Lisa Kudrow has often played ditzy blondes, the most notable being massage therapist Phoebe on the TV superhit Friends (1994-2004). (She was one of the show's troika of females, along with Courteney Cox and Jennifer Aniston.) In real life Kudrow is brainy enough to have a biology degree from Vassar and to be an alumnus of the comedy troupe The Groundlings. While starring on Friends, she made several feature films, including the surprise hit Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion (1997), the off-the-wall comedy The Opposite of Sex (1998, starring Christina Ricci), and the box-office smashes Analyze This and Analyze That (1988 and 2002, both with Billy Crystal). Since the end of her turn as Phoebe, Kudrow has worked in feature films such as Wonderland (2003) and Happy Endings (2005, with Maggie Gyllenhaal), and briefly starred in her own TV series, The Comeback (2005).
For her role on Friends Kudrow earned six Emmy nominations, with one win... Although it lasted only one season, The Comeback brought Kudrow her seventh Emmy nomination.
Lisa Kudrow first made her name playing Phoebe, the ditzy, New Age member of the titular close-knit pals on NBC's highly successful sitcom Friends. Since then, she has bridged the gap between television and film with undeniable success, winning particular acclaim for her role as an uptight school teacher in Don Roos' The Opposite of Sex (1998).
Born in Encino, California on July 30, 1963, Kudrow earned a degree in biology from Vassar College before beginning her acting career. After college, she joined the Los Angeles improvisational group, The Groundlings, at the urging of family friend Jon Lovitz. Improv paved the way for more work, and Kudrow was soon appearing in bit roles in a number of films. Her first real break didn't come until 1993, when she began appearing on the TV sitcom Mad About You as Ursula, the waitress from hell. Real fame came in 1994, when the actress was cast as Phoebe on Friends; the enormous success of the show gave her both wide recognition and a steady day job.
Kudrow's first leading role on the big screen was as one of the titular heroines (alongside Mira Sorvino) of the 1997 comedy Romy and Michele's High School Reunion; unfortunately, her character was little more than a film version of Phoebe. Fortunately, Kudrow got to widen her range a little further that same year with a starring role in the independent drama Clockwatchers, portraying a struggling actress alongside the likes of Toni Collette and Parker Posey. The following year, Kudrow won raves and critical respect for her turn in The Opposite of Sex, a scathing black comedy in which she gave a comic and poignant performance as an embittered woman coping with the death of her brother, the presence of her best friend's malicious little sister (Christina Ricci), and the romantic attentions of Lyle Lovett. The acclaim she received for her portrayal was complemented the same year with an Emmy Award for her work on Friends. In 1999, Kudrow shared the screen with Robert DeNiro in the comedy Analyze This, and later that year she starred with Diane Keaton and Meg Ryan as three sisters dealing with the imminent death of their irritating father (Walter Matthau) in the comedy Hanging Up, directed by Keaton and written by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron.
Lisa Valerie Kudrow
July 30, 1963 (1963-07-30)(age 48) Encino, California, United States
Occupation
Actress, writer & webseries producer
Years active
1989–present
Spouse
Michel Stern (1995-present) 1 child
Lisa Valerie Kudrow (born July 30, 1963)[1] is an American actress who gained worldwide recognition in the '90s for portraying Phoebe Buffay in the television sitcomFriends, for which she received many accolades including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Lisa Kudrow was born in Encino, Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Nedra S. (née Stern), a travel agent, and Dr. Lee N. Kudrow (born 1933), a headache specialist and physician.[2] Her ancestors emigrated from Belarus and lived in the village of Ilya, in the Minsk area, and her great-grandmother was murdered in the Holocaust.[3] Kudrow was raised in a middle-class Jewish family[4] and has an older sister, Helene Marla (born 1960), and an older brother, neurologist David B. Kudrow (born 1957). She is the niece of composer/conductor Harold Farberman. In 1979, at the age of 16, she underwent surgery which reduced the size of her nose.[citation needed]
At the urging of her brother's childhood friend, comedian Jon Lovitz,[4] Kudrow began her comedic career as a member of The Groundlings. Briefly, Kudrow joined with Conan O'Brien and director Tim Hillman in the short-lived improv troupe Unexpected Company.[6] She was also the only regular female member of the Transformers Comedy Troupe.[7] She played a role in an episode of the NBCsitcomCheers.[citation needed] She tried out for Saturday Night Live in 1990, but the show chose Julia Sweeney instead.[8] 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 memorable series finale of Newhart's previous series Newhart.[citation needed] 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.[2]
Kudrow was hired to play the role of Roz Doyle in Frasier, but the part was re-cast with Peri Gilpin during the filming 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".[4] 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 therapistPhoebe Buffay, Ursula's twin sister.[9]
Kudrow at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
Kudrow served as the executive producer for the American version of the hit UK television series Who Do You Think You Are? for NBC, in which celebrities trace their family trees. The subjects of the first series included Kudrow herself.[12] On March 19, 2010 Kudrow’s search for her roots in eastern Europe was broadcast.[13][clarification needed]
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 of unspecified credentials Fiona Wallice. She offers her patients three-minute sessions over iChat.[citation needed] In July 2011, a reformatted, half-hour version of the show premiered on Showtime.[citation needed]
Lisa Kudrow and Courteney Cox reunited on Cougar Town in 2009. Kudrow played an accomplished dermatologist whose services become addictive to Jules (Cox), despite the doctor's impatient temperament. Kudrow's episode was aired during November sweeps.[14]
Personal life
On May 27, 1995, Kudrow wed Michel Stern, a French advertising executive.[2][15] They have one son, Julian Murray (born May 7, 1998).[16][clarification needed] Kudrow's pregnancy was written into Friends [Season-4,5] with her character Phoebe having triplets as a surrogate mother for her brother and his wife because they were not able to have children.
^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
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