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Ben Geller is the son of Ross Geller and Carol Willick. He is born in "The One With The Birth", and lives with his mother and her wife Susan Bunch. Ben is played as an infant by Michael Gunderson, by twin brothers Charles Thomas Allen and John Christoper Allen from Season 3 to 5, and by Cole Sprouse from Season 6 to 8.

Background[]

Ben is Ross' only son from his first marriage, but was born after Carol and Ross' divorce was completed. He is raised by his mother Carol Willick and her wife Susan Bunch, so Ross only gets to 'babysit' Ben on occasion. Ben is rarely seen with the other Friends, who were present at (or very near) his birth. This causes him to sometimes mix up their names, like calling Rachel Phoebe. The gang all adore Ben, but prove pretty unreliable babysitters, not just Joey and Chandler (who lose Ben on a bus while Joey does his babe-magnet flirting) but even devoted and domestic aunts Monica and Rachel, who teach Ben pranks that end up being pulled on his parents.

Being spoiled by three rivaling parents, and bright by nature, Ben grows up as an amusing rascal. Although he seems to get on with the other friends, as well as his father, Ross, he was once both bemused and frightened by Phoebe when he witnessed her losing her temper over an arcade game in Monica's apartment. Apart from that one incident, there is no evidence of him ever becoming upset with any of the Friends.

Ben mysteriously vanishes from the show in the middle of Season 8, before the birth of his half-sister, Emma. He i s never seen again, and mentioned only rarely, with several characters seeming to forget he exists (such as Ross' father calling Emma is his first grandchild). This is never explained, and has led to many fan theories as to why he does not appear after that point.

Trivia[]

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  • In "The One With The Sonogram At The End", there were arguments over what Ben's surname was to be; Carol and Susan originally wanted him to have the surname 'Willick-Bunch' which caused Ross to angrily insist that they include his own name. In later episodes, his surname is simply Geller, in contrast to the names of his mothers. It was never shown how they decided on his last name.
  • In "The One That Could Have Been, Part 1", Ben's name is still Ben, even though Susan was not present at Ben's birth and the events concerning his name in "The One With The Birth" couldn't have happened.
  • While his parents initially could not agree on a name, they eventually came to "Ben" when Phoebe (who is wearing a janitor's uniform with the name tag "Ben") lectures Ross and Susan on how lucky the baby is for having such loving parents. 
  • When he was a baby, the Allen twins started talking, which caused problems as he had to be quiet in the scene.
  • In "The One Where Old Yeller Dies", Ben says his first word which is "Hi".
  • Ben's age is meant to be six in "The One Where Joey Dates Rachel", but it was said he was seven.
  • Ben is said to have been John Travolta's favorite character.
  • Ben's godfather is Chandler Bing, as said in "The One Where Rachel Smokes". Although godparents are a Christian tradition, it is also been adopted by nonreligious people, and similar roles exist in Jewish tradition, such as the sandek and kvater.
  • Throughout the show, he never met his half-sister, Emma, which annoyed fans; in fact, Ben never appears on the show after Emma's birth in "The One Where Rachel Has A Baby, Part 2". However, it is possible the two met off-screen. Ben is mentioned in dialog in season 9's "The One In Barbados, Part 1" and again in "The Last One, Part 1" in season 10.
  • When he was little, Monica accidentally banged his head against a beam in her apartment while playing the airplane game in "The One With The Giant Poking Device".
  • In "The One With The Holiday Armadillo", despite his father's Jewish heritage, Ben would rather celebrate Christmas instead of Hanukkah, which initially disappoints Ross.
  • In a 2019 interview, actress Jane Sibbett thought by that time Ben would be in college, and his mothers frequently worry about him (source).
  • In the "The One With The Sonogram At The End", it shows that if the child was a girl, Susan and Carol would have wanted to name her Helen.

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

Recurring Characters
Whole show Jack Geller | Judy Geller | Gunther | Janice
Season 1 Barry Farber | Carol Willick | Susan Bunch | Mr. Heckles | Paolo | Fun Bobby | David | Nora Tyler Bing | Ursula Buffay | Mindy | Ben Geller
Season 2 Julie | Mr. Treeger | Frank Buffay Jr. | Estelle Leonard | Richard Burke | Sandra Greene | Eddie Menuek | Leonard Greene
Season 3 Mark Robinson | Sophie | Isaac | Chloe | Alice Knight | Pete Becker | Kate Miller | Joanna | Doug | Bonnie | Phoebe Abbott
Season 4 Kathy | Mr. Waltham | Joshua Burgin | Emily Waltham | Stephen Waltham | Andrea Waltham
Season 5 Frank Buffay Jr. Jr. | Leslie Buffay | Chandler Buffay | Danny | Charles Bing | Gary | Mr. Zelner | Kim
Season 6 Janine Lecroix | Jill Greene | Paul Stevens | Elizabeth Stevens
Season 7 Tag Jones
Season 8 Mona | Dr. Long | Eric | Parker | Emma Geller-Greene
Season 9 Mike Hannigan | Theodore Hannigan | Bitsy Hannigan | Amy Greene | Gavin Mitchell | Charlie Wheeler
Season 10 Erica | Jack Bing | Erica Bing
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