Anecdotes

Out of the six Friends (1994) stars, Kudrow was the first to receive an Emmy Award for her performance. She has also been nominated for the Emmy Award more times than any other "Friends" cast member.

Meryl Streep politely asked Kudrow if she could make a guest appearance on Kudrow's show Web Therapy (2011). Kudrow was admittedly star-struck and surprised by the approach.

She was terrified of the duck which joined the cast of Friends (1994) in season three.

She speaks French fluently, as does her Friends (1994) co-star, Matt LeBlanc.

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 in vitro fertilization) to cover up Kudrow's own pregnancy.

First played Ursula on Dingue de toi (1992), then played her twin sister, Phoebe, on Friends (1994), and has played both characters at once in a few episodes of "Friends".

Accepted her role in Palace pour chiens (2009), as a favor for her son, who at the time was too young to see any of the films or television series she had previously starred in.

Received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychobiology from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York (1985).

Convinced to quit her job as a Medical Researcher to become a full-time actress by Jon Lovitz.

When filming the split Ursula/Phoebe scenes on the set of Friends, her real life sister was frequently used as her back double.

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.

Returned to work 2 months after giving birth to her son, Julian, in order to begin filming the fifth season of Friends (1994).

Lisa's paternal grandparents, David Kudrow and Gertrude Farberman, were Jewish emigrants (David from Mogilev, Belarus, and Gertrude from Ilya, Vilna Province, Belarus). Lisa's maternal grandfather, Henry Stern, was from a Hungarian Jewish family, and Lisa's maternal grandmother, Johanna Sand, was born in Germany, to Russian Jewish parents. Lisa knew her paternal great-grandmother, Mera Mordejovich, had been murdered by the Nazis during World War II but, in March 2010, on an episode of Who Do You Think You Are? (2010), she visited Ilya, Belarus and was shocked when she was shown the records that reported how Mera had been 'killed and burned' with 900 other Jews in the town.

She has a B.S. in Psychobiology from Vassar College, while Mira Sorvino has a degree in Asian Studies from Harvard University. During production of Romy et Michelle : 10 ans après (1997), they nicknamed each other "Smart and Smarter".

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.

She and Jennifer Aniston both auditioned for regular cast member spots on Saturday Night Live (1975) prior to their success on Friends (1994).

Dislikes singing. Publicly, she has only done it in order to gain laughs, including some memorable musical moments on Friends (1994), Mon comeback (2005) and as the role as a rock star in Palace pour chiens (2009).

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.

Teri Garr has played her mother twice: in Kabluey (2007) and Friends (1994).

The storyline of Phoebe Buffay having her brother's babies on Friends (1994) was thought up when Kudrow announced her real-life pregnancy. However, as she was not big enough to be having triplets, and the sitcom was shot in "TV time", the costumers had to pad her to make her look bigger for the sitcom.

Until 2004, she was the only cast member of Friends (1994) to have a child. Matt LeBlanc's daughter, Marina Pearl, was born February 8, 2004, and Courteney Cox's daughter, Coco Riley, was born June 13, 2004. To date, David Schwimmer has been the only other cast member to parent a child since.

Was 7 months pregnant with her son, Julian, when she completed filming of the fourth season of Friends (1994).

Matt LeBlanc was the one who informed her about her Emmy nomination for the second season of Mon comeback (2005). LeBlanc was also nominated the same year.

Attended grade school with Daniel Pearl, the journalist who was murdered in Pakistan.

Filmed all her scenes for Wonderland (2003) in three days.

Chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World (1997).

She's the tallest female cast member and eldest of the six lead actors on Friends (1994).

Her real-life middle name Valerie has been used for two of her characters. It was the name of her lead role on Mon comeback (2005), and it was the nickname that Phoebe gave herself when briefly she changed her name to 'Princess Consuela Bananahammock' on the tenth season of Friends (1994).

Was a guest at the wedding of Jennifer Aniston and Justin Theroux.

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.

Is a huge fan of Diane Keaton.

Attended and graduated from William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills, California on June 18, 1981.

She supported the WGA strike, which started in 2007 and ended in 2008.

As of 2016, she's the only female cast member on Friends (1994) not to star in a movie opposite Jim Carrey.

She was considered for the role of Joan Baxter in Evan tout-puissant (2007), which went to Lauren Graham.

Her motion picture debut was set to be in the film Double jeu (1990), but her scenes were deleted before the film's release.

Lisa Kudrow has a production company called "Is or Isn't Entertainment", which is named after her popular catchphrase as Phoebe Buffay. Her production company has produced various films and television shows.

She has an Erdös-Bacon-Sabbath number of only 15.

Cousin of Thea Mann.

Despite her many successes, Lisa Kudrow has admitted to having a fear of heights, which has posed challenges for her in certain situations.

Born at 4:37am-PDT.

Her character, Phoebe Buffay on "Friends" (1994), became pregnant with her brother's triplets, by acting as a surrogate through gestational surrogacy (also known as host or full surrogacy) when Kudrow became pregnant.