Famous for playing the eccentric but lovable Phoebe Buffay on the American television sitcom Friends, Lisa Kudrow is an Emmy Award winning actress who has starred in films like Romy and Michele`s High School Reunion (1997), and P.S. I Love You (2007). She has also been a part of TV series such as Web Therapy, and The Comeback, which she also produced and wrote.

Early Life
Born in Los Angeles, California, USA, to Dr. Lee N Kudrow, a physician, and Nedra S., a travel agent, Lisa Kudrow was raised in a Jewish family. Her paternal great-grandmother was murdered during the Holocaust, after which, her paternal grandmother immigrated to the US, where her father grew up. Before entering the world of glamor, Kudrow was a medical researcher and worked with her father in Los Angeles. She has an elder sister, Helena Marla, and an elder brother David B. Kudrow.

Personal life
Lisa Kudrow tied the knot with a French advertising executive, Michel Stern on May 27, 1995. The couple has Julian Murray Stern, born on May 7, 1998. Kudrow was shooting for Friends while she was pregnant with Julian and this led to her reel character Phoebe also being pregnant as a surrogate mother for her brother Frank and his wife Alice because they couldn`t conceive.

Television Career
Kudrow`s brother`s childhood friend Jon Lovitz, saw the performer in her and encouraged her to audition for theater groups in L.A. Kudrow then landed a part as a member of The Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy troupe, where she honed her comedic skills under Cynthia Szigeti, a famous improv teacher. After her training, she joined the troupe, Unexpected Company with Conan O` Brien and was later a part of the Transformers Comedy Troupe.

Kudrow`s first successful stint on TV was as Ursula, the dumb and crazy waitress on the sitcom Mad About You, in 1992. The year 1994 proved to be a groundbreaking one for Kudrow as she landed the iconic role of masseuse-cum-singer Phoebe Buffay on the American sitcom, Friends. The show received immense critical acclaim throughout its run (1994-2004), becoming one of the most popular series of all time. For her portrayal of Phoebe, Kudrow received an Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, in 1998 and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in 2000. Kudrow also reprised her role as Ursula from Mad About You, on Friends as Phoebe`s identical twin, who shares Phoebe`s quirkiness, but, unlike Phoebe, seems to be selfish and uncaring. Along with her co-stars, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney Cox, Lisa Kudrow became the highest paid TV actress of that time, earning $ 1 million for the show`s 9th and 10th season.

Amidst Friends, Kudrow appeared in many TV series like Simpsons, and King of the Hill as a voice actor. In 2005, she did a starring role in American comedy-drama The Comeback, which follows the life of a sitcom actress Valerie Cherish in modern day Los Angeles. The show was created by Kudrow and she also co-wrote, and co-produced it with Michael Patrick King, a former executive producer of Sex and the City. After premiering in 2005, the show was renewed again, in 2014, for the second season, Kudrow was also the executive producer of a genealogy based documentary series, Who Do You Think You Are?, in which celeb traced their ancestors through their family tree. During the first episode titled "Lisa Kudrow", she discovered about her great-grandmother, who was murdered in the holocaust. The Friends actor also created and produced the web series, Web Therapy, in 2008.

Movie Career
Kudrow`s knack of making people laugh continued on the big screen too, when she starred in Romy and Michele`s High School Reunion, along with the Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino. Released in 1997, this comedy-drama film opened to positive reviews and Kudrow`s comic timing was applauded. She then did a starring role in the drama movie The Opposite of Sex, along with Christina Ricci, and Martin Donovan. For her portrayal of Lucia in the film, Kudrow bagged the New York Film Critics Award. Since then, she has featured in films like Analyze This, Dr. Dolittle 2, Wonderland, Happy Ending, P.S.I Love You, and Neighbors.

Lisa Kudrow`s 2016 releases include El Americano: The Movie, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, and The Girl on the Train. His other releases include Table 19 (2017), The Boss Baby (2017), Long Shot (2019), Booksmart (2019), Like a Boss (2020) and The Boss Baby: Family Business (2021).