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Who Is Lisa Kudrow?
Lisa Kudrow, born on July 30, 1963, in Encino, California, is an American actress best known for her iconic role as Phoebe Buffay on the hit sitcom Friends. Before her rise to stardom, Kudrow pursued a career in medical research. However, she transitioned to acting, first gaining recognition in television with her role on Mad About You. Her film credits include notable performances in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, The Opposite of Sex, and Analyze This. In addition to her film work, Kudrow created and starred in the web series Web Therapy and the critically acclaimed HBO show The Comeback.
Early Life
Lisa Kudrow grew up in a middle-class Jewish family as the youngest of three children. Her father, Dr. Lee Kudrow, was a physician specializing in headaches, while her mother, Nedra Kudrow, worked as a travel agent. Raised in Los Angeles, Kudrow attended Taft High School, where she excelled academically and played on the varsity tennis team.
Kudrow pursued higher education at Vassar College in New York, earning a degree in biology. Upon returning to Los Angeles, she initially followed in her father’s footsteps by working in medical research. However, encouraged by comedian Jon Lovitz, a family friend, Kudrow explored her passion for acting.
Career Beginnings
Kudrow began her acting journey in improv, joining the well-known Los Angeles comedy troupe, The Groundlings. She also performed with other groups, including Unexpected Company alongside Conan O’Brien and the Transformers Comedy Group. Despite initial setbacks—such as an unsuccessful audition for Saturday Night Live in 1990 and being replaced in the pilot of Frasier—Kudrow’s persistence paid off. She secured the role of Ursula, a quirky waitress, on Mad About You, a character that would later be integrated into Friends as Phoebe’s twin sister.
This marked the start of Kudrow’s long and successful career in both television and film.
Career Highlights
Lisa Kudrow’s career reached new heights when she was cast as Phoebe Buffay, the quirky, folk-singing massage therapist, in the iconic sitcom Friends. Premiering in 1994, the show quickly became a cultural phenomenon, and Kudrow’s performance earned her an Emmy Award in 1998 and a Screen Actors Guild Award in 2000. She also portrayed Ursula, her character’s twin sister, reprising the role from Mad About You. By the ninth and tenth seasons, Kudrow, alongside co-stars Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston, became one of the highest-paid TV actresses, receiving $1 million per episode.
Leveraging her Friends fame, Kudrow transitioned into film with roles in popular movies such as Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), The Opposite of Sex (1998), Analyze This (1999), Happy Endings (2005), and P.S. I Love You (2007). She also ventured into voice acting, with roles such as Aphrodite in Hercules: The Animated Series, Alexandra Whitney in The Simpsons, and Ava the bear in Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001).
In 2005, Kudrow co-created, co-wrote, and starred in HBO’s The Comeback, a satirical comedy about a washed-up sitcom actress, Valerie Cherish. Despite its initial cancellation after 13 episodes, the show gained a cult following and returned for a second season in 2014.
Kudrow further showcased her talent in Web Therapy, an improvisational web series she launched in 2008. Starring as the self-absorbed therapist Fiona Wallice, the series featured guest stars such as Jane Lynch and Selma Blair. It was later adapted into a TV series by Showtime, running for four seasons starting in 2011.
As an executive producer, Kudrow worked on the genealogy documentary series Who Do You Think You Are?, where celebrities trace their family histories. In a 2010 episode, she uncovered her own family’s roots, including the tragic story of her great-grandmother who was murdered in the Holocaust.
In recent years, Kudrow has appeared in films such as Neighbors (2014) and had a recurring role in the hit TV drama Scandal. Demonstrating her enduring comedic talent, she received her 10th Emmy nomination in 2015 for her role in the second season of The Comeback.
Personal Life
Lisa Kudrow is married to French advertising executive Michel Stern. The couple has one son, Julian, born on May 7, 1998.