As to his ancestry, Chandler is half Swedish and half Scottish. When Monica asked “Where do you come from?” Chandler replied “My grandfather is Swedish and my grandmother is a tiny little bunny.“ Chandler’s father is gay (he appears in an all-male review called “Viva La Gayness”) and his mother, Nora [an alcoholic blond who chases 20-year-old boys] wrote the classic pulp novel Mistress Bitch. Her maiden name is Tyler. Nora is the one who bought Chandler his first condoms which she indiscreetly told the world while on an interview segment of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Nora also kissed Ross which caused a storm of controversy with Chandler when he found out. Their friendship, however, survived the incident.

In his youth, Chandler attended a boarding school with 400 boys. Unfortunately, Chandler's fastidious clothing and bouncy mannerisms made people think he was gay. But he was not - although he has a "quality." Chandler’s favorite book as a child was “The Velveteen Rabbit.”  Unlike other kids who cut the lawn to earn allowance money, Chandler earned his money by plucking the eyebrows of his father and his business partners. Once Chandler entered a Vanilla Ice look-a-like contest and won.