Below is a compiled list of the most interesting facts about Lisa Kudrow. Check it out!
Hardly the dumb blonde of Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion (1997), Lisa was born in Encino, California on July 30, 1963. Her mother, Nedra S. (Stern), worked as a travel agent, and her father, Lee N. Kudrow, is a physician. Her parents are both from Jewish families (from Belarus, Russia, and Hungary). Lisa was raised in Tarzana and played varsity-level tennis in high school and college, and is a pool shark who has mastered some of the more difficult trick shots (so beware). She graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology. At first, she wanted to pursue a career in research, so she returned to Los Angeles to begin working with her father. However, Lisa got inspired to perform by one of her brother’s friends, comedian Jon Lovitz, and so the tall (5′ 8″) blonde-haired, green-eyed beauty entered show biz. Lisa auditioned for the improv theater group, The Groundlings, based in Los Angeles. Cynthia Szigeti, a well-known improv teacher, took Lisa under her wing. In that class, Lisa became a friend of Conan O’Brien. Graduating with honors in 1989, Lisa became a full-fledged member of The Groundlings. Breaking into TV, she got a recurring role as Ursula, the ditsy waitress on Mad About You (1992). This led to her starring role on Friends (1994). In the debut season (1994-95) of Friends (1994), Lisa earned an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; in 1998, she won that award for her role as Phoebe, the ditsy but lovable folk singer. Lisa has also been nominated for Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild and American Comedy Awards for her performances.
Interesting Facts about Lisa Kudrow
- Her motion picture debut was set to be in the film Impulse (1990), but her scenes were deleted before the film’s release.
- Although her Friends (1994) character Phoebe Buffay was the only female lead not to become a mother on the series (albeit she acted as a surrogate for her brother and his wife), Kudrow was actually the first to become a mother in real life. Kudrow had a son in 1998, while Courteney Cox had a daughter in 2004 and Jennifer Aniston has no children.
- On the day she gave birth to her son Julian, NBC aired the season finale of Friends (1994) – “The One With Ross’ Wedding, Parts 1 and 2”. She sent these episodes as her Emmy tape submissions and subsequently won the Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
- Her character Phoebe Buffay on Friends (1994) became pregnant with her brother’s triplets (by artificial insemination) to cover up Kudrow’s own pregnancy.
- Gave birth to her only child at age 34, a son Julian Murray Stern on May 7, 1998. Child’s father is her husband, Michel Stern.
- Was originally cast as Roz Doyle on Frasier (1993), but the producers and writers decided they were changing the character too much to fit Kudrow’s personality. Both parties decided it would be better to recast the role, and Peri Gilpin was chosen instead.
- Attended grade school with Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was murdered in Pakistan.
- Matt LeBlanc was the one who informed her about her Emmy nomination for the second season of The Comeback (2005). LeBlanc was also nominated the same year.
- Even though her son was only 6 months old at the time, she chose to voice Aphrodite in Hercules (1998) so that her son would find her work more interesting.
- She’s the tallest female cast member and eldest of the six lead actors on Friends (1994).
- Cousin of Thea Mann.
- When filming the split Ursula/Phoebe scenes on the set of Friends, her real life sister was frequently used as her back double.
Personal Quotes by Lisa Kudrow
I’d played dumbasses a lot. On Mad About You, I played a very dumb waitress and they saw me.
Lisa Kudrow
Shirley MacLaine said, You’re so funny, then gave me a hug. Everything went white. I couldn’t hear, I couldn’t see. I thought I was going to pass out.
Lisa Kudrow
I actually made an effort to reject acting, to shove it out of my body, because I didn’t want my kids to have an actress as a mother-to have, like, a silly person.
Lisa Kudrow
I’ll accept being Phoebe to people for a while longer, given how much fun it was. That’s totally fair.
Lisa Kudrow
Watching a person lose their dignity used to be uncomfortable, and now it’s an expected part of the program that we’re becoming comfortable with.
Lisa Kudrow
