 In an interview with the Jewish Telegraph , Kauffman confirmed that Rachel is Jewish . On the character 's " Jewish ties " , Kauffman told <unk> that Rachel had always been Jewish " in our minds " , explaining , " You can ’ t create a character with the name ' Rachel Green ' and not from the get @-@ go make some character choices " . Prior to this , critics and fans had long speculated whether or not Rachel is Jewish ; there are entire websites entirely devoted to discussing this . <unk> 's Lindsey Weber , who identifies herself as Jewish , observed several similarities and Jewish stereotypes she shares with the character , citing the facts that Rachel refers to her grandmother Ida Green as " <unk> " , Long Island origin , and engagement to a Jewish doctor as allusions to the character 's Jewish culture . In her book Changed for Good : A <unk> History of the Broadway Musical , author Stacy Wolf identified Rachel as one of several popular female television characters who embodied Jewish stereotypes during the 1990s and often served as " the butt of the shows ' jokes . " Meanwhile , <unk> 's Rebecca <unk> cited Rachel as one of the earliest and most prominent examples of the Jewish American Princess stereotype on screen . Writing for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Alicia R. <unk> also acknowledged Rachel 's initial Jewish American Princess qualities , describing her as " spoiled , dependent on her father 's money and her <unk> 's , is horrified at the thought of working for a living and generally inept in her attempts to do so , and is eventually revealed to have had a nose job " , which she eventually <unk> as they become less " evident in later seasons of the show " . In his article " <unk> , <unk> , <unk> and <unk> Mothers " , Evan Cooper described Rachel as a " de @-@ <unk> " Jew because , aside from her name , " there is never any discussion of experiences of growing up in a Jewish culture , no use of Yiddish , and few , if any , references to family members with <unk> Jewish <unk> " . Cooper continued to write that although Rachel possesses some Jewish American Princess traits , she is more similar to the " little woman " stereotype . The New York Post 's Robert <unk> labeled Rachel " a rehabilitated Jewish American Princess " , in contrast to her sister Amy ( Christina Applegate ) who remains " selfish , condescending and <unk> . " 
