Lisa Kudrow
| Lisa Kudrow | |
|---|---|
 Kudrow at the 2009 Streamy Awards | |
| Born |
Lisa Valerie Kudrow July 30, 1963 Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Vassar College |
| Occupation | Actress, voice actress, writer, comedian, producer |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Spouse(s) | Michel Stern (m. 1995) |
| Children | 1 |
| Parent(s) |
Lee N. Kudrow Nedra Stern |
Lisa Valerie Kudrow[1] (/ˈkuːdroʊ/; born July 30, 1963)[2] is an American actress, comedian, writer and producer. She gained worldwide recognition for her ten-season run as Phoebe Buffay on the television sitcom Friends, for which she received many accolades, including an Emmy Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
She went on to produce, write and star in the 2005 HBO series The Comeback, which was revived nine years later and began airing its second season in November 2014.[3] She also is currently starring in Web Therapy which is in its fourth season on Showtime. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class – Short-Format Live-Action Entertainment Program[4] for the show in 2012. She is also one of the executive producers of the TLC reality program Who Do You Think You Are. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Reality-Program for the series in 2012.
Away from television, Kudrow has also appeared in many films, including Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997), The Opposite of Sex (1998), Analyze This (1999) and its sequel Analyze That (2002), Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Wonderland (2003), Happy Endings (2005), P.S. I Love You (2007), Bandslam (2008), Hotel for Dogs (2009), Easy A (2010), and Neighbors (2014).
Throughout her career she has received ten Emmy Award nominations, twelve Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and a Golden Globe Award nomination.
Early life
Lisa Kudrow was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Nedra S. (née Stern, born 1934), a travel agent, and Dr. Lee N. Kudrow (born 1933), a physician who specialized in the treatment of headaches.[5] She has an older sister, Helene Marla (born 1955), and an older brother, Santa Monica neurologist David B. Kudrow (born 1957). Kudrow was raised in a middle-class Jewish family and had a Bat Mitzvah ceremony.[6][7] Her ancestors emigrated from Belarus, Germany, Hungary & Poland some of them lived in the village of Ilya, in the Minsk area. Her paternal great-grandmother, Mera Mordejovich, was murdered in Ilya during the Holocaust. Her paternal grandmother, Grunya Farberman, immigrated to Brooklyn, where her father grew up.[8][9]
Kudrow attended Portola Middle School in Tarzana, California. In 1979, at the age of 16, she underwent rhinoplasty to reduce the size of her nose.[10] She graduated from Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Kudrow received her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Vassar College, intending to follow in her father's footsteps and research headaches. Kudrow worked on her father's staff for eight years while breaking into acting, earning a research credit on his study on the comparative likelihood of left-handed individuals developing cluster headaches.[11]
Career
1989–1994: Early career
At the urging of her brother's childhood friend, comedian Jon Lovitz,[6] Kudrow began her comedic career as a member of The Groundlings. Briefly, Kudrow joined with Conan O'Brien and director Tim Hillman in the short-lived improv troupe Unexpected Company.[12] She was also the only regular female member of the Transformers Comedy Troupe.[13] She played a role in an episode of the NBC sitcom Cheers.[14] She tried out for Saturday Night Live in 1990, but the show chose Julia Sweeney instead.[15] 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 memorable series finale of Newhart's previous series Newhart.[16] Prior to Friends, she appeared in at least two produced network 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.[5]
Kudrow was cast to play the role of Roz Doyle in Frasier, but the role was re-cast with Peri Gilpin during the filming of the pilot episode. Kudrow said in 2000 that when rehearsals started, "I knew it wasn't working. I could feel it all slipping away, and I was panicking, which only made things worse".[6] Her first recurring television role was Ursula Buffay, the eccentric waitress on the NBC sitcom Mad About You. Kudrow would reprise the character on the NBC sitcom Friends, in which Kudrow co-starred as massage therapist Phoebe Buffay, Ursula's twin sister.[17]
1994–2004: Breakthrough
For her starring role as Phoebe on Friends (NBC, 1994–2004) Kudrow won the 1998 Emmy Award[18] for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. According to the Guinness Book of World Records (2005), Kudrow and co-stars Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox became the highest paid TV actresses of all time, earning $1 million per episode for the ninth and tenth seasons of Friends.[19] During her tenure on Friends Kudrow appeared in multiple comedic 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, King of the Hill, and hosting Saturday Night Live.
2004–present: Post-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. The series was cancelled by HBO before being renewed for a second season nearly a decade after being originally cancelled. Kudrow received two Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on The Comeback.[20]
Kudrow served as the executive producer for the American version of the UK television series Who Do You Think You Are? for NBC, in which celebrities trace their family trees. The subjects of the first series included Kudrow herself, in which it was discovered her great-grandmother died in the Holocaust.[21][22] On March 19, 2010, Kudrow’s search for her roots in eastern Europe was broadcast.[23] Kudrow co-created an improvised comedy web series, Web Therapy on Lstudio.com. The improv series, which launched online in 2008, has earned several Webby nominations and one Outstanding Comedic Performance Webby for Kudrow, who plays therapist of unspecified credentials Fiona Wallice. She offers her patients three-minute sessions over iChat.[20] In July 2011, a reformatted, half-hour version of the show premiered on Showtime,[24][25] before being cancelled in 2015 after four seasons.[26] Kudrow has guest starred on multiple television series such as Cougar Town, BoJack Horseman, Angie Tribeca, and Scandal.[27]
Following Friends, Kudrow has also appeared in films such as Easy A, Hotel for Dogs, Happy Endings, and Neighbors. She is slated to reprise her role as Carol Gladstone in Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising and appear in the upcoming thriller film, The Girl on the Train.
Personal life
On May 27, 1995, Kudrow married Michel Stern, a French advertising executive.[5][28] They have one son, Julian Murray, who was born on May 7, 1998.[29] Kudrow's pregnancy was written into Friends (seasons 4 and 5), with her character Phoebe having triplets as a surrogate mother for her brother Frank and his wife Alice because they were not able to have children.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Overdrawn at the Memory Bank | Extra | |
| 1989 | L.A. on $5 a Day | Charmer | |
| 1991 | To the Moon, Alice | Friend of Perky Girl | Short film |
| 1991 | The Unborn | Louisa | |
| 1992 | Dance with Death | Millie | |
| 1992 | In the Heat of Passion | Bank Teller | |
| 1994 | In the Heat of Passion 2: Unfaithful | Bank Teller | |
| 1995 | The Crazysitter | Adrian Wexler-Jones | |
| 1996 | Mother | Linda | |
| 1997 | Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | Michele Weinberger | |
| 1997 | Clockwatchers | Paula | |
| 1997 | Hacks | Reading Woman | |
| 1998 | The Opposite of Sex | Lucia DeLury | |
| 1999 | Analyze This | Laura MacNamara Sobel | |
| 2000 | Hanging Up | Maddy Mozell | |
| 2000 | Lucky Numbers | Crystal | |
| 2001 | All Over the Guy | Marie | |
| 2001 | Dr. Dolittle 2 | Ava | Voice |
| 2002 | Bark! | Dr. Darla Portnoy | |
| 2002 | Analyze That | Laura Sobel | |
| 2003 | Marci X | Marci Field | |
| 2003 | Wonderland | Sharon Holmes | |
| 2005 | Happy Endings | Mamie | |
| 2007 | Kabluey | Leslie | |
| 2007 | P.S. I Love You | Denise | |
| 2009 | Hotel for Dogs | Lois Scudder | |
| 2009 | Powder Blue | Sally | Direct-to-DVD |
| 2009 | Paper Man | Claire Dunn | |
| 2009 | Bandslam | Karen Burton | |
| 2010 | Easy A | Mrs. Griffith | |
| 2011 | The Other Woman | Dr. Carolyn Soule | |
| 2014 | Neighbors | Carol Gladstone | |
| 2016 | El Americano: The Movie | Lucille | Voice |
| 2016 | Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising | Carol Gladstone | Completed |
| 2016 | The Girl on the Train | Monica | In post-production |
| 2017 | Table 19 | In post-production | |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Married to the Mob | Pilot | |
| 1989 | Cheers | Emily | Episode: "Two Girls for Every Boyd" |
| 1989 | Just Temporary | Nicole | Television film |
| 1990 | Newhart | Sada | Episode: "The Last Newhart" |
| 1990 | Life Goes On | Stella | Episode: "Becca and the Band" |
| 1991 | Murder in High Places | Miss Stich | Television film |
| 1992 | Room for Two | Woman in Black | Episode: "Not Quite... Room for Two" |
| 1992–1999 | Mad About You | Ursula Buffay | 24 episodes |
| 1993 | Flying Blind | Amy | Episode: "My Dinner with Brad Schimmel" |
| 1993 | Bob | Kathy Fleisher | 3 episodes |
| 1993–1994 | Coach | Lauren / Nurse Alice | 2 episodes |
| 1994–2004 | Friends | Phoebe Buffay / Ursula Buffay | 236 episodes |
| 1996 | Hope & Gloria | Phoebe Buffay | Episode: "A New York Story" |
| 1996 | Duckman: Private Dick/Family Man | Female Beta Maxians (voices) | Episode: "The One with Lisa Kudrow in a Small Role" |
| 1996 | Saturday Night Live | Host | Episode: "Lisa Kudrow/Sheryl Crow" |
| 1997 | Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist | Lisa (voice) | Episode: "Reunion" |
| 1998 | The Simpsons | Alex Whitney (voice) | Episode: "Lard of the Dance" |
| 1998–1999 | Hercules: The Animated Series | Aphrodite (voice) | 4 episodes |
| 2001 | King of the Hill | Marjorie Pittman (voice) | Episode: "The Exterminator" |
| 2001 | Blue's Clues | Dr. Stork (voice) | Episode: "The Baby's Here!" |
| 2005 | Father of the Pride | Foo-Lin (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2005, 2014 | The Comeback | Valerie Cherish | 21 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2005 | Hopeless Pictures | Sandy (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | American Dad! | The Ghost of Christmas Past (voice) | Episode: "The Best Christmas Story Never" |
| 2008–Present | Web Therapy | Fiona Wallice | 67 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2010 | Cougar Town | Dr. Amy Evans | Episode: "Rhino Skin" |
| 2010–present | Who Do You Think You Are? | Herself[23] | Executive producer; Episode: "Lisa Kudrow" |
| 2011–2015 | Web Therapy | Fiona Wallice | 43 episodes; also co-creator, writer and executive producer |
| 2011 | Allen Gregory | Sheila (voice) | Episode: "Mom Sizemore" |
| 2013 | Wendell and Vinnie | Natasha | Episode: "Swindel & Vinnie" |
| 2013 | Scandal | Congresswoman Josephine Marcus | 4 episodes |
| 2015 | Bojack Horseman | Wanda Pierce (voice) | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Angie Tribeca | Monica Vivarquar | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2016 | Must See TV: An All-Star Tribute to James Burrows | Herself | |
| 2016 | Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt | Lori-Ann Schmidt | Episode: "Kimmy Finds Her Mom!" |
Awards and nominations
References
- ↑ "Lisa Kudrow says her middle name". YouTube. Retrieved August 8, 2013.
- ↑ Family Tree Legends According to the State of California. California Birth Index, 1905–1995. Center for Health Statistics, California Department of Health Services, Sacramento, California
- ↑ "'The Comeback' Returns Sunday November 9 Exclusively on HBO".
- ↑ "Web Therapy". Emmy Awards. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- 1 2 3 "FilmReference.com: Lisa Kudrow (1963–)".
- 1 2 3 Zaslow, Jeffrey. (October 8, 2000). "Balancing friends and family". USA Weekend. Retrieved June 8, 2008.
- ↑ Harris, Rob. (June 26, 2012) Oh, what a tangled ‘Web’ Lisa Kudrow weaves. The Times of Israel. Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
- ↑ McCorquodale, Sara (March 20, 2010). "Lisa Kudrow's tears as she uncovers tragic family connection to the Holocaust". Daily Mail (London). Retrieved October 2, 2010.
- ↑ Grobel, Lawrence (November–December 2013). "Lisa Kudrow: The versatile comedian (and former science nerd) reflects on high school bullies, motherhood, and life after Friends". The Saturday Evening Post (Indiana). Retrieved November 7, 2013.
- ↑ Susman, Gary. (October 23, 2002) Gary Susman, "On the Job", ''Entertainment Weekly'', October 23, 2002. ("In the November issue of ''Allure'' magazine, Kudrow reveals a secret she's kept for 23 years: When she was 16, she had a nose job. 'I had a hook nose, and now it's certainly smaller,' she says. 'But I'm not even sure I love how that turned out. I think plastic surgery looks weird – like plastic surgery.'"). Ew.com. Retrieved on 2012-07-25.
- ↑ Messinger, HB; MI Messinger; L Kudrow; LV Kudrow (1994). "Handedness and headache". Cephalalgia 14 (1): 64–67. doi:10.1046/j.1468-2982.1994.1401064.x. PMID 8200028.
- ↑ Bio at PX Drive.com
- ↑ Lisa Kudrow Biography Hollywood Auditions.com
- ↑ Bolesroor (May 5, 2011). ""Cheers" Two Girls for Every Boyd (TV Episode 1989)". IMDb.
- ↑ Shales, Tom; James Andrew Miller (October 2003). Live From New York (First paperback ed.). Back Bay Books. pp. 273, 386. ISBN 0-316-73565-5.
- ↑ Kara Kovalchik, "The Early TV Appearances of Seven Big Stars", Mental Floss, July 15, 2009.
- ↑ "Fast Chat: Lisa Kudrow". Newsday. January 18, 2009.
- ↑ Lisa Kudrow Emmy Nominated . Emmys.com. Retrieved on July 25, 2012.
- ↑ Carter, Bill (February 12, 2002). "'Friends' Deal Will Pay Each Of Its 6 Stars $22 Million". New York Times. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- 1 2 "Lisa Kudrow- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ↑ "Who do you think you are". NBC. Retrieved May 11, 2013.
- ↑ "Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker And Susan Sarandon Star In NBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' Premiering April 20" January 28, 2009, NBC.com News
- 1 2 Who Do You Think You Are – NBC Site. Nbc.com. Retrieved on July 25, 2012.
- ↑ "'Web Therapy' Renewed: Lisa Kudrow's Showtime Series Get A Season 3". Huffingtonpost. November 16, 2012. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ↑ Hale, Mike (July 28, 2011). "Analyze This: A Webisode’s Id Meets Its TV Ego". New York Post. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
- ↑ http://deadline.com/2015/08/lisa-kudrows-web-therapy-cancelled-showtime-4-seasons-1201497293/
- ↑ Mickey O'Connor. "Lisa Kudrow Will Guest-Star on Cougar Town". TVGuide.com.
- ↑ "Want the secret to a happy marriage? Don't have sex before the wedding". Daily Mail (London). December 23, 2010.
- ↑ Shauna Snow (May 9, 1998). "Calendar". Los Angeles Times.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lisa Kudrow. |
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Wikiquote has quotations related to: Lisa Kudrow |
- Lisa Kudrow at the Internet Movie Database
- Lisa Kudrow at AllMovie
- Lisa Kudrow at Emmys.com
- Lisa Kudrow on Twitter
- Lisa Kudrow interview video at the Archive of American Television
| Preceded by Samuel L. Jackson |
MTV Movie Awards host 1999 |
Succeeded by Sarah Jessica Parker |
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