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Joanna was an executive at Bloomingdale's, portrayed by Alison La Placa. She is one of the few recurring characters to have been killed on the show. She was killed by getting hit by a cab after work in "The One Where They're Going To Party".

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Who played the character Joanna on Friends? toggle section
Alison LaPlaca portrayed the character Joanna on Friends. Joanna was Rachel's boss at Bloomingdale's and had a brief romantic relationship with Chandler. Despite her hostility towards her assistant, Sophie, she was largely amicable with Rachel. Her character met an untimely end in the series.
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How did Joanna, Rachel's boss on Friends, die? toggle section
Joanna, known as Rachel's boss on Friends, tragically lost her life after being struck by a fast-moving taxi. This incident happened before she could finalize the paperwork for Rachel's promotion, resulting in Rachel not receiving the promotion.
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What role did Joanna play at Bloomingdale's in Friends? toggle section
In the TV series Friends, Joanna, played by Alison La Placa, held an executive position at Bloomingdale's. She was Rachel Greene's boss and also supervised Sophie. Joanna's character was featured in three episodes and was notably one of the few characters who died during the series.
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What was Joanna's opinion of Rachel's competence at work in Friends? toggle section
In Friends, Joanna, Rachel's boss, recognized Rachel's competence but also undermined her during a job interview for a higher position. This led to a heated dispute between them, with Rachel considering resignation due to Joanna's sabotage.
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What is the name of the actress who portrayed Joanna in Friends? toggle section
Alison LaPlaca played the role of Joanna, Rachel's boss, in the popular sitcom Friends.
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Relationships[]

Rachel[]

Joanna's is Rachel's boss at Bloomingdale's. She is one of Rachel's interviewers in "The One Where Chandler Can't Remember Which Sister", and she thinks Rachel is very competent at her job.

In "The One Where They're Going To Party", Rachel is interviewed by a three-person committee for a higher position. Joanna, who is sitting on the committee, makes derogatory comments about Rachel that jeopardize her chances of getting the job. Later, Rachel confronts Joanna about the inappropriate and offensive comments Joanna made to the committee. Rachel gets so mad at Joanna's attempt to sabotage the interview, she gets ready to quit. However, Joanna tells Rachel how much she likes her as an assistant and offers her a position an assistant buyer so as not to lose her to another department. However, Joanna dies without having submitted the promotion paperwork, thus preventing Rachel from getting the personal assistant position. Furthermore, Rachel's department gets shut down at Bloomingdale's a few weeks later (in "The One With Rachel's Crush"). Consequently, Rachel is shunted to personal shopping, where she works until she gets a job at Ralph Lauren Corporation.

Sophie[]

Although not much is shown to happen between Sophie and Joanna, it's quite clear that Joanna dislikes and abuses Sophie. Her snide and opprobrious remarks to Sophie always border on annoyance, in spite of Sophie trying to be nice to her. When Joanna dies, Sophie doesn't hold it any longer, and comes to work with a huge smile on her face after hearing of Joanna's demise. Rachel asks Sophie if she knows about Joanna's death and Sophie says yes.

Chandler[]

In Season 3, Joanna meets Chandler for the first time (in "The One With The Dollhouse"). She's attracted to him, and after asking Rachel to set her up, Chandler agrees to go on a date with her. However, it takes just the one date for him to realize how annoying she is to him (he mentions her messy mascara goop in the corner of her eyes), but Joanna thinks he's great. After a lot of insistence from Rachel, Chandler tells Joanna that he doesn't want to call her again.

In Season 4, Chandler hooks up again with Joanna in "The One With The Cuffs". This time, he sticks with her - long enough to get to know her naughtier side when she handcuffs him to her office chair. When Sophie and Rachel walk in on him half-naked and handcuffed, he pleads Rachel to free him and let him go, but Rachel, indignant that Chandler didn't keep his promise of breaking up with her boss, regrets her decision to let him go and handcuffs him to the filing cabinet. Only after Rachel promises to transform Chandler into "this generation's Milton Berle" does he agrees to stay cuffed. He does, however, get his own back and handcuffs a half-naked Joanna to her office chair before breaking up with her.

Appearances[]

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