Lisa Kudrow Biography

Lisa Kudrow, actress

Birthdate: July 30, 1963

Birthplace: Encino, California

Sign: Leo

No matter what other roles she plays, actress Lisa Kudrow may always be remembered as the spacy but loveable Phoebe Buffay from the television sitcom "Friends." She played the character from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.

Kudrow won a 1998 Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a comedy series for her role as Phoebe. "Friends" was hugely successful and Kudrow, along with her co-stars, earned world-wide recognition.

Kudrow was the most Emmy-nominated cast member of the show, earning a total of six nominations. During the last two seasons of "Friends," Kudrow earned a paycheck of one million dollars per episode. That put Kudrow, and her fellow female co-stars, in the 2005 Guinness World Book of Records as the highest paid TV actresses of all time .

Kudrow had limited acting experience before landing the role of Phoebe. She starred as Phoebe's eccentric twin sister, Ursula Buffay, in the show "Mad About You." The character Ursula later appeared on "Friends."

Kudrow was born in Encino, California, on July 30, 1963. She is the daughter of Nedra, a travel agent, and Lee Kudrow, a world-renowned headache specialist. She has an older sister, Helene Marla, and an older brother, neurologist David Kudrow.

Kudrow graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., with a B.S. degree in biology. She intended to pursue a career in research, so she returned to Los Angeles and began working with her father.

It was there that she auditioned for the famous improvisational theater group The Groundlings in Los Angeles. Although she initially was not accepted into the program, The Groundlings referred her to Cynthia Szigeti, a well-known improvisation teacher based in Los Angeles. In that class she met and became close friends with then-unknown Conan O'Brien, from NBC's "Late Night with Conan O'Brien." In 1989, she became a full-fledged member of The Groundlings.

After "Friends," Kudrow portrayed Valerie Cherish, the main character on the HBO original series "The Comeback," which premiered on June 5, 2005. Kudrow also served as co-creator, writer, and executive producer. The show was about a has-been sitcom star trying for a comeback, but was not renewed for a second season. Kudrow did receive an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on "The Comeback," making her the first "Friends" cast member to receive a major award nomination after "Friends" ended.

Kudrow has had a good deal of success with a film career and her films include comedic roles in "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," "Hanging Up," "Marci X," "Analyze This" and its sequel "Analyze That." She also starred in "P.S. I Love You" in 2007 opposite Hilary Swank.

Despite her success as a comedic actress, Kudrow also earned critical acclaim in dramatic roles in the films "The Opposite of Sex" and "Happy Endings." On May 27, 1995, Lisa became the first "Friend" to marry when she wed Michel Stern, a French advertising executive. They have one son, Julian Murray, who was born May 7, 1998. They live in the hills above Beverly Hills.

Kudrow's pregnancy was written into "Friends" with her character Phoebe having triplets as a surrogate parent for her brother. Other Kudrow traits written into "Friends" include the fact that she speaks English and French fluently. In one episode of "Friends," Phoebe tried to teach Joey French for an audition, then convinced the director, in French, that Joey was retarded and couldn't speak the language. Kudrow also took guitar lessons as a child, and her character Phoebe played the guitar and sang.