Lisa Kudrow is one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses on American television. For a decade, she thrilled audiences by playing Phoebe Buffay in one of television’s most successful TV shows. Over the years, Kudrow has earned a reputation for playing funny, ditzy characters.
Lisa Kudrow intended to follow in her father’s footsteps as a specialized doctor for headaches. However, she began her comedy career as a member of The Groundlings, thanks in no small part to the urgings of comedian Jon Lovitz. Since then, she has been recognized for her incredible acting and comedic talent. With a career of over three decades, these have been Lisa Kudrow’s top movies and TV shows.
Mad About You
A year before she landed her breakthrough role, Lisa Kudrow joined the cast of the NBC sitcom Mad About You in 1993. Kudrow was cast as Ursula Buffay, a quirky and somewhat incompetent waitress who worked at Riff’s. Lisa Kudrow appeared as the character in 23 episodes of the show. The character occasionally crossed over to NBC’s Friends, creating a fun link between both sitcoms. Lisa Kudrow played the character from 1993 to 1999.
Friends
Lisa Kudrow’s breakthrough role came in Friends. It is still regarded as the most successful role of her career. She played Phoebe Buffay, a character created as a twin to Mad About You’s Ursula Buffay. Phoebe Buffay was known for her quirky, eccentric personality, often bringing comic relief with her offbeat humor.
Besides having an unconventional outlook on life, she’s also known for her kind-heartedness, spirituality, and close friendships with other characters on the show. As part of Friends’ main cast, Lisa Kudrow co-starred alongside Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matt LeBlanc, David Schwimmer, and the late Matthew Perry. Kudrow’s performance in Friends did not go without recognition. She was the first cast member to win a Primetime Emmy Award.
Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion
One of Lisa Kudrow’s standout performances in film in the mid to late 1990s was as Michele Weinberger in Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion. Her character had traits similar to those of her Buffay twin sisters: quirky, fun, and somewhat clueless. Co-starring alongside Mira Sorvino, they played 28-year-old best friends invited to their tenth-year High School reunion. Having lived an unambitious, casual life ever since, they decided to impress their former classmates by concocting a lie that they invented Post-it notes. As usual, Kudrow’s portrayal of Michele is humorous, with her comedic timing adding charm and lightheartedness to the movie.
Clockwatchers
In the 1997 Clockwatchers, Lisa Kudrow played Paula, one of the four main characters. The movie focuses on the lives and struggles of these four woman as they navigate the challenges of temporary jobs and the dynamics of their workplace. Kudrow’s Paula is an outgoing and ambitious temp worker who dreams of becoming an actress.
Her character contrasts with some of the other temp workers in the office. However, they all share their frustrations with the monotonous and unstable nature of temp work. Although released before the BBC and NBC’s The Office, Clockwatchers shares similar plots. It also starred Toni Collette, Parker Posey, Alanna Ubach, Debra Jo Rupp, and Bob Balaban.
The Opposite of Sex
Lisa Kudrow’s performance in The Opposite Sex was widely praised for its depth and nuance. It showcased a more serious side of her acting range than her comedic role as Phoebe Buffay in Friends. In 1998 The Opposite of Sex, Kudrow was cast as Lucia De Lury. Her character becomes embroiled in the drama surrounding her late brother’s partner, Bill Truitt (Martin Donovan). Actress Christina Ricci played the lead role as the 16-year-old Dedee Truitt.
The Comeback
After NBC’s Friends ended in 2004, The Comeback was Lisa Kudrow’s next big project on television. The comedy series was created as a satirical and comedic look inside the world of reality television. Kudrow led the show as Valerie Cherish, a one-time, washed-up sitcom actress. In a bid to revive her career, she decided to chronicle her comeback in the fictional reality TV series The Comeback. The HBO sitcom aired for 2 seasons from June 5, 2005, to December 28, 2014.
Web Therapy
In the late 2000s, Lisa Kudrow created the improvised online series Web Therapy. Kudrow played Fiona Wallice, an unconventional, self-absorbed therapist. Rather than the lengthy 50-minute therapy sessions, Fiona conducts short, three-minute sessions over the internet. Fiona Wallice is known for being dismissive of her patients’ problems and often more interested in her own life. Lisa Kudrow’s performance was a central element of the show’s humor, with much of the dialogue improvised.
Time Bandits
Lisa Kudrow’s latest television project was playing Penelope in the short-lived Apple TV+ fantasy adventure series Time Bandits. Created by Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, and Iain Morris, Time Bandits was based on Terry Gilliam’s 1981 critical and Box Office hit movie of the same name. In the Time Bandits series, Kudrow leads a band of miscreants, searching for portals with a stolen map. Although the movie received generally positive critical reviews, the show was canceled after season 1. Besides these Lisa Kudrow movies and TV shows, here’s everything to know about the Friends actress.
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