Celebrity Celebrity Relationships Celebrity Friendships The Best 'Friends' Throwback Photos Get your fix of Friends nostalgia By Janine Henni Janine Henni Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world's most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment. People Editorial Guidelines Updated on August 16, 2023 10:21PM EDT Close The Cast of Friends. There is never a bad time to enjoy throwback photos of the Friends cast, but celebrating Matthew Perry's 54th birthday on Aug. 19, 2023, is definitely a great reason! Take a walk down memory lane with your favorite New Yorkers of the late '90s. 01 of 16 Before They Were Famous Friends Courteney Cox/Instagram Courteney Cox lit up Instagram in May 2019 with a throwback shot with pals Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, Matt LeBlanc, Matthew Perry and David Schwimmer before a little show called Friends even hit TV. "The one where the six of us went to Vegas and no one knew we were F.R.I.E.N.D.S yet," Cox wrote, adding the hashtags #tbt, #beforeitaired and #lovetheseguys. The actors were all smiles in the fun photo, taken in a private plane en route to Sin City. 02 of 16 Oh, Baby Cali Sheldon, one of the twins who played Rachel and Ross' baby Emma, shared a few cute pics from set. "Mom (pt. 2)" she jokingly captioned this one. 03 of 16 A-List Sitter Squad Cali also posted a throwback of a birthday party attended by Cox, Aniston and Kudrow. 04 of 16 The One with Jean Claude Van Damme Getty The guest stars were always on-point, as this photo can attest. 05 of 16 '90s Style It's all there: the turtlenecks, oversize suede, baggy khakis and brown lipstick. 06 of 16 'The Last Supper' Courteney Cox/Instagram Cox, Kudrow, Perry, Aniston, Schwimmer and LeBlanc all looked emotional in an old photo taken before the very last episode of Friends – the series finale – in 2004. " 'The Last Supper' before taping 'The Last One' on Jan 23, 2004 #tbt #friends," Cox wrote of the milestone moment, sharing a two-part shot in a January 2020 Instagram post. In the first photo, the friends held hands around a table full of food, while the second pic was a shot of the script for the final episode of the long running series. 07 of 16 I'll Be There For You Kevin Mazur/WireImage Music to our ears! Pop duo The Rembrandts performed the official music video for the hit series' theme song at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City with a little help from Aniston, Cox and Kudrow in this iconic throwback. The group's ballad "I'll Be There For You" opened every episode of Friends when it aired from 1994 to 2004. 08 of 16 One Direction Schwimmer and Cox take notes from director Peter Bonerz while filming an episode. 09 of 16 Bringing the Noise The episode they're filming here is "The One with the Screamer," though we don't recall the "screamer" being Joey. 10 of 16 Mugging for the Camera The whole cast sees how many mugs they can fit into one publicity photo in 1995. 11 of 16 Looking Sharp Warner Brothers Television/Fotos International/Courtesy Getty Recognize anyone? The costars dressed up and matched in all-black outfits for a promotional portrait in 1995. The hit sitcom first premiered on NBC in September 1994. 12 of 16 Warm Welcome Lisa Kudrow welcomed Matthew Perry to Instagram with this oh-so-'90s throwback shot (shot on a disposable camera, perhaps?). 13 of 16 Hello Ross and Rachel David Schwimmer and Jennifer Aniston. Fun fact: the 1996 episode in which Ross and Rachel finally consummate their relationship is actually the first of the series in which two of the main characters' names are used in the title. 14 of 16 Stylish Squad NBCU Photo Bank/Getty Monica, Rachel and Phoebe's on-set looks were just as trendy in the 90s and aughts as they are today. In fact, Aniston joked that one of her most cherished pieces from Friends came from another leading lady's closet. "I went into her line of clothes and I pulled out a dress that Monica wore," Aniston told PEOPLE in an exclusive before the cast's HBO reunion special. "I still have it and wear [it] to this day and it fits. It's floral with black lace, tiny little flowers, a V-neck and little ruffle cap sleeves." Instead of calling the fashion police, her pal Cox said she wished she had done the same, explaining that she didn't take anything from the set. "I'm not a person that collects things. And then I regret it," she told PEOPLE. 15 of 16 Gang's All Here Warner Bros. The crew caught up at Central Perk in this on-set photo from 2000. In conversation with PEOPLE, the six stars said they were overcome with emotion to return to Stage 24 at Warner Bros. studios for their HBO reunion, revisiting painstakingly recreated sets of a world they hadn't visited in 17 years – including, of course, Central Perk, where the thrift-store-find orange couch was always reserved for them. "I was flooded with 10 years of irreplaceable memories," Cox told PEOPLE. 16 of 16 Guy Talk NBC/Newsmakers Schwimmer, LeBlanc and Perry amused America with their endless antics in the roles of Ross, Joey, and Chandler. When the group reunited for only the second time since the finale aired in 2004 to film Friends: The Reunion, LeBlanc said they hadn't skipped a beat. "It's funny, when we do get together, it's like no time has passed," the actor told PEOPLE. "We pick up right where we left off."