Chandler Bing

Chandler Muriel Bing (born 1967/1968) is a fictional character from the NBC sitcom Friends, portrayed by Matthew Perry. Chandler was born to Nora Tyler Bing, an erotic romance novelist, and Charles Bing, a gay female impersonator and star of a Las Vegas drag show called "Viva Las Gay-gas" as Helena Handbasket. Chandler is of Scottish and Swedish descent. He is an only child and is apparently from an affluent family. His parents announced their divorce to him over Thanksgiving dinner when Chandler was nine years old, an event which gave him trauma and now he refuses to celebrate the holiday in his adulthood and led him to develop his notorious sense of humor as a defense mechanism. It is revealed in season 2 that he went to an all-boys high school.

Chandler's best friends are Joey Tribbiani, who is his roommate, and Ross Geller, with whom he previously lived. He met Ross' sister, Monica Geller, and her friend, Rachel Green, while celebrating Thanksgiving at Ross' parents' house. Chandler was the first person to know about Ross' love for Rachel. He moved to New York City and lives across the hall from Monica and, through her, meets Phoebe Buffay. Chandler has a very good sense of humor, and is notoriously sarcastic. He attributes his sarcasm as a defense mechanism he developed due to his parents' divorcing when he was a child. He is the highest earning member of his friends' circle on account of responsible income management, having learned the value of money from a young age. He suffers from commitment issues, but later marries Monica at the end of season 7. In season 10, Chandler and Monica go on to adopt twins, Jack and Erica, though they were only anticipating one baby.