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Lisa Kudrow Profile |
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Birth Date: July 30, 1963
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Birth Place: Encino, California USA
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Birth Name: Lisa Marie Diane Kudrow
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Height: 5'10"
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Biography |
Lisa Marie Diane Kudrow was born on July 30, 1963, in
Encino, California, although she was raised in Tarzana,
California, in a very secure and happy household with her
parents Lee and Nedra Kudrow. For this reason and many
others, Lisa could not be further from the character she
played for 10 years on the hit NBC sitcom Friends, ditzy New
Age musician/masseuse/taxi driver, Phoebe Buffay.
Lisa's father Lee Kudrow is a renowned headache specialist,
while her mother Nedra Kudrow is a travel agent. Although
Lisa was a hard worker and studied intensely while in
elementary school, she started to show an interest in acting
at an early age. She would lip synch to the soundtrack from
Fiddler on the Roof, pretending to be one of the musical's
characters. Lisa performed her Fiddler routine in several
classes; a teacher caught a glimpse of her act and was fully
impressed.
After graduating from William Howard Taft High School in
1981 -- where she played tennis in her free time -- Lisa
studied biology at Vassar College in New York. When she
graduated in 1985, Lisa initially hoped to pursue a career
in medical research and returned to Los Angeles to work with
her father.
As luck would have it, comedian Jon Lovitz, a friend of
Lisa's brother's, had just been cast on Saturday Night Live,
which reawakened the little girl in her who loved to act.
Lovitz encouraged Lisa to audition for the improvisational
comedy troupe the Groundlings in order to follow her real
passion in life: performing. She was referred to a
well-known improvisation teacher after having been rejected
for the Groundlings, and in 1989, she finally became an
official member of the Groundlings team.
After gaining experience and recognition as a member of the
popular comedy troupe, Lisa landed a role in a small
production called The Ladies Room. Her next move as a
comedienne was on the small screen with appearances on shows
such as Cheers, Coach, Newhart, and Life Goes On.
In 1993, Lisa was cast as the character that ultimately led
to her Emmy win on Friends. She was cast as Ursula, the
ditzy waitress on the NBC sitcom Mad About You. NBC was so
impressed with her performance that they encouraged her to
audition for a more substantial part on another NBC show.
She first tried out for the part of Roz on Frasier, but was
turned down. It turned out for the best, as the role of
Phoebe on Friends fit Lisa like a charm, so much so that
people often think that Phoebe's personality is similar to
the real Lisa. Phoebe Buffay is actually the twin sister of
Ursula Buffay, Lisa's Mad About You character, which Lisa
continued to play every so often while the show was on the
air.
Over the next few years, Lisa appeared in the following
movies: Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997),
Clockwatchers (1997), The Opposite of Sex (1998), 1999's
Analyze This (co-starring Robert De Niro), Hanging Up
(2000), (co-starring Meg Ryan), Lucky Numbers (2000), Dr.
Dolittle 2 (2001), and Analyze That (2002).
One of People magazine's "Most Beautiful People in the
World" in 1997, Lisa received a lot of recognition for her
acting skills, including the Screen Actors Guild Award for
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
for her role on Friends, an Independent Spirit Award
nomination (as Best Supporting Female) for her role in The
Opposite of Sex, and an American Comedy Award (Funniest
Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series) for Friends. She
has received a total of six Emmy nominations for Friends --
one of which resulted in a win -- but this still marks more
nods (for Friends) than her female co-stars, Courteney Cox
Arquette and Jennifer Aniston.
Although Friends came to an end after 10 years on the air in
2004, Lisa is still on our radar. Her more recent movies
include Marci X (2003), Wonderland (2003) and Happy Endings
(2005). She is making her return to TV in 2005, as the star,
writer and producer of The Comeback, about a one-time
television star who tries to revive her career (how
fitting...).
Lisa and her husband Michel Stern have a son, Julian Murray. |
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Other
Information |
Son, Julian Murray, born. [7 May 1998]
Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful
People in the World. [1997]
She was a member of the comedy troupe, the Groundlings.
Attended William Howard Taft High School in Woodland Hills,
CA. She graduated June 18, 1981.
First played Ursula on "Mad About You" (1992), then played
her twin sister, Phoebe, on "Friends" (1994), and has played
both characters at once in a few episodes of "Friends"
(1994).
Was originally cast for the role of Roz Doyle on "Frasier"
(1993) but producers and writers decided that they were
changing the character too much to fit Lisa's personality.
Both parties decided it would be better to recast the role.
Measurements: 36C-26-36 (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)
Graduated with a major in Psychobiology from Vassar College.
[1985]
Played tennis in high school.
Father is a doctor.
She waited to marriage (age 31) to lose her virginity. Said
in "People" magazine that her mother told her it was a
special gift for her husband.
Attended grade school with 'Daniel Pearl (III)_ , the
journalist murdered in Pakistan.
Convinced to quit her job as a medical researcher to become
a full time actress by Jon Lovitz.
Her motion picture debut was supposed to be in the film
Impulse (1990) but her scenes were cut before the film's
release.
Her character Phoebe Buffay in "Friends" (1994) became
pregnant with her brother's triplets to cover up Kudrow's
own pregnancy.
Cousin of Thea Mann
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 & 2". She sent these episodes as her Emmy
tape submissions and subsequently won the Best Supporting
Actress in a Comedy Emmy.
Filmed all her scenes for Wonderland (2003) in three days.
Tallest female member of the cast of "Friends" (1994).
She and Jennifer Aniston both auditioned for regular cast
member spots on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) prior to their
success on "Friends" (1994).
Until 2004 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. |
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