Courteney Cox paid tribute to her Friends co-star, Matthew Perry, on the first anniversary of his death.
On Monday, the 60-year-old actress, who famously played the late actor’s on-screen wife Monica Geller for years on their beloved sitcom, shared a heartfelt Instagram tribute featuring two photos of them.
The first image, taken at the premiere for Daisy Does America in 2005, showed the pair smiling at each other as they embraced.
The next picture in her slideshow was a throwback of Cox and Perry alongside their Friends co-stars, Jennifer Aniston, Lisa Kudrow, David Schwimmer and Matt LeBlanc.
‘Missing you today and always ❤️,’ she captioned her post, which received more than 1.6 million likes in nine hours.
Courteney Cox paid tribute to her Friends co-star, Matthew Perry, on the first anniversary of his death (seen in 2005)
The mom-of-one tagged the Matthew Perry Foundation, which was established in Perry’s honor to continue his work of helping those struggling with addiction.
Perry, who drowned in his hot tub after taking ketamine, openly detailed his battle with addiction throughout his career.
In November 2023, his close friends announced the formation of a foundation in his name.
‘The Matthew Perry Foundation is the realization of Matthew’s enduring commitment to helping others struggling with the disease of addiction,’ a statement from the organization read.
The organization aims to honor Perry’s legacy and desire to make ‘a difference in as many lives as possible.’
The Matthew Perry Foundation also cited a quote from Perry on their website, in his hope that he would be remembered for helping others struggling with addiction.
The quote reads: ‘When I die, I don’t want ‘Friends’ to be the first thing that’s mentioned – I want helping others to be the first thing that’s mentioned.
‘And I’m going to live the rest of my life proving that. Addiction is far too powerful for anyone to defeat alone. But together, one day at a time, we can beat it down.’
‘Missing you today and always ❤️,’ she captioned her post, which received more than 1.6 million likes in nine hours; seen in
Cox and Perry played love interests on their beloved sitcom, Friends (seen in 2000)
In May, Cox revealed Perry still ‘visits’ her from time to time.
‘I’m so thankful I got to work so closely with him for so many years. He visits me a lot, if we believe in that,’ Cox said on CBS Sunday Mornings.
She added, ‘I talk to my mom, my dad, Matthew. I feel like there are a lot of people that, I think, guide us.’
‘I do sense — I sense Matthew’s around for sure,’ she added.
Perry pictured alongside Cox, Jennifer Aniston, Matt LeBlanc, Lisa Kudrow and David Schwimmer (pictured in 1994)
Friends ran for 10 years from 1994 to 2004 and continues to be successful in syndication on Max.
Perry, who passed away at age at age 54, and Cox first met on set of Friends in 1994.
Following the end of their series, the pair stayed in touch for years and reunited on screen for an episode of her show, Cougar Town.
In 2015, he told Buzzfeed: ‘We try to get together when we can. Courteney is a great host, and she has a nice place in Malibu, and we try to go out there as often as possible.’
The entre friends cast got back together for an unscripted reunion special, which aired in 2021 and was hosted by James Corden.
‘Reuniting this cast again – I knew it was gonna be a really seriously emotional experience. And it has been,’ Perry said during the reunion.
The entre friends cast got back together for an unscripted reunion special, which aired in 2021 and was hosted by James Corden (seen above)
At the time, Cox told Good Morning America: ‘I don’t think they – the – any of us had any idea how emotional we would be when we walked onto the set. To see it exactly the way it was, the – literally besides the cookie jar that Lisa took home and the neon coffee thing that Jen took. Besides that, it was exactly the same.’
‘Besides that, it was exactly the same. And it was so emotional that we just started crying,’ she recalled.
