Who Played Estelle On Friends & What Ray Romano Film Was She Recently In?
While the eponymous main characters from "Friends" are still revered as some of the most beloved leads in sitcom history, the series also features a plethora of hilarious and memorable side characters. A few notable examples include the disgruntled downstairs neighbor, Mr. Heckles (who is played by Larry Hankin, and who dies while yelling at the main characters to quiet down), and Chandler Bing's (Matthew Perry) exceptionally loud and bubbly ex-girlfriend, Janice Hosenstein (Maggie Wheeler).
Another one of the most iconic side characters in "Friends" is Joey Tribiani's (Matt LeBlanc) woefully inept acting agent Estelle Leonard — hardly ever seen without a cigarette in hand — who tries to book Joey for some of the worst roles you can possibly imagine. Although Estelle is one of the funniest side characters in all of "Friends," some fans might be wondering who actually plays Joey's snappy, hoarse-voiced agent — and what she's been up to since the series ended. Throughout "Friends," Estelle Leonard is played by character actor June Gable, who coincidentally also plays an unnamed nurse in the Season 1 episode "The One With The Birth."
Outside of her appearances on "Friends," Gable is best known for her role as the laundress Madam Dupre in the TV movie "Sally Hemings: An American Scandal" and for her recurring role as Libby Friedman on the HBO sitcom "Dream On." Beyond television, Gable also received a Tony nomination for her work on the Broadway farce comedy "Candide," in which she played "Old Lady."
June Gable played a small role in Somewhere in Queens
Since her last appearance on "Friends" in 2003, June Gable has continued to take on smaller roles across a wide variety of television and film projects, including minor parts in shows like "My America" and "Nunsense," as well as the Adam Sandler-led Netflix comedy "The Week Of."
Most recently, Gable was featured in Ray Romano's 2022 directorial debut "Somewhere in Queens," in which she played Mama Russo, the overbearing mother of lead character Leo Russo (Romano). The film itself centers around the Italian American couple of Leo and Angela Russo (Laurie Metcalf), whose son Matthew "Sticks" Russo (Jacob Ward) is a high school basketball prodigy being scouted for college recruitment. Leo's manipulative efforts to elevate his son to basketball stardom spell disaster for his marriage and his close-knit Italian American family, who appear frequently in the film alongside Mama Russo.
Though she once again appears in a rather small role, June Gable gives yet another memorable performance as the matriarch of the Russo family, and we certainly expect her to appear in many more films and television shows in the near future.