Age, Biography, and Wiki
Lisa Kudrow was born on July 30, 1963, making her 61 years old as of mid-2024. She is the daughter of Nedra and Lee Kudrow, and her older brother, David Kudrow, is also in the entertainment industry. Kudrow's early life was marked by a close-knit family environment and a strong academic background. She developed an interest in acting at a young age and began her career in improv and comedy troupes. Her breakthrough role came with Friends, where she played the quirky and lovable Phoebe Buffay from 1994 to 2004.
Occupation | Voice Actress |
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Date of Birth | 30 July 1963 |
Age | 61 Years |
Birth Place | Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
Horoscope | Leo |
Country | U.S |
Height, Weight, & Measurements
Lisa Kudrow is approximately 5 feet 8 inches tall (173 cm) and has maintained a slender figure throughout her career. Her weight and other measurements are not publicly disclosed in detail.
Height | 5 feet 8 inches |
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Dating & Relationship Status
Lisa Kudrow is married to Michel Stern, an advertising executive, whom she wed in 1995. The couple welcomed a son, Julian Murray Stern, born in 1998. Kudrow's pregnancy was cleverly woven into Friends, showcasing her ability to balance personal and professional life.
She has an older sister, Helene, and two brothers, David and Derrick. She was raised in a middle-class Jewish family and had a Bat Mitzvah. She is of Belarusian, German, Hungarian, and Polish Jewish descent. Some of her Belarusian ancestors were from Ilya. Almost all Jews in Ilya were murdered during the Holocaust, including Kudrow's paternal great-grandmother. Her paternal grandmother left Belarus for Brooklyn, where her father grew up.
Kudrow attended Portola Middle School in the Tarzana neighborhood of Los Angeles. She graduated from Taft High School in the Woodland Hills neighborhood, which was attended at the same time by rapper Eazy-E and actress Robin Wright. She received her A.B. in biology from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York, intending to become an expert on headaches like her father. While breaking into acting, she worked for her father for eight years and earned a research credit on his study on the comparative likelihood of left-handed individuals developing cluster headaches.
Kudrow married French advertising executive Michel Stern on May 27, 1995. The couple resides in Beverly Hills, California, and has a son born on May 7, 1998. Kudrow's pregnancy was written into the fourth season of Friends, with her character having triplets as a surrogate mother for her half-brother and his wife. In addition to her Beverly Hills home, Kudrow maintained a penthouse in Park City, Utah, which she sold in April 2017. She revealed in 2019 that she had experienced body dysmorphic disorder while working on Friends.
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Husband | Michel Stern (m. 1995) |
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Net Worth and Salary
As of 2024, Lisa Kudrow's net worth is estimated to be $130 million, largely attributed to her successful roles in Friends and other projects like The Comeback and various film appearances. Her salary during the initial seasons of Friends was around $22,500 per episode in the first season and increased to between $20,000 and $40,000 per episode in the second season. The cast members of Friends continue to earn significant income from reruns, with each member reportedly earning about $20 million annually.
Business Ventures
Kudrow's business ventures include real estate investments. She owns several properties, including homes in Beverly Hills and a penthouse in Park City, Utah, which she sold for $3.6 million in 2017.
Lisa Valerie Kudrow (born July 30, 1963) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, American Comedy and TV Guide awards. Phoebe has since been named one of the greatest television characters of all time and is considered to be Kudrow's breakout role, spawning her successful film career.
At the urging of comedian Jon Lovitz, who was a childhood friend of her brother, Kudrow began her comedic career as a member of The Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy school in Los Angeles. She has credited Cynthia Szigeti, her improv teacher at The Groundlings, for changing her perspective on acting, calling her "the best thing that happened, on so many levels". Briefly, Kudrow joined with Conan O'Brien and director Tim Hillman in the short-lived improv troupe Unexpected Company. She was also the only regular female member of the Transformers Comedy Troupe. She played a role in an episode of the NBC sitcom Cheers. She tried out for Saturday Night Live in 1990, but Julia Sweeney was chosen instead. She had a recurring role as Kathy Fleisher in three episodes of season one of the Bob Newhart sitcom Bob (CBS, 1992–1993), a role she played after taking part in the series finale of Newhart's previous series Newhart. Prior to Friends, she appeared in at least two network-produced pilots: NBC's Just Temporary (also known as Temporarily Yours) in 1989, playing Nicole; and CBS' Close Encounters (also known as Matchmaker) in 1990, playing a Valley girl.
Following Friends, Kudrow starred as protagonist Valerie Cherish on the single-season HBO series The Comeback (premiered June 5, 2005), about a has-been sitcom star trying for a comeback. She also served as co-creator, writer, and executive producer. Nine years after the original season, HBO revived the series in 2014 for an abbreviated second season. Kudrow received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The Comeback. Her production company is 'Is or Isn't Entertainment'. Kudrow serves as the executive producer for the U.S. version of the British television series Who Do You Think You Are?, in which celebrities trace their family trees. The subjects of the first series included Kudrow herself, in which it was discovered her great-grandmother was murdered in the Holocaust.
Kudrow has been honored with numerous accolades over her career. For her role in the sitcom Friends, she received six nominations at the Primetime Emmy Awards, winning in 1998 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, won two Screen Actors Guild Awards, one Satellite Award, one American Comedy award, and one TV Guide award.
Social Network
Lisa Kudrow is active on social media platforms, though not as frequently as some other celebrities. She uses her platforms to engage with fans and occasionally promote her projects.
Education
Kudrow graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology. Her academic background is a testament to her dedication to education before pursuing a career in acting.
In summary, Lisa Kudrow is not only a talented actress but also a savvy businesswoman and devoted family member. Her enduring success in television and film has cemented her place as one of the most beloved and financially successful actresses of her generation.
Kudrow initially appeared in a 1989 episode of the hit sitcom Cheers playing a character named Emily. She also starred in several episodes of the show Mad About You (1993) as Ursula, before auditioning and earning the role of Phoebe on Friends; her character on Mad About You was written into the Friends storyline as Phoebe's twin. In the late 1990s, Kudrow starred in the cult comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and followed it with an acclaimed performance in the comedy/drama The Opposite of Sex (1998), which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. She created, produced, wrote, and starred in the HBO mockumentary series The Comeback, which initially lasted for one season in 2005 but was revived for a critically acclaimed second and final season in 2014. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for both seasons.
During her tenure on Friends, Kudrow appeared in several comedy films such as Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Hanging Up, Marci X, Dr. Dolittle 2, Analyze This and its sequel Analyze That, and dramatic films, such as Wonderland and The Opposite of Sex. She also guest-starred on numerous television series during Friends, including The Simpsons, Hope and Gloria and King of the Hill, and hosted Saturday Night Live.