New Delhi: ‘Friends’ stars Matthew Perry and Courteney Cox, who played Chandler Bing and Monica Gellar in the American sitcom are ‘distant cousins’, Page Six has learnt.
Monica and Chandler’s relationship was undoubtedly one of the most amazing aspects of ‘Friends’. The series worked effectively in showing the amount of love and care the two of them showered on each other- first as companions, and then as darlings.
Despite the fact that the series didn’t portray them as a couple in the beginning; their chemistry and the progression in love and care for each other was always loved by fans.
However, it will be a little weird for some of the fans to know that in real life the actors are distant cousins.
Page Six learnt from a new report by the genealogy website ‘MyHeritage’ that Perry and Cox are 11th cousins as the duo is related to William Osbern Haskell III and Ellen Haskell, a married couple that lived in England in the 17th century.
The report further informed that Ellen and her two sons immigrated to America in 1635. Perry can trace his linage to her son William, whose brother Roger is a direct ancestor of Cox.
“We went into this line very deeply, we checked every name. We found a lot of records that support it, and we have confidence that they are related,” Roi Mandel, the head of research at MyHeritage said.
“This is not such a surprise. It makes sense that when you go so many generations back, the chances of people being connected are higher,” Mandel added.
Page Six reported that the above-mentioned family tree also has another famous branch; researchers found that the distant cousins are also faintly related to Lady Gaga, though didn’t give details on how.
Meanwhile, after a long break of nearly 17 years, the 90s sitcom is coming back as ‘Friends: The Reunion’, for fans to be streamed on HBO from May 27, 2021.
The special reunites Cox and Perry with Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer, and Matt LeBlanc, on screen for the first time since the sitcom ended in 2004.
The reunion was filmed on Stage 24, on the Warner Bros. Studio lot in Burbank, California, where the show was originally shot. It was set to be filmed in 2020 but faced delays due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It was announced last week that the reunion special will also feature a variety of guests including David Beckham, Justin Bieber, BTS, James Corden, Cindy Crawford, Cara Delevingne, Lady Gaga, Elliott Gould, Kit Harington, Larry Hankin, Mindy Kaling, Thomas Lennon, Christina Pickles, James Michael Tyler, Maggie Wheeler, and Malala Yousafzai.
Indian fans will be able to watch the reunion special on Zee5. The video streaming platform recently announced that it will exclusively premiere the special.
‘Friends’ originally aired for 10 seasons on NBC from 1994 to 2004. The reunion special was first announced in February 2020 by HBO Max. The beloved sitcom followed the story of six friends in their 20s and 30s who live in Manhattan, New York City.
Ben Winston is directing and executive producing the reunion special alongside ‘Friends’ executive producers Kevin Bright, Marta Kauffman and David Crane.
