Courteney Cox Says ‘Monica Is Alive and Well’ While Reminiscing on the 30th Anniversary of Friends (Exclusive)

Courteney Cox looks back on her hit TV show Friends on its 30th anniversary.

During the star-studded Rock4EB event on Saturday, Sept. 21, in Malibu, Calif., the 60-year-old actress spoke with PEOPLE about the hit sitcom’s recent milestone and the last time she watched an episode.

“It’s just crazy to me because it feels like time, it goes by so fast and I don’t realize it,” Cox says when asked about the show’s anniversary. “We used to say, ‘Oh, I can’t wait for this month,’ or ‘God, it feels like forever.’ I would never say that sentence again.”

The cast of ‘Friends’.

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Friends premiered on NBC on September 22, 1994 and ran for 10 seasons until May 6, 2004. The series, which revolves around six friends living in New York City, starred Cox as Monica Geller, alongside Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Lisa Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, the late Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing and David Schwimmer as Ross Geller.

Referring to how her character Monica lives on in pop culture and remains one of her most important roles, Cox jokingly declares, “Monica is alive and well. Are you kidding me?”

Despite her fond memories of the show, the actress tells PEOPLE that she hasn’t watched an episode of the show “in a while, but whenever I come across it, I can’t help [watch].”

Courteney Cox is coming to Rock4EB on September 21, 2024.

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She adds: “That show is amazing. Every joke works, all the characters are so amazing, and we [had] the best writers in the world. I am lucky that it continues through all generations. And that’s great luck.”

Considering Friends‘ lasting legacy, Cox believes it would be difficult to recreate the show’s original magic. Addressing recent comments from show creators Martha Kauffman and David Crane about being tipped for a reboot revolving around the children of the cast, Cox says she “can’t imagine” rebooting the show.

“It’s hard to try to replicate anything,” she explains. “Anything with an ‘re’ in front of it with this group… I think it’s so special.”

The cast of “Friends”.

Reisig & Taylor/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty

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The Rock4EB fundraiser benefits the Epidermolysis Bullosa Medical Research Foundation, which was founded in 1991. Epidermolysis bullosa is “a group of rare diseases that cause the skin to become brittle and blister easily,” according to the National Institute of Arthritis, Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and there is currently no cure for it.

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Over the years, the nonprofit organization has raised more than $8 million for research, all of which is done on a volunteer basis. A number of celebrities supported the cause, including Pink — who was a special performer at this year’s event — Brandi Carlile, Elizabeth Olsen, Kaley Cuoco, Tom Pelphrey, Brad Pitt and Inez de Ramon.

“This event is so important because we need to raise awareness,” Cox tells PEOPLE. “We have to keep raising funds. This is a behind-the-scenes charity that nobody understands. It’s just not out there enough. So we put together this event and got great musical guests, which seems like my job. I’ve been pretty good, I’ve got some good ones.”

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