Lisa Kudrow facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lisa Kudrow
Kudrow in 2009
Born	Lisa Valerie Kudrow (1963-07-30) July 30, 1963 (age 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	Vassar College (AB)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1983–present
Known for	Friends
Spouse(s)	Michel Stern ​ (m. 1995)​
Children	1
Signature

Lisa Valerie Kudrow (born July 30, 1963) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the popular TV show Friends. This show aired from 1994 to 2004.

For her role as Phoebe, Lisa won many important awards. These include an Emmy Award and several Screen Actors Guild Awards. Phoebe Buffay became one of the most loved TV characters of all time. This role helped Lisa start a very successful career in movies.

Before Friends, Lisa appeared in other TV shows. She was in an episode of Cheers in 1989. She also played a character named Ursula in Mad About You. When she joined Friends, her character Ursula was written into the story as Phoebe's twin sister.

Lisa has also starred in many movies. These include the comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997). She also received praise for her role in the drama The Opposite of ... (1998). She helped create, produce, write, and star in the TV series The Comeback. This show was on HBO in 2005 and came back for another season in 2014.

Later, Lisa starred in the film Kabluey (2007) and P.S. I Love You. She also produced and starred in the show Web Therapy (2011–2015). Lisa is also a producer for the reality show Who Do You Think You Are. This show helps celebrities learn about their family history. She also voiced Honey the dog in the animated series HouseBroken.

Lisa has appeared in many other films. These include Analyze This (1999), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Hotel for Dogs (2009), Easy A (2010), and The Boss Baby (2017). She also reunited with her Friends castmates for a special show in 2021.

Early Life and Education

Lisa Kudrow was born in Encino, Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Nedra, was a travel agent. Her father, Lee Kudrow, was a doctor who focused on headaches. Lisa has an older sister named Helene and two brothers, David and Derrick.

She grew up in a Jewish family. Her family came from countries like Belarus, Germany, Hungary, and Poland. Some of her ancestors lived in a village called Ilya. Sadly, her great-grandmother was killed there during the Holocaust.

Lisa went to Portola Middle School and Taft High School. She then went to Vassar College and earned a degree in Biology. She planned to study headaches, just like her father. She even worked with him for eight years before becoming a full-time actress.

Acting Career

Starting in Comedy (1989–1994)

Lisa started her comedy career because of her brother's friend, comedian Jon Lovitz. She joined The Groundlings, a famous improv and sketch comedy school in Los Angeles. She learned a lot about acting from her teacher, Cynthia Szigeti.

She was part of a short-lived improv group called Unexpected Company. Lisa also appeared in an episode of the TV show Cheers. In 1990, she tried out for Saturday Night Live. She also had a role in the sitcom Bob.

Lisa was almost cast in the show Frasier. But the role was given to another actress during rehearsals. Her first regular TV role was as Ursula Buffay. Ursula was a quirky waitress on the show Mad About You.

Friends and Global Fame (1994–2004)

Lisa Kudrow became very famous for playing Phoebe Buffay on Friends. She also played Ursula, Phoebe's twin sister, on the show. Critics loved her performance as Phoebe.

In 1998, Lisa was the first Friends cast member to win an Emmy Award. She won for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Friends was a huge success worldwide. By 2005, Lisa and her co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox became the highest-paid TV actresses ever. They earned $1 million per episode for the last two seasons.

Phoebe Buffay is still considered one of the greatest TV characters. This role made Lisa the second most famous cast member after Jennifer Aniston. It also helped her start a successful movie career. She played Phoebe until the show ended in 2004.

While on Friends, Lisa also acted in many movies. These included comedies like Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Analyze This. She also appeared in dramas like The Opposite of .... She guest-starred on other TV shows too, such as The Simpsons.

After Friends (2004–Present)

After Friends, Lisa starred in the HBO series The Comeback in 2005. She played Valerie Cherish, a former sitcom star trying to make a comeback. Lisa also helped create, write, and produce this show. HBO brought the show back for a second season in 2014. Lisa received two Emmy nominations for her work on The Comeback.

Lisa also created an online comedy series called Web Therapy in 2008. In this show, she played Fiona Wallice, a therapist who offers short online sessions. This web series won several awards. In 2011, a longer version of the show aired on Showtime.

Lisa has appeared in many other movies. These include Hotel for Dogs, Easy A, and Neighbors. She also starred in the thriller The Girl on the Train. In 2020, she played Hypatia in The Good Place. She also starred in the Netflix comedy Space Force.

In May 2021, Lisa reunited with the Friends cast for a special show on HBO Max. She is also an executive producer for the game show 25 Words or Less. Sometimes, she even plays the game as a celebrity guest. In 2024, Lisa starred in the Netflix comedy-drama No Good Deed.

Personal Life

Lisa Kudrow married Michel Stern, a French advertising executive, on May 27, 1995. They live in Beverly Hills, California. They have one son, who was born on May 7, 1998.

Lisa's real-life pregnancy was written into the fourth season of Friends. Her character, Phoebe, became a surrogate mother for her half-brother and his wife. Phoebe gave birth to triplets on the show.

Filmography

Key

Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	America 3000	Warrior Women Leader	Uncredited
1989	L.A. on $5 a Day	Charmer
1991	To the Moon, Alice	Friend of Perky Girl	Short film
	The Unborn	Louisa
1992	Dance with Death	Millie
	In the Heat of Passion	Esther
1994	In the Heat of Passion 2: Unfaithful	Teller
1995	The Crazysitter	Adrian Wexler-Jones
1996	Mother	Linda
1997	Romy and Michele's High School Reunion	Michele Weinberger
	Clockwatchers	Paula
	Hacks	Reading Woman
1998	The Opposite of ...	Lucia DeLury
1999	Analyze This	Laura MacNamara Sobel
2000	Hanging Up	Maddy Mozell
	Lucky Numbers	Crystal
2001	All Over the Guy	Marie
	Dr. Dolittle 2	Ava	Voice
2002	Bark!	Dr. Darla Portnoy
	Analyze That	Laura Sobel
2003	Marci X	Marci Field
	Wonderland	Sharon Holmes
2005	Happy Endings	Mamie
2007	Kabluey	Leslie
	P.S. I Love You	Denise
2009	Hotel for Dogs	Lois Scudder
	Powder Blue	Sally
	Paper Man	Claire Dunn
	Bandslam	Karen Burton
	The Other Woman	Dr. Carolyn Soule
2010	Easy A	Mrs. Griffith
2014	Neighbors	Carol Gladstone
2016	El Americano: The Movie	Lucille	Voice
	Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising	Carol Gladstone
	The Girl on the Train	Martha
2017	Table 19	Bina Kepp
	The Boss Baby	Janice Templeton	Voice
2018	Lovesick Fool – Love in the Age of Like	Ozma	Voice, Short film
2019	Long Shot	Katherine
	Booksmart	Charmaine Antsler
2020	Like a Boss	Shay Whitmore
2021	The Boss Baby: Family Business	Janice Templeton	Voice
2022	Better Nate Than Ever	Heidi
TBA	The Parenting	Lisa	Completed

Television

Awards and Achievements

Lisa Kudrow has won many awards throughout her career. For her role in Friends, she received six nominations for the Primetime Emmy Awards. She won in 1998 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. She also won two Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In total, Lisa has received fifteen Emmy nominations. Her most recent nomination was in 2021. She has also won two out of twelve nominations at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. She has received many other awards and nominations. These include wins at the American Comedy Awards and Webby Awards.

Images for kids

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  Lisa Kudrow's signature

See also

In Spanish: Lisa Kudrow para niños