expired soon after she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

A 1994 Olympic Champion, Urmanov began his career in 1977. However, he didn’t win any medals until the early ‘90s, when he was still representing the Soviet Union, winning a silver medal at the World Junior Championships in 1990.

He competed in the Winter Olympics in 1992, and won fifth place. Earlier, in the 1993 World Championships, he won a bronze medal. At the 1984 Winter Olympics, he won a gold medal.

Urmanov retired from skating in 1999. In 2001, his partner, Viktoria gave birth to twins. Three years later, in 2004, the couple married. He works as a coach and as an International Skating Union technical specialist.

Until 2014, he used to live in St. Petesberug, but he later moved to Sochi so that he could work at the Iceberg Skating Palace. From time to time, Urmanov holds summer camps and clinics in various locations in Europe, including France and Sweden.

Browning is a renowned former Candian ice skater. He is a four-time world champion, but he never brought Olympic gold home with him. He represented Canada during three Winter Olympics, in 1988, 1992, and 1994.

He even got the honor of carrying the Canadian flag during the 1994 Winter Olympics, which took place in Lillehammer, Norway. In 1988, during the World Championships in Budapest, Hungry, he performed a quadruple jump, which landed him a place in the Guinness Book of Records.

Over the years, Browning was also heavily involved in choreography. One of his iconic programs (he regularly appears on TV), was Singing in the Rain. In the program, Browning emulates Gene Kelly, except that he does that on ice.

Although this program appeared in 1994, it is still asked to be performed to this day. Browning has also choreographed programs for numerous stars, including Kevin Alves, Brian Joubert, and Yuka Sato, just to name a few.

Richard “Dick” Button is a former American figure skater. He is famous for inventing the “flying camel spin” which was originally known as the “Button Spin,” named after him. He was a two-time Olympic champion, in 1948 and 1952, respectively.

What’s more, he was a five-time World Champion, between 1948 to 1952. Button was also the first skater to have performed the double Axel jump in competition in 1948, which is no simple feat!

In 1952, Button retired from skating championships because he was admitted to Harvard Law school. Four years later, in 1956, he was awarded his law degree. He was admitted to the bar that same year in Washington D.C.

During his time at Harvard, Button kept skating, and he signed up with the Ice Capades. Button remained involved in skating in the decades that followed. He appeared on television as well, as he created various sports-related shows, including World Professional Figure Skating Championships and Challenge of Champions.

Chan is a former competitive Canadian figure skater. He won his Olympic gold medal in 2018, and his silver medal in 2014. Chan is also a three-time world champion, earning his titles in 2011, 2012, and 2013.

His skating style was known for artistry and elegance. He contributed a lot to the sport, improving his skating style from season to season. He also helped lots of skaters, improving their performance tremendously.

In 2018, Chan participated in his last Olympic event, in Pyeongchang, South Korea. He announced shortly after that he would retire from Olympic skating. This doesn’t mean that Chan stopped skating altogether, as he still participates in figure skating tours in Canada.

Unfortunately, in December he sustained a major knee injury in a skiing incident. Two years later, in 2020, Chan has become an Olympic Committee ambassador. He is considered to be one of the greatest Canadian male skaters of all time.

This pair of Canadian figure skaters became the first North Americans to win an Olympic gold medal in ice dancing in 2010, during the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver. Eight years later, in 2018, the pair won another gold medal at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics.

Interestingly enough, the pair began skating together from a very young age, when Virtue was nine and Moir was seven. It was Moir’s aunt, also a professional skater, who introduced the two.

After 22 years of skating together, the pair retired from competitive skating, in September 2019. Unlike during their time as skaters, the two went separate ways. They do keep in touch, however.

Tessa has always been interested in fashion, and so she began modeling for a clothing brand, called RW&Co. Scott, however, refused to give up on his passion. He started working as a head coach and managing director of the Ice Academy of Montreal.

Dimitriev is a former Russian pair skater, known to have won the Olympics with two different partners. He won a gold medal with Natalia Mishkutionok in 1992 and with Oksana Kazakova in 1998.

In 1994, together with Mishkutionok, he won a silver medal as well. Dimitriev began skating in 1975, and represented the Soviet Union until its collapse, winning the World Figure Skating Championships and the European Championships in 1991 and 1992, together with Mishkutionok.

Although Dimitriev’s skating partner Mishkutionok decided to retire from competition in 1994, Dimitriev remained true to his passion. In February 1995, he found a new skating partner, Oksana Kazakova.

In 1996, They won the European Championships and earned a bronze medal at the 1997 World Championships. In 1998, Dimitriev and his new partner won the Olympic title in Nagano, Japan. Dinitriev retired from Olympic skating in 1999. He has been coaching skaters since, in Moscow.

Despite her young age and a relatively short skating career, Medvedeva has a lot to show off. A two-time 2018 Olympic silver medalist, a two-time world champion, in 2016 and in 2017, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, in 2015 and 2016, Medvedeva was defiantly considered a rising star.

Her long list of achievements is probably due to the fact that she has been skating since she was 3-years-old.

Medvedev’s promising skating career was cut short in December 2021, when she announced that due to a chronic back injury she is forced to retire from competitive skating. During the short span of her career, Medvedeva made a name for herself.

She has set the world record score 13 times and became the first female skater to surpass the various skating marks. In the 2022 Winter Olympics, however, Medvedeva was spotted with her training partner Jason Brown.

Hanyu is a still active Japanese figure skater. But, don’t let his young age fool you. He has already made a name for himself, since he is a two-time Olympic champion, earning medals in 2014 and 2018, respectively. Hanyu is also a two-time world champion, earning his titles in 2014 and 2017.

Hanyu is also a six-time Japanese National champion, earning this title between 2012 to 2015 and between 2020 to 2021.

In the 2022 Winter Olympics, which took place in Beijing, Hanyu performed rather poorly. He missed his opening quadruple Salchow jump due to a hole in the ice and was placed eighth.

And if that wasn’t enough, when doing the free skate, he fell twice in his first two opening jumps. Apparently, his bad performance during the free skate was due to the fact that he re-injured his ankle, and decided to take painkillers instead of withdrawing.

The two were more than just partners. Ekaterina Gordeeva and Sergei Grinkov were also married to each other. Gordeeva was the 1988 and 1994 Olympic Champion and four-time World Champion in 1986, 1987, 1989, and 1990, in pair skating, respectively.

After Grinkov’s death, Gordeeva continued performing as a singles skater. Her husband, Grinkov died in 1995 from a massive heart attack in Lake Placid, New York, while the two were actually preparing for a competition.

Despite her husband’s early demise, Gordeeva didn’t let his passing affect her skating career. She returned to the rink in 1996, only a year after the unfortunate event. She returned to the ice as a solo performer.

In 2002, Gordeeva married the 1998 Olympic men’s singles champion, Ilia Kulik, in San Fransico. Between 2008 to 2009 she briefly returned to pair skating. Gordeeva focuses on skating and choreography today. She is a member of a coaching team in West Edmonton Mall.

Illia Kuilk is a Russian figure skater. He has earned many awards during his career, including the 1998 Olympic Champion, the 1995 European Champion, the 1997–1998 Grand Prix Final champion, and the 1995 World Junior champion.

Kulik began skating when he was five years old. He became one of the youngest male figure skating Olympic champions, earning the Olympic title at the age of 20 and 267 days. He missed the European Championships in 1998, however, due to back problems.

In 1998, due to a chronic back problem, Kulik was forced to retire from competitive skating. Instead, he focused on performing in shows, including Stars on Ice, Ice All Stars, and Festa On Ice.

In 2002, he married former Olympian figure skater Ekaterina Gordeeva. In 2012, the pair opened a skating rink in Lake Forest, California. Kulik briefly tried his hand at acting, participating in the 2000s ballet-themed movie Center Stage.

A four-time Olympic medalist, Pluenshko is one of Russia’s most prominent figure skaters. He is a three-time World champion, a seven-time European champion, a four-time Grand Prix Final champion, and a ten-time Russian national champion.

Winning a total record number of 22 Grand Prix titles, Plushenko is considered one of the greatest skaters in history. He started skating when he was 4, only because his mother wanted him to become more physically active.

Between 2006 to 2008, it seemed like Plushenko will not go back to skating. However, it was only a short hiatus, which was much needed, given the fact that Plushenko batted old knee injures.

For the next ten years more or less, Plusheknko was very active, participating in various competitions and earning various titles. In 2014, however, Plushenko decided to withdraw from men’s single competitions due to a back injury. He hasn’t returned to professional competition since.

Savchenko is one of the most decorated pair skaters of our time. She is the 2018 Olympic Champion, a two-time Olympic bronze medalist, a six-time World Champion, a four-time European Champion, and a five-time Grand Prix Final champion.

She first represented Ukraine and then Germany. She began skating when she was five years old, after watching it on television. At the age of 13, she turn to pair skating, citing the fact that she enjoyed the acrobatics involved.

Savchenko has been dividing her career between representing Ukraine and Germany over the last 15 years. Originally, she represented Ukraine with Dmitri Boyenko and later with Stanislav Morozov.

With Morozov, she was the 2000 World Junior champion, the 1999–2000 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a two-time Ukrainian national champion. In 2003, after a successful tour, she relocated to Germany. In June 2021, Savchenko announced that she will be moving to the United States to pursue her competitive career.

Yagudin is a former Russian figure skater. He is the 2002 Olympic champion, a four-time World champion, a three-time European champion, a two-time Grand Prix Final champion, and the 1996 World Junior champion.

He is the only skater to have achieved a Golden Slam, which is a victory in all major championships. Yagudin was introduced to skating when he was four years old, by his mother. The young Yagudin showed talent and promise from a very early age.

In 2002, after a marvelous performance during that year’s Skate America competition, Yagudin announced his retirement from professional skating. This was due to the fact that he was diagnosed with a congenital hip disorder.

Yagudin has mainly worked as a show host, actor, and figure skating commentator. In 2019, the Russian former skater got his own TV show called Ice Is Melting with Alexei Yagudin, in which he holds interviews with various athletes.

It was the 80s when Brian Boitano first made a name for himself as an elite figure skater. After becoming World Champion in both 1986 and 1988, he also took home the gold in the men’s singles at the Winter Olympics in Calgary. His rivalry with rival Brian Orser was known as the “Battle of the Brians.” Although he ended up turning professional, Boitano did return to competitive figure skating, taking part in the 1994 Winter Olympics. However, he only finished sixth that time around.

One of Boitano’s most notable career endeavors since going professional was his role in the Emmy Award-winning movie Carmen On Ice, which he ended up starring in alongside rival Brian Orser. In more recent times, he has had his own show on the Food Network – What Would Brian Boitano Eat? Then, in December 2013, after intense speculation surrounding his personal life, Boitano came out as gay to the public. He was inducted into the Figure Skating Halls of Fame in 1996.

One of the most iconic names in the world of figure skating, Nancy Kerrigan is probably best remembered for being attacked by someone hired by the ex-husband of her fellow figure skating rival, Tonya Harding. After rising to fame at the 1991 World Championships, Kerrigan went on to win the silver three years later at the Olympics in Lillehammer. It will surely go down as one of the most bizarre moments in sporting history. But where is Nancy nowadays?

Fortunately, Nancy Kerrigan hasn’t had too much drama in her life since the attack. Not only has she made appearances in movies such as Blades of Glory, but Kerrigan also took part in Season 24 of Dancing with the Stars. In recent times, she has been an executive producer of the documentary Why Not Lose 5 Pounds? Then, in 2018, Kerrigan became the Super Bowl correspondent for Inside Edition. Her most recent TV show appearance came on hit sitcom Fresh Off The Boat.

One of the most intriguing personalities in the world of figure skating, Tonya Harding burst onto the scene in 1991 like her rival, Nancy Kerrigan. Harding made history when she became the first female skater from the States to perform a triple axel jump. However, it was the attack on Nancy Kerrigan that ultimately affected her career. Harding was banned from competing in the U.S. Figure Skating Association. However, this doesn’t mean that her story is over just yet…

Soon after her skating career came to an end, Harding turned to professional boxing. This, however, was fairly short-lived, with Harding winning three of her matches and losing the other three. She is currently married to Joseph Price and the couple had a son in 2011. In recent times, she has been working as a painter and a deck builder. However, her story has once again become mainstream ever since Margot Robbie portrayed her in the critically-acclaimed biopic I, Tonya.

There is no denying that Rudy Galindo’s finest hour in figure skating came when he competed in the pairs with Kristi Yamaguchi. Together, the pair won both the 1988 World Junior Championships, as well as the 1989 and 1990 U.S. National Championships. However, the duo decided to go solo shortly after. Eventually, Galindo also reached the top of the men’s singles, triple jumping eight times to gold at the 1996 U.S. Championships. He has proven that he is a natural in both the singles and the pairs.

Galindo is one of the only competitors on this list to never have competed at the Olympics. However, he did make history when he became the first openly gay and Latino U.S. Champion. He also made a name for himself in professional shows. These days, the former skater works as a coach at his original rink in San Jose, bringing in the next generation of American talent. In 2000, Galindo shocked the sports industry when he admitted to being HIV positive.

The story that Canadians David Pelletier and Jamie Salé have been through in their career is extraordinary, to say the least. Together, the pair won the gold at both the 2001 World Championships and 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Despite being at the center of a judging scandal, the pair ultimately walked away with the gold, which most neutrals felt was totally deserved. It was a truly remarkable time for the pair, but there was much more to follow…

Not only did Pelletier and Salé turn professional after the Olympics, but they also fell in love. On Christmas Day, 2004, the couple got engaged and married a year later. Then, two years after that, they had a son, Jesse Joe Pelletier. They remained skating partners. They were inducted into both the Skate Canada Hall of Fame and the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame.

Over the course of ten years and 236 episodes, Friends has become one of the most popular and successful shows in the history of television. The six adults making their way through life in Manhattan wouldn’t have been the same without the cast’s uncontrollable chemistry and the show’s catchy theme song. Friends is also memorable for its long list of celebrity guest actors that helped make the show’s run that much better.

June Gable portrayed Estelle Leonard, Joey’s chain-smoking agent. Her recurring character appeared on the show from 1994 to 2004 – her character dies in the show’s final season.

Before her role on Friends, Gable appeared on Broadway, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of the Old Lady. After 30 years away from the big screen, Gable recently appeared in the 2018 movie, The Week Of.

You may remember her as Ross’s girlfriend, Julie, for most of the second season, but Lauren Tom has acted in more features than you may realize. Tom’s breakthrough movie role was as a waitress in the film Cadillac Man. The role led to her being a guest on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

She then appeared in the film The Joy Luck Club in 1993, which led to roles in other major films. Although her work is primarily in the voiceover business, she made television appearances on many popular television shows, including The Closer and Grey’s Anatomy. 

In 1997, Jon Favreau appeared on Friends as Pete Becker, a software millionaire, who Monica dates for several episodes. In 2000, the actor played himself in a Sopranos episode as a Hollywood director. The following year he made his directorial debut with the movie Made.

In 2003, he directed the hit Christmas comedy Elf, starring Will Ferrell, scoring his first financial success as a director. He has since made a name for himself as a director and producer, directing the first movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Iron Man, in which he also played Tony Stark’s driver, Happy.

Actress Amanda Carlin plays Dr. Long, Rachel and Ross’s doctor when Rachel is pregnant with Emma. She appears in six episodes in Season 8. The actress’s credited roles in both films and television series are usually smaller.

For example, she portrayed an office manager in Blood Work and a publicist in the film Liar Liar. The actress has been in countless television shows. Most recently, she appeared in the comedy, Mom, starring Allison Janney and fellow Friends alumnus Anna Faris.

Without Mitchell Whitfield’s character on Friends, the show may not have ever achieved its success. His character is mentioned in the first episode, although he only appeared in six episodes throughout the whole series.

Whitfield portrayed the one and only Barry Farber, Rachel’s ex-fiance, who she left at the altar on the day of their wedding. He also starred in Murder, She Wrote, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation as well as Curb Your Enthusiasm. As of 2015, Whitfield has been voicing Fixit on Transformers: Robots in Disguise.

Larry Hankin played Mr. Heckels, the neighbor living in the apartment under Monica’s. Apart from his Friends role, he is known for his role in Seinfeld, as well as his major role in the movie Escape from Alcatraz with award-winning actor, Clint Eastwood.

He recieved an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Film, live-action for Solly’s Diner in 1980. In both seasons three and five of Breaking Bad, Hankin appeared as a junk-yard owner.

Giovanni Ribisi started his acting career in network television with recurring roles on The Wonder Years and My Two Dads. His recurring Friends role as Frank Jr., the brother of Phoebe, was one of his first major roles and in turn, gained him public recognition.

In recent years, Ribisi appeared in My Name Is Earl, earning him an Emmy nomination for his performance on the series. In addition to his many television cameos, his many film credits include Lost in Translation, Saving Private Ryan and The Gift.

Jane Sibbet started her acting career on the NBC soap, Santa Barbara, in the late ’80s, for which she was nominated for a Best Newcomer Soap Opera Digest Awards. On Friends, Sibbet played the recurring role of Carol Willick, Ross’s ex-wife.

Her first appearance on the show was filmed two days after she gave birth to her son, Kai. Over the years, Sibbett has appeared in more than 200 episodes in multiple television series. Since her TV acting days, Jane has been directing theater in Hawaii.

Jessica Hecht may be best known for her recurring role on Friends as Susan Bunch, Carol’s life partner. Hecht starred in 12 episodes throughout the show’s running. Friends was not the only television series the actress performed in, in the ’90s and early 2000s, she appeared on ER, Seinfeld, and Law & Order.

One of her bigger roles was as Gretchen Schwartz, a semi-recurring role on the popular drama series, Breaking Bad. Apart from her television stints, Hecht played in the critically acclaimed movie Sideways and has been acting on Broadway.

Bonnie Somerville had a recurring role as Mona, dating Ross in Season 8. She first appears as a co-worker at Monica’s restaurant as she and Ross start a relationship. In 2005, Somerville starred as a lead role in the sitcom, Kitchen Confidential opposite Bradley Cooper.

The actress had small roles in movies such as Without a Paddle, Bedazzles, and The Ugly Truth. In 2011, she starred in a Hallmark Christmas television film, A Holiday Engagement, and in 2013, she portrayed Detective Mackenzie on CBS’s Golden Boy, which aired for a single season.

Steven Eckholdt appeared in six episodes of Friends, portraying Mark Robinson, Rachel’s colleague at Bloomingdale’s. Ross becomes jealous of him, leading to yet another break up of Ross and Rachel.

Apart from his many small roles in numerous television shows, Eckholdt starred in My Big Fat Greek Life, a CBS sitcom, which was based on the hit film My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In 2010, Eckholdt guest-starred in two episodes of Two and a Half Men, the hit sitcom starring Charlie Sheen and Jon Cryer.

Paget came to viewers’ attention in her recurring role as Kathy, Joey’s girlfriend, who becomes Chandler’s girlfriend in the fourth season of Friends. The actress had a short-lived Bay Area talk show and appeared in the Showtime series, Huff, which aired from 2004 to 2006.

In movies, her most notable role is Ms. Indestructible, the lead in the 2000 superhero comedy, The Specials. In 2005, the actress began voice work as a character on the animated series, Harvey Birdman.

At the beginning of Season 5, Steve Ireland portrays Mr. Zelner, Rachel’s boss at Ralph Lauren. Rachel accidentally kisses him during her job interview but still gets hired. Mr. Zelner is a timid and serious character who takes his job at Ralph Lauren very seriously.

Ireland is a character actor who has been on many television shows, including Seinfeld and The West Wing. In the 1999 film The Deep End of the Ocean, the actor had a credited role as a reporter.

Donovan portrayed Joshua Burgin, Rachel’s love interest in Season 4 of Friends. The actor has been in both movies and television shows, and he is also remembered for voicing Hercules in Disney’s mythological movie Hercules.

In 2005, Donovan began directing television when he directed an episode of The O.C, a series that he has also starred in. He went on to direct episodes for two major television shows, Gossip Girl and Glee. In 2012, the actor played Bob Anders, one of the key supporting roles in the Oscar-winning film, Argo.

Michael Hagerty plays the recurring role of Mr. Treeger, the building superintendent at the friends’ apartment building. Although he does not appear in the final episode, Mr. Treeger is the last character to be mentioned by name, as Monica tells the gang to leaves the keys for Treeger.

Hagerty is recognized for his small roles in a range of comedies, including Cheers, Seinfeld, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. The actor is known for his thick Chicago accent and mustache.

Comedian Michael Rapaport has appeared in more than sixty films since the 1990s. In addition to the many movies the actor stars in, he had a leading role in the sitcom The War at Home.

In 2011, he directed the documentary Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest. In Season 5, Rapaport portrays Pheobe’s boyfriend, Gary. Gary is a police officer that tries to establish a real relationship with Phoebe in the hopes of moving in with her.

Cosimo Fusco played Rachel’s Italian boyfriend in Season 1. Paolo lived in the same building as Rachel and Monica, he speaks very little English – his and Rachel’s relationship isn’t supposed to be anything more than a fling.

The Italian actor is cast for roles in Italian, German, and American movies and television series’. He appeared in the movie adaptation of Angels and Demons, Dan Brown’s best-selling novel. In 2008 and 2009, he played the role of a judge in the Italian series, The Good and the Bad.

Beginning her career in 1989 on the Nickelodeon series, Hey Dude, over the last 30 years Christine Taylor has made a name for herself in both television and film. She guest-starred in television shows, including Arrested Development, and My Name is Earl.

Her film credits include blockbusters such as Zoolander and Tropic Thunder where she acted opposite her then-husband, Ben Stiller. After taking four years off of acting in movies, the actress is finishing up her 2020 movie, Friendsgiving.

Kathleen Turner is a film and stage actress and director, and she has been known for her raspy voice. She has been nominated for an Academy Award and won two Golden Globes. She rose to fame in the 1980s, winning awards for Romancing the Stone in 1984 and Prizzi’s Honor in 1985.

She plays Chandler’s drag queen father, Charles, in two episodes in Friends. In 2009, she played the role of Charlie Runkle’s boss in season three of the series, Californication.

Melissa George portrayed Emma’s nanny, Molly in Season 9. Before appearing on the television show, she was best known for her role as Angel Parrish on the Australian soap opera, Home and Away. George transitioned into leading roles in the remake of The Amityville Horror, in which she played Kathy Lutz.

That was the same year she appeared in the thriller film Derailed, alongside Friends actors Jennifer Aniston and Tom Conti. The actress had recurring roles on Alias and Grey’s Anatomy. In 2016 she landed a leading role on the medical drama, Heartbeat.

Friends fans know that Pheobe and her twin sister, Ursula had a less than pleasant relationship. For two episodes during Season 8 (E6-7), Sean Penn played Eric, a man who was engaged to Ursula.

Penn focused his career on starring in movies, so it came as somewhat of a surprise that the actor took on a role in a television show. Not long after his appearance, Penn made his way to star in the critically acclaimed movie, Mystic River for which he won an Academy Award for Best Actor.

Reese Witherspoon has become one of Hollywood’s most beloved actresses. She recently starred in HBO’s Big Little Lies – but she wasn’t always as confident on-screen as she is today.

Years after appearing on Friends, she revealed that when the show’s producers asked her back, she said that she couldn’t do it and that she was too scared to work with such big actors. During Friends‘ sixth season (S6E13-14), Reese played Rachel’s spoiled and bratty younger sister, Jill, who comes to New York to follow in her sister’s footsteps.

David, “the Scientist Guy,”  was a physicist with whom Pheobe falls in love with in Season 1 only to have him break her heart when he decided to move to Minsk. Azaria was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Awad for Outstanding Guest Actor – Comedy Series for his performance in the television show.

Starring in Friends wasn’t Azaria’s first time on television, the actor became famous for his voice work in the ongoing animated television series, The Simpsons, which has he has been voicing since 1989!

Phoebe gets her happy ending thanks to Paul Rudd’s character, Mike Hannigan. Rudd starred in 18 episodes in Season 9 and 10 of the show. Mike and Phoebe meet on an accidental blind date (that Joey sets them up on) and proceed to date, eventually falling in love.

Since starring in Friends, Rudd’s career has taken off immensely – he has been in numerous blockbuster movies and currently stars in a Netflix comedy series Living with Yourself, for which he earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Erica, the mother of Chandler and Monica’s adopted twins, was portrayed by Anna Faris. She was introduced in Season 10 as a young woman from Ohio who decides to let the Bings adopt her baby. Faris’ breakout role came in 2000 when she starred in the parody film Scary Movie.

Although most of her performances throughout the years have been movie roles, Faris began starring in her television series, Mom, in 2013. With an average viewership of 11.79 million, Mom is the third highest-rated comedy on broadcast television in the United States.

Bruce Willis won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his acting on the sixth season of Friends. In three of the season’s episodes (E21-23), the actor portrayed Paul Stevens, the father of Ross’s much-younger girlfriend, Elizabeth.

Stevens did not approve of the pair and made it very clear. Willis guest-starred on Friends after losing a bet to Matthew Perry during the filming of The Whole Nine Yards. After appearing on the show, he donated his appearance fee to five of his favorite charities.

Before portraying the conservative and sarcastic Jack Donaghy on 30 Rock, Baldwin portrayed a completely polar character on Friends. In two episodes of Season 8 (E17-18), Alec Baldwin plays Parker, an optimistic and enthusiastic man that Phoebe meets at the dry cleaner.

It is hard to believe that the same actor portrays Parker and Donaghy, as they are so different. Phoebe brings Parker to the Gellars’ 35th wedding anniversary party, where he drives everyone crazy by complimenting every single person he meets.

Being identical twins, Cole and Dylan Sprouse were often cast together, playing the same role, allowing more time for the character to be filmed. The role of Ross and Carol’s son, Ben Geller, is one of the few roles in which Cole acted without Dylan.

Cole starred in seven episodes in both Season 7 and 8. In recent years, Cole took on another role without his brother, starring in the teen drama series, Riverdale, as Jughead Jones.

Introduced in Season 9 (E11-13), Dermot Mulroney portrays Gavin Mitchell, Rachel’s temporary replacement at Ralph Lauren. While still on maternity leave, Rachel visits work to find that Gavin has rearranged her office and is now her boss’s new favorite.

She decided to go back to work, worried that she may lose her job because of him. Gavin’s character would mark Mulroney’s last television appearance for several years – he later revealed that he had decided to turn down TV series roles to focus on film roles.

Charlie Wheeler, played by Aisha Tyler, is a paleontology professor who Ross develops feelings for. Charlie is a recurring character that was featured in nine episodes in both Season 9 and 10. Things get tricky when Ross plans to ask Charlie out, but Joey beats him to it.

Though the role was not written specifically as a woman of color, Tyler was the first African-American actress to become a regular on the series, which was groundbreaking for the show. She has since had major and minor roles in both movies and television shows.

After Chandler and Monica move in together, Joey needs a new roommate. Elle Macpherson was cast as Janine Lacroix, an attractive Australian dancer that applies for the room. Joey gives her the room immediately, without knowing much about her.

Macpherson, who is known for her record of five cover appearances for the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, was perfect for the role. Janine was around for five episodes in Season 6 (E7-11), but when things fell through between her and Joey, she quickly moved out.

Tom Selleck plays the unforgettable Richard Burke –  who was introduced in Season 2 and is featured in nine episodes throughout the whole series. In Season 2, all of Selleck’s entrances had to be refilmed after the audience left because “it was like The Beatles with the screaming and the applause.”

Selleck was nominated for his role as Richard at the Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. He has been starring in the police drama, Blue Bloods for the past ten years.

Olivia Williams, who has been starring in television shows and movies since 1992 made her appearance on the American television show. “The One With Ross’s Wedding” is a two-part episode, these two episodes feature numerous supporting roles from British actors.

Olivia Williams’s character, Felicity, is a bridesmaid who Joey entices. To film these episodes, the Friends cast flew to London. Lisa Kudrow did not join the others as she was too pregnant to fly, as was her character, Phoebe. Ironically enough, Lisa Kudrow had her baby the same day that the second episode aired.

After Joey moves into his apartment, Chandler gets a new roommate, Eddie Menuek. Adam Goldberg portrays Eddie in three episodes of Season 2 (17-19), and as things escalate, it is apparent that Eddie and Chandler have nothing in common.

In a 2015 interview, Adam admitted that he had almost passed on the role as he wanted to focus on acting in films and was not interested in television. Goldberg later appeared in a nine-episode arc in Season 2 of the Friends spinoff, Joey. Goldberg portrayed Jimmy, Joey Tribbiani’s best friend from high school.

One of the most infamous recurring Friends characters is none other than Janice Hosenstein. She was Chandler’s longtime on-again-off-again girlfriend. Janice was known for her nasal voice and trademark, “Oh my God,” cry whenever something dramatic happened, or whenever she was being Janice.

Although it seemed like she was in almost every episode, Janice only appeared in 19 episodes of the series in total. She has since had smaller roles in both movies and films, but will forever be remembered as Janice.

Marlo Thomas, who may be most widely known for starring on the sitcom That Girl made her way onto one of America’s favorite television shows. She portrayed Sandra Green, Rachel’s mom, in three episodes of Friends.

Although she was only in three episodes, her name is mentioned in another ten episodes, and her presence in the show was noticed. Before setting out on her own, Rachel and Sandra displayed many of the same characteristics. As the actress ages, she has been taking on fewer roles, but can still be seen on screen from time to time.

James Michael Tyler will be forever known as Gunther Central Perk – an inside joke for all the hardcore Friends fans. Tyler, originally an extra, he was cast as Gunther because he was the only one who knew how to operate the espresso machine. This lucky casting led to the recurring role of Gunther.

The Central Perk waiter is a permanent fixture in the everyday lives of the six friends, yet he never manages to make his way into the inner circle. Tyler has not been in many features since his Friends days, although he did appear in a BBC sitcom, Episodes, as himself portraying an ice hockey coach.

Making appearances throughout the ten seasons of the show’s running, Christina Pickles portrayed Judy, Ross, and Monica’s mother. Judy often made condescending remarks about her daughter while simultaneously favoring Ross. Christina was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her appearance in the show.

Starting her career on Broadway in 1960, the actress has been in dozens of television shows and movies. She won an Emmy in 2018 for her role in the series, Break a Hip.

Elliot Gould portrayed his recurring role as Jack Geller on the show alongside his on-screen wife, Judy. In early appearances, Jack makes inappropriate comments, which he punctuates by adding, “I’m just saying!” The actor appeared in 20 episodes throughout the show.

He has appeared on Law & Order, CSI, and has had more significant roles in Ray Donovan and Disney Channel’s animated series, Kim Possible. Currently, Elliot serves on the Screen Actors Guild National Board of Directors.

Morgan Fairchild made her mark in the industry in the late 1970s and early 1980s with continuing roles in television series’ in which she usually portrayed the glamorous role. In the five episodes of Friends the actress appeared on, Fairchild portrayed Nora Tyler Bing, Chandler’s mother.

She first appears on the show when she meets the gang while on a book tour in New York. In addition to her acting, Fairchild has maintained a strong role as a board member of the Screen Actors Guild.

Eddie Cahill portrayed Tag Jones, Rachel’s attractive assistant at Ralph Lauren in Seasons 7 and 8. Rachel hires him not because he is the best choice for the job but because she has a crush on him, after the couple starts a relationship, they try keeping a secret from her boss.

Although Cahill was considered a real heartthrob, his most memorable role was goalie Jim Craig in the movie Miracle and for playing Detective Don Flack in CSI: NY.

Emily Walham is the niece of Rachel’s boss, played by Helen Baxendale. Ross and Emily begin a relationship in the middle of Season 4, starting drama that only happens on a show like Friends.

She makes occasional appearances during Season 5, but after her and Ross’s relationship ends, she does not continue to appear on the show. Baxendale may be more well known for starring in British television shows, including Cuckoo, that has been airing since 2012.

Melissa Warburton, the character responsible for one of the memorable scenes in all of the Friends‘ history, was played by Winona Ryder. Melissa is one of Rachel’s sorority sisters in college who inevitably falls in love with Rachel.

In 2002, Ryder appeared in the movie Mr. Deeds, after which she took a break from films. In 2009 she returned to play in Star Trek. She currently stars in the critically acclaimed Netflix series, Stranger Things, as Joyce Byres, a role for which she has receieved a Golden Globe nomination.

Cecilia Monroe is a fictional actress that played alongside Joey’s character on Days of our Lives. Monroe was played by the one and only, Susan Sarandon who was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series.

The actress has been in everything from Thelma & Louise to Little Women excelling at every role that is thrown at her. The actress playing Cecilia Monroe’s character’s daughter is the real-life daughter of Susan Sarandon, Eva Amurri.

Christina Applegate is best known for her role as Kelly Bundy in the sitcom Married… with Children, which ran for ten years. Applegate appeared twice as Amy Green, Rachel’s other sister.

The actress won an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on the show. In 2018 Applegate was cast to star in Netflix’s dark comedy series, Dead to Me, eventually being nominated for an Emmy for her role in the series.

Robin Williams made quite a cameo way back in season three, in “The One With The Ultimate Fighting Champion.” Monica was about to tell her friends a story at Central Perk but was interrupted by Williams playing a guy named Tomas, who came into the cafe alongside Billy Crystal…

Williams was definitely one of the biggest guest stars on Friends, beloved for his infamous roles in hit movies such as Dead Poets Society, Good Will Hunting and Good Morning Vietnam, as well as his stand-up comedy. He broke onto the scene as Mork in Happy Days, and went on to star in Mork & Mindy before taking the world by storm.

In the same episode with Robin Williams, Billy Crystal also appears as Tomas’ friend! The men asked the group to make room on the sofa as they discussed their troubles, to which the cast duly obliged. They then eavesdropped as Tomas broke into tears claiming that his wife was being unfaithful.

After his short but spectacular cameo on the hit show, Billy Crystal went on to star in more hit films such as My Giant, Analyze This, Monsters Inc, and even host five more Academy Awards shows.

We all know what it’s like to get stuck next to that fidgety, overly talkative person on a plane, and this is precisely what happens in Season four of Friends. Rachel was that person, sitting next to Hugh Laurie, who plays a man on a flight from New York to London.

At the time, Laurie wasn’t very well known outside of the UK, as his most notable appearances were as Jasper in 101 Dalmations and Poirot in the epic Spice World. But his career soon took off, starring as the iconic Dr. House for eight seasons along with other TV and movie roles.

Jennifer Coolidge appeared in Season 10 and donned a terrible fake British accent to play Amanda, a friend of Monica and Phoebe’s that they try to “phase out” after growing tired of her contrived posh attitude. It didn’t go as smoothly as they would’ve liked.

Jennifer Coolidge, who actually made her TV debut on Seinfeld, would go on to become an iconic character in two movie franchises. She played “Stifler’s Mom” in the American Pie films and Paulette Bonafonté Parcelle in the Legally Blonde films, and later reunited with Matt LeBlanc on the Friends spinoff – Joey.

DeVito got a lot of awkward laughs when he played a 50-year-old stripper who Rachel and Monica end up hiring at the last minute for Phoebe’s bachelorette party. When the three question his abilities, his character ends up dissolving into tears.

Danny DeVito, who began his career as early as 1970, did not slow down after making his cameo back in 2004. He’s continued his career as a successful actor and director, notably starring in the hit show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia,

In the season three episode “The One with the Screamer,” Ben Stiller plays Rachel’s date, who irrationally screams at anyone who bothers him. His violent tendencies get discovered by Ross, though no one believes him as they think he’s just trying to get rid of Rachel’s boyfriend.

Born in New York City in 1965, Stiller began to shoot his comic films from the young age of ten. His appearance on Friends was during his meteoric rise to fame and he went on to become quite a superstar as an actor, director, producer, and writer.

Dan Bucatinsky appeared on Friends in season nine, “The One with Phoebe’s Birthday Dinner,” where he plays an annoyed waiter at the restaurant where Phoebe attempts to hold the table for her party of six.

In the end, only she and Joey are on time as all the other friends have issues that make them late. After his brief role on Friends, Bucatinsky went on to create the hit show Web Therapy with Lisa Kudrow, as well as making guest appearances on a long list fo TV shows.

Penelope “Punky” Brewster, also known as Soleil Moon Frye, made her appearance in Friends in the episode “The One with the Girl Who Hits Joey,” where she plays, well…the girl who hits Joey.

Despite the friendly nature behind her punches, they still really hurt, and Joey doesn’t enjoy the punches as much as she does. After her short appearance on Friends she landed the role of Roxie King on Sabrina the Teenage Witch, but afterward worked mostly as a voice actor and has opened an organic specialty clothing store for children.

During Season 2, the friends discover that Phoebe once married a gay Canadian ice dancer (Steve Zahn) to help him get U.S. citizenship. However, when Phoebe goes to visit him, she learns he isn’t gay and needs a divorce so he can get married again.

Steve Zahn made a career out of portraying dysfunctional delinquents and likable freaks, and after his brief performance on Friends his career took off. He appeared in films such as You’ve Got Mail, Rescue Dawn, and Dallas Buyer’s Club, and even had a recurring role on the hit TV show Modern Family.

Isabella Rossellini guest-stars as herself on “Friends.” Ross regrets taking the famous star off his list (of celebrities he’s allowed to sleep with) when she comes into Central Perk, but Rachel—wanting to see him hit on the movie star—says she can be an alternate.

Hilarity ensues as Ross humiliates himself. In real life, Isabella grew up in Italy. She came to America when she was 19 and went on to become the incredible Isabella Rossellini, a well-known Italian-American actress, as well as a filmmaker, author, philanthropist, and model!

Michael Vartan made his handsome presence felt in a fair few European and independent films before making his Hollywood studio break in the romantic comedy Never Been Kissed. He was born in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, and raised in the small Normandy town of Fleury, Vartan moved to Los Angeles at age 18.

Playing Richard Burke (Tom Selleck’s) young and attractive doctor son Tim, Michael Vartan and Monica attempt something romantic, but having dated his father, Monica feels the relationship is almost incestuous.

Sassy Leah Remini was a veteran of several failed TV sitcoms until she finally scored when she was cast as comedian Kevin James’s wife on The King of Queens. She worked steadily from the late ’80s on, Remini guest-starred on several comedies, including Friends.

As Ross’s son Ben is about to be born and everyone gathers in the hospital during Season 1, Joey finds himself helping a single pregnant woman (Leah Remini) when he realizes she has no one there with her while she’s in labor.

Even Dr. Meredith Grey has appeared on another one of TV’s finest sitcoms! Ellen Pompeo makes an appearance during Season 10, as Missy Goldberg, now she is a young woman, but when she was a girl that Ross and Chandler both liked back in high school. At their reunion, Ross confesses to Missy that he didn’t ask her out because he and made a pact with Chandler not to. Of course, she tells him, “Chandler and I used to make out…a lot.”

She is known for her cat-shaped eyes and bold attitude; she is a native to Queens, New York. Debi Mazar began her show career behind the scenes as a makeup artist for a star-studded clientele, before eventually making her film debut in Goodfellas. The actress serves some much-needed comic relief to offset some tension in “The One Where Rachel Has a Baby: Part 1.” Of all the couples that have their baby before Ross and Rachel, Mazar plays one half of a bickering couple in the conjoined hospital room.

He is sometimes mistaken for the musician Moby, but he got his big break playing the role of Dean Pelton in the sitcom Community. Jim also co-wrote the screenplay for the film The Descendants and won an oscar for it.

He plays a crucial role in the final episodes of “Friends” as a nervous passenger aboard the same flight as Rachel to Paris. Jim provides some comedic relief in the moments when all fans could do is speculate the fate of Ross and Rachel.

Jon Lovitz appeared on Friends twice as Steve. Steve first appeared in Season 1 as a restauranteur who interviews Monica for a job. His character reappeared in Season 9, where he reveals that he has since lost the restaurant.

The actor is best known for serving as a cast member on Saturday Night Live between 1985 and 1990. The comedian-actor has either appeared in or voiced a character in at least one movie a year since first making it big – always ensuring that his audience laughs.

In Season 2, Episode 13, Julia Roberts guest stars as Susie Moss, Chandler’s childhood friend. Meeting as adults, they arrange a date, and Susie plans her revenge on Chandler for a prank he played on her when they were younger.

Roberts has always been a beloved actress in Hollywood, so it was only fitting that she made an appearance on the hit television show. Roberts has starred in many movies throughout the years, one of her most memorable roles was in August: Osage County, for which she earned numerous award nominations.

The Friends producers and writers had a sense of humor, and they made that apparent when the cast George Clooney and Noah Wyle as doctors. You may be thinking that this doesn’t seem like much of a joke, considering they are actors, but what you may be forgetting is that at that same time, both Wyle and Clooney were starring as doctors on the hit show, ER.

Clooney has since made his way into becoming one of Hollywood’s most adored actors. Wyle has since starred in the sci-fi series Falling Skies.

Selma Blair revealed in October 2018 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She has since become an advocate for the disease, candidly sharing her journey on social media.

It seems as though Selma Blair has made an appearance in almost everything, so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise that she made it as a guest star on Friends. Blair portrays Wendy, Chandler’s female coworker that makes a pass at him while he’s stuck in Tulsa for Christmas.

David Arquette, who was married to Courtney Cox at the time, appeared in a single episode of Friends. He portrayed Malcolm, a former boyfriend of Ursula, who stalks Phoebe mistaking her for her sister.

Cox and Arquette married in 1999, which triggered the joke opening theme for an episode where the cast added Arquette to their last name. In addition to his numerous acting roles, Arquette is known for professional wrestling, competing for World Championship Wrestling.

Alexandra Holden played Elizabeth Stevens, Ross’s girlfriend in season 6. She was a student of his and much younger than him, which led to many jokes made by his friends. In the early 2000s, she had acting roles in other television series, Grey’s Anatomy and Six Feet Under, were some of the bigger roles she recieved.

In 2007 she starred in five episodes of the series Friday Night Lights, playing Suzy. The actress has been acting in movies since 1997, including roles in Drop Dead Gorgeous and The Hot Chick.