Lisa Kudrow

Lisa Valerie Kudrow[1] (/ˈkuːdroʊ/; born July 30, 1963)[2] is an American actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer. After making appearances in several 1980s television sitcoms, Kudrow came to international prominence in the 1990s portraying Phoebe Buffay in the American sitcom Friends, which earned her Primetime Emmy and Screen Actors Guild awards. Kudrow also portrayed Phoebe’s twin sister Ursula on both Friends and Mad About You. Kudrow has received several awards, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series from six nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Awards from 12 nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination. Her Friends character was widely popular while the series aired and was later recognized as one of the greatest female characters in American television.

Lisa Kudrow
Kudrow at the film premiere of The Other Woman in 2009
Born
Lisa Valerie Kudrow

(1963-07-30) July 30, 1963
Los Angeles, California, US
NationalityAmerican
Alma materVassar College
Occupation
  • Actress
  • writer
  • comedian
  • singer
  • producer
Years active1983–present
Known for
Spouse(s)
Michel Stern
​
(m. 1995)​
Children1

Kudrow starred in the cult comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and followed it with an acclaimed performance in the romantic comedy The Opposite of Sex (1998), which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. In 2005, she went on to produce, write and star in the HBO comedy series The Comeback, which was revived nine years later for a second season. Kudrow was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for both seasons.

In 2007, Kudrow received praise for her starring role in the film Kabluey and appeared in the box office hit film P.S. I Love You. She produced and starred in the Showtime program Web Therapy (2011–2015), which was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. She is a producer on the TLC reality program Who Do You Think You Are, which has garnered her five Primetime Emmy Award nominations.

Kudrow has also made several notable film appearances, including roles in Analyze This (1999), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Bandslam (2008), Hotel for Dogs (2009), Easy A (2010), Neighbors (2014) and its sequel Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising (2016), The Girl on the Train (2016), The Boss Baby (2017), Long Shot (2019) and Booksmart (2019). Her films have grossed over $2 billion worldwide.

Early life

Lisa Kudrow was born in Encino, Los Angeles, California, to Nedra S. (née Stern), a travel agent, and Lee N. Kudrow,[3] a physician who specialized in the treatment of headaches.[4] She has an older sister, Helene Marla (born 1955), and an older brother, Santa Monica neurologist David B. Kudrow (born 1957). Kudrow was raised in a middle-class Jewish family and had a Bat Mitzvah ceremony.[5][6] Her ancestors emigrated from Belarus, Germany, Hungary and Poland, and some of them lived in the village of Ilya, in the Minsk area. Kudrow's paternal grandparents were David Kudrow (born in Mogilev, Belarus) and Gertrude Farberman (born in Ilya, Belarus). Her paternal great-grandmother, Mera Mordejovich, was murdered in Ilya during the Holocaust. Her paternal grandmother emigrated to Brooklyn, where her father grew up.[7]

Kudrow attended Portola Middle School in Tarzana, California.[8] She graduated from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles where then N.W.A. members Ice Cube and Eazy-E and actress Robin Wright also attended. Kudrow received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Vassar College, intending to become an expert on headaches like her physician father.[9] Kudrow worked on her father's staff for eight years while breaking into acting, earning a research credit on his study on the comparative likelihood of left-handed individuals developing cluster headaches.[10]

Career
Kudrow visiting her alma mater Vassar College in 2004

1989–1994: Early career

At the urging of her brother's childhood friend, comedian Jon Lovitz,[5] she began her comedic career as a member of The Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy school in Los Angeles. Kudrow has credited Cynthia Szigeti, her improv teacher at The Groundlings, for changing her perspective on acting, calling her "the best thing that happened, on so many levels."[11][12] Briefly, Kudrow joined with Conan O'Brien and director Tim Hillman in the short-lived improv troupe Unexpected Company. She was also the only regular female member of the Transformers Comedy Troupe. She played a role in an episode of the NBC sitcom Cheers.[13] She tried out for Saturday Night Live in 1990, but the show chose Julia Sweeney instead.[14] She had a recurring role as Kathy Fleisher in three episodes of season one of the Bob Newhart sitcom Bob (CBS, 1992–1993), a role she played after taking part in the series finale of Newhart's previous series Newhart.[15] Prior to Friends, she appeared in at least two produced network pilots: NBC's Just Temporary (also known as Temporarily Yours) in 1989, playing Nicole; and CBS' Close Encounters (also known as Matchmaker) in 1990, playing a Valley girl.[4]

Kudrow was cast to play the role of Roz Doyle in Frasier, but the role was re-cast with Peri Gilpin during the taping of the pilot episode. Kudrow said in 2000 that when rehearsals started, "I knew it wasn't working. I could feel it all slipping away, and I was panicking, which only made things worse."[5] Her first recurring television role was Ursula Buffay, the eccentric waitress on the NBC sitcom Mad About You. Kudrow would reprise the character on the NBC sitcom Friends, in which Kudrow co-starred as massage therapist Phoebe Buffay, Ursula's twin sister.[16]

1994–2004: Friends and breakthrough

Kudrow was the first Friends cast member to win an Emmy Award with her 1998 honor as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her starring role as Phoebe on Friends (NBC, 1994–2004).[17] According to the Guinness Book of World Records (2005), Kudrow and co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox became the highest paid TV actresses of all time, earning $1 million per episode for the ninth and tenth seasons of Friends.[18]

During her tenure on Friends Kudrow appeared in multiple comedic films such as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Hanging Up, Marci X, Dr. Dolittle 2, Analyze This and its sequel Analyze That, and dramatic films, such as Wonderland and The Opposite of Sex. She also guest starred on numerous television series during Friends, including The Simpsons, Hope and Gloria, King of the Hill, and hosting Saturday Night Live.

2004–present: Post-Friends
Kudrow at the 1st Streamy Awards

Kudrow starred as protagonist Valerie Cherish on the single-season HBO series The Comeback (premiered June 5, 2005), about a has-been sitcom star trying for a comeback. She also served as co-creator, writer, and executive producer. Nine years after the original season, HBO revived the series in 2014 for an abbreviated second season. Kudrow received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The Comeback.[19] Her production company is ‘Is or Isn't Entertainment’.[20]

Kudrow serves as the executive producer for the American version of the UK television series Who Do You Think You Are?, in which celebrities trace their family trees. The subjects of the first series included Kudrow herself, in which it was discovered her great-grandmother was murdered in the Holocaust.[21][22]

Kudrow co-created an improvised comedy web series, Web Therapy on Lstudio.com. The improv series, which launched online in 2008, has earned several Webby nominations and one Outstanding Comedic Performance Webby for Kudrow, who plays therapist Fiona Wallice. She offers her patients three-minute sessions over iChat.[19] In July 2011, a reformatted, half-hour version of the show premiered on Showtime,[23][24] before being cancelled in 2015 after four seasons.[25] Kudrow has guest starred on multiple television series such as Cougar Town, BoJack Horseman, Angie Tribeca, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, and Scandal.[26]

Following Friends, Kudrow has also appeared in films such as Easy A, Hotel for Dogs (film), Happy Endings, and Neighbors. In 2016, she reprised her role as Carol Gladstone in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising,[27] and co-starred in the thriller film The Girl on the Train.[28]

Kudrow played Hypatia of Alexandria in season 4 episode 12 of The Good Place "Patty".[29]

She is currently, along with Mary McCormack, an executive producer of the syndicated game show, 25 Words or Less; sometimes, Kudrow herself is one of the two celebrity guests playing with a contestant on the show.

On April 8, 2020, it was announced that Kudrow was cast as Maggie Naird in the upcoming Netflix comedy series, Space Force.[30]

Personal life

On May 27, 1995, Kudrow married French advertising executive Michel Stern. They have a son, Julian Murray Stern.[31][32][33] Kudrow's pregnancy was written into the fourth season of Friends with her character, Phoebe, having triplets as a surrogate mother for her younger half-brother Frank (Giovanni Ribisi) and his wife Alice (Debra Jo Rupp).[34] In 2019, during an interview with Marc Maron, Kudrow revealed that she experienced body dysmorphic disorder while working on the show.[35]

Filmography
Kudrow at the 2009 Streamy awards

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1983 Overdrawn at the Memory Bank Extra
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
1991 The Unborn Louisa
1992 Dance with Death Millie
1992 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
1997 Clockwatchers Paula
1997 Hacks Reading Woman
1998 The Opposite of Sex Lucia DeLury
1999 Analyze This Laura MacNamara Sobel
2000 Hanging Up Maddy Mozell
2000 Lucky Numbers Crystal
2001 All Over the Guy Marie
2001 Dr. Dolittle 2 Ava (voice)
2002 Bark! Dr. Darla Portnoy
2002 Analyze That Laura Sobel
2003 Marci X Marci Field
2003 Wonderland Sharon Holmes
2005 Happy Endings Mamie
2007 Kabluey Leslie
2007 P.S. I Love You Denise
2009 Hotel for Dogs Lois Scudder
2009 Powder Blue Sally
2009 Paper Man Claire Dunn
2009 Bandslam Karen Burton
2009 The Other Woman Dr. Carolyn Soule
2010 Easy A Mrs. Griffith
2014 Neighbors Carol Gladstone
2016 El Americano: The Movie Lucille (voice)
2016 Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising Carol Gladstone
2016 The Girl on the Train Martha
2017 Table 19 Bina Kepp
2017 The Boss Baby Janice Templeton (voice)
2018 Lovesick Fool – Love in the Age of Like Ozma (voice) Short film
2019 Long Shot Katherine
2019 Booksmart Charmaine Antsler
2020 Like a Boss Shay Whitmore
2021 The Boss Baby: Family Business Janice Templeton (voice) Post-production

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1989 Married to the Mob Pilot
1989 Cheers Emily Episode: "Two Girls for Every Boyd"
1989 Just Temporary Nicole Television film
1990 Newhart Sada Episode: "The Last Newhart"
1990 Life Goes On Stella Episode: "Becca and the Band"
1991 Murder in High Places Miss Stich Television film
1992 Room for Two Woman in Black Episode: "Not Quite... Room for Two"
1993–1999 Mad About You Ursula Buffay 24 episodes
1993 Flying Blind Amy Episode: "My Dinner with Brad Schimmel"
1993 Bob Kathy Fleisher 3 episodes
1993–1994 Coach Lauren / Nurse Alice 2 episodes
1994–2004 Friends Phoebe Buffay Main role, 236 episodes
1995–1997;
1999–2001		 Ursula Buffay Recurring role, 8 episodes
1996 Hope & Gloria Phoebe Buffay Episode: "A New York Story"
1996 Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man Female Beta Maxians (voices) Episode: "The One with Lisa Kudrow in a Small Role"
1996 Saturday Night Live Host Episode: "Lisa Kudrow/Sheryl Crow"
1997 Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist Lisa (voice) Episode: "Reunion"
1998 The Simpsons Alex Whitney (voice) Episode: "Lard of the Dance"
1998–1999 Hercules: The Animated Series Aphrodite (voice) 4 episodes
2001 King of the Hill Marjorie Pittman (voice) Episode: "The Exterminator"
2001 Blue's Clues Dr. Stork (voice) Episode: "The Baby's Here!"
2005 Father of the Pride Foo-Lin (voice) 2 episodes
2005 Hopeless Pictures Sandy (voice) 2 episodes
2005, 2014 The Comeback Valerie Cherish 21 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2006 American Dad! The Ghost of Christmas Past (voice) Episode: "The Best Christmas Story Never Told"
2008–2014 Web Therapy Fiona Wallice 132 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2010 Cougar Town Dr. Amy Evans Episode: "Rhino Skin"
2010–present Who Do You Think You Are? Herself[36] Executive producer; Episode: "Lisa Kudrow"
2011–2015 Web Therapy Fiona Wallice 44 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer
2011 Allen Gregory Sheila (voice) Episode: "Mom Sizemore"
2013 Wendell and Vinnie Natasha Episode: "Swindel & Vinnie"
2013 Scandal Congresswoman Josephine Marcus 4 episodes
2015 BoJack Horseman Wanda Pierce (voice) 7 episodes
2016 Angie Tribeca Monica Vivarquar Episode: "Pilot"
2016 Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows Herself Television documentary
2016–2019 Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Fairy Godmother (voice) / Lori-Ann Schmidt 3 episodes
2017 RuPaul's Drag Race Guest 1 episode
2018–present 25 Words or Less Herself Recurring guest, also executive producer
2018 Grace and Frankie Sheree 3 episodes
2018 Bright Futures Narrator Unsold television pilot
2019 Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas Television movie; executive producer
2020 The Good Place Hypatia of Alexandria Episode: "Patty"
2020 Feel Good Linda Main role
2020 Space Force Maggie Naird Recurring role
2020 Death to 2020 Jeanetta Grace Susan Television special
2021 The One Where They Got Back Together Phoebe Buffay HBO Max special; also executive producer[37]

Awards and nominations
Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Lisa Kudrow

Kudrow has been honored with numerous accolades over her career. For her role in the sitcom Friends, she received six nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in 1998 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Kudrow has also received twelve nominations and two wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, as well as one win and eight nominations at the American Comedy Awards.

References
  1. "Lisa Kudrow says her middle name". Retrieved August 8, 2013 – via YouTube.
  2. Family Tree Legends According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California. Archived October 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  3. https://familytron.com/lisa-kudrow/
  4. "Lisa Kudrow (1963–)". FilmReference.com.
  5. Zaslow, Jeffrey (October 8, 2000). "Balancing friends and family". USA Weekend. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
  6. Harris, Rob. (June 26, 2012) Oh, what a tangled ‘Web’ Lisa Kudrow weaves. The Times of Israel. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  7. Grobel, Lawrence (November–December 2013). "Lisa Kudrow: The versatile comedian (and former science nerd) reflects on high school bullies, motherhood, and life after Friends". The Saturday Evening Post. Indiana. Archived from the original on November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 7, 2013.
  8. Susman, Gary (October 23, 2002). "Here's what the cast of Friends were up to this week". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved October 25, 2019. In the November issue of Allure magazine, Kudrow reveals a secret she's kept for 23 years: When she was 16, she had a nose job. 'I had a hook nose, and now it's certainly smaller,' she says. 'But I'm not even sure I love how that turned out. I think plastic surgery looks weird – like plastic surgery.'
  9. Justine Elias. "Lisa Kudrow: No Problem Playing Two Roles." Indiana (PA) Gazette, August 21, 1982, p. TV 7.
  10. Messinger, HB; MI Messinger; L Kudrow; LV Kudrow (1994). "Handedness and headache". Cephalalgia. 14 (1): 64–67. doi:10.1046/j.1468-2982.1994.1401064.x. PMID 8200028. S2CID 8476897.
  11. Barnes, Mike (August 19, 2016). "Cynthia Szigeti, Groundlings Improv Teacher and 'Seinfeld' Actress, Dies at 66". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  12. "Lisa Kudrow interview: Part 2 of 4". Archive of American Television. December 22, 2012. Retrieved September 6, 2016.
  13. Bolesroor (May 5, 2011). ""Cheers" Two Girls for Every Boyd (TV Episode 1989)". IMDb.
  14. Shales, Tom; James Andrew Miller (November 16, 2008). Live From New York (First eBook ed.). New York: Little, Brown. pp. 273, 386. ISBN 978-0316045827.
  15. Kovalchik, Kara (July 15, 2009). "The Early TV Appearances of Seven Big Stars". Mental Floss. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012.
  16. "Fast Chat: Lisa Kudrow". Newsday. January 18, 2009.
  17. Lisa Kudrow Emmy Nominated. Emmys.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  18. Carter, Bill (February 12, 2002). "'Friends' Deal Will Pay Each Of Its 6 Stars $22 Million". The New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  19. "Lisa Kudrow- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  20. Otterson, Joe (October 31, 2017). "Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky's Is or Isn't Entertainment Inks First-Look Deal With Sony TV". Variety. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  21. Hunt, Stacey Wilson (August 24, 2012). "Emmys 2012: Lisa Kudrow's Own Holocaust Surprise On 'Who Do You Think You Are?' (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved October 26, 2019.
  22. "Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker And Susan Sarandon Star In NBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' Premiering April 20" (Press release). NBC. January 28, 2009. Archived from the original on February 19, 2010.
  23. "'Web Therapy' Renewed: Lisa Kudrow's Showtime Series Get A Season 3". HuffPost. November 16, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  24. Hale, Mike (July 28, 2011). "Analyze This: A Webisode's Id Meets Its TV Ego". New York Post. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  25. Amanda N'Duka (August 11, 2015). "Lisa Kudrow's 'Web Therapy' Cancelled By Showtime After 4 Seasons". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  26. O'Connor, Mickey (October 27, 2009). "Lisa Kudrow Will Guest-Star on Cougar Town". TV Guide.
  27. "Neighbors 2 Cast Photos from the Atlanta Set". ComingSoon.net. September 18, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
  28. Kit, Borys (November 3, 2015). "Lisa Kudrow Joins 'The Girl on the Train' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 8, 2016. She has also starred recently on The Good Place as Hypatia of Alexandria.
  29. "Patty" – via www.imdb.com.
  30. Turchiano, Danielle (April 8, 2020). "Lisa Kudrow Joins Steve Carell in 'Space Force,' Netflix Sets Premiere Date". Variety. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  31. "Lisa Kudrow Son:Julian Murray Stern". August 13, 2020.
  32. Michaelson, Judith (June 17, 1997). "Arts and entertainment reports from The Times, national and international news services and the nation's press". Los Angeles Times.
  33. Bloom, Nate (August 21, 2012). "Interfaith Celebrities: Lisa Kudrow; Tavi Gevinson, Oracle of Girl World; Olympic Results and Raisman's Rabbi". InterfaithFamily. Archived from the original on March 31, 2017. I also learned that her husband, French advertising executive Michael Stern, whom she married in 1995, is not Jewish, as many assume. Stern and Kudrow have one child, a boy named Julian Murray, who is now 14
  34. "20 TV Pregnancies So Impossible To Hide, They Were Just Written into The Show". BabyGaga. February 24, 2019. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
  35. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JonnuDgpa2o
  36. "About the Show". Who Do You Think You Are. NBC. Retrieved July 25, 2012.
  37. Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (February 21, 2020). "'Friends' Reunion Special Officially A Go At HBO Max With Cast Returning". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved February 24, 2020.
Preceded by
Samuel L. Jackson		 MTV Movie Awards host
1999		 Succeeded by
Sarah Jessica Parker
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