Editing Lisa Kudrow (section)

==Career==

===1989–1994: Pre-''Friends''===
At the urging of comedian [[Jon Lovitz]], who was a childhood friend of her brother,<ref name=zas /> 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".<ref name=thr>{{cite news |first=Mike |last=Barnes |title=Cynthia Szigeti, Groundlings Improv Teacher and 'Seinfeld' Actress, Dies at 66 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cynthia-szigeti-dead-groundlings-teacher-920431 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=August 19, 2016 |access-date=September 6, 2016}}</ref><ref name=aatv>{{cite news |title=Lisa Kudrow interview: Part 2 of 4 |url=http://www.emmytvlegends.org/interviews/people/lisa-kudrow# |work=[[Archive of American Television]] |date=December 22, 2012 |access-date=September 6, 2016}}</ref> Briefly, Kudrow joined with [[Conan O'Brien]] and director Tim Hillman in the short-lived [[Improvisational theatre|improv]] troupe [[Unexpected Company]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Unexpected Company: Entertaining audiences since 2003 |url=https://cranstononline.com/stories/unexpected-company-entertaining-audiences-since-2003,44767 |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=Cranston Herald |date=November 18, 2009 |language=en}}</ref> She was also the only regular female member of the Transformers Comedy Troupe.<ref>{{Cite web |date=February 26, 2014 |title=From Stand-Up To Screen - 10 Comics Who Made The Biggest Leap |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2014/02/26/stand-up-sitcom-kevin-hart-ride-along_n_4859260.html |access-date=February 9, 2022 |website=HuffPost UK |language=en}}</ref> 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.<ref name="LiveFromNewYork">{{cite book |last=Shales |first=Tom |author2=James Andrew Miller |title=Live From New York |publisher=Little, Brown |location=New York |date=November 16, 2008 |edition=First eBook |pages=273, 386 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aNDb1d2i9KkC&q=kudrow |isbn=978-0316045827}}</ref> She had a recurring role as Kathy Fleisher in three episodes of season one of the [[Bob Newhart]] sitcom ''[[Bob (TV series)|Bob]]'' ([[CBS]], 1992–1993), a role she played after taking part in the series finale of Newhart's previous series ''[[Newhart]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/29002 |first=Kara |last=Kovalchik |title=The Early TV Appearances of Seven Big Stars |journal=[[Mental Floss]] |date=July 15, 2009 |archive-date=January 18, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118234539/http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/29002}}</ref> Prior to ''Friends'', she appeared in at least two network-produced [[Television pilot|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]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Close Encounters (TV Movie 1990) - IMDb |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1258132/ |access-date=May 12, 2023 |language=en-US}}</ref>

Kudrow was cast as [[Roz Doyle]] in ''[[Frasier]]'', but the role was re-cast with [[Peri Gilpin]] during the taping of the pilot episode. In 2000, Kudrow explained 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."<ref name="zas" /> Her first recurring television role was [[List of Friends and Joey characters#Ursula Buffay|Ursula Buffay]], the eccentric waitress on the NBC sitcom ''[[Mad About You]]''.

===1994–2004: ''Friends'' and worldwide recognition===
Kudrow, the oldest actor of the main cast, reprised the character of Ursula on the NBC sitcom ''[[Friends]]'', in which she co-starred as [[Massage therapy|massage therapist]] [[Phoebe Buffay]], Ursula's twin sister.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/sunday/fanfare/ny-fffast5999979jan18a,0,2982354.story |title=Fast Chat: Lisa Kudrow |newspaper=[[Newsday]] |date=January 18, 2009}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}</ref> Praised for her performance, Kudrow was the first ''Friends'' cast member to win an [[Emmy Award]] with her 1998 honor as [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series|Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series]] for her starring role as Phoebe on ''Friends'' (NBC, 1994–2004).<ref>[http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/lisa-kudrow Lisa Kudrow Emmy Nominated]. Emmys.com. Retrieved July 25, 2012.</ref> Kudrow received critical acclaim for playing Phoebe. 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&nbsp;million per episode for the ninth and tenth seasons of ''Friends''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carter |first=Bill |title='Friends' Deal Will Pay Each Of Its 6 Stars $22 Million |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/12/business/friends-deal-will-pay-each-of-its-6-stars-22-million.html |access-date=May 10, 2013 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=February 12, 2002}}</ref> Phoebe has since been named one of the greatest television characters of all time. She played Phoebe until the show ended in 2004. The program was a massive hit and Kudrow, along with her co-stars, gained worldwide recognition. Her character, Phoebe, was especially popular. ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' voted Phoebe on ''Friends'' as Kudrow's best performance.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Lisa Kudrow Dishes It Out|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]|date=December 19, 2008|issue=1026|url=https://ew.com/article/2008/12/12/lisa-kudrows-best-role/|access-date=November 25, 2011|archive-date=April 25, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090425154757/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20246101,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

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 (2003 film)|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]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lisa Kudrow |url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001435/ |access-date=May 12, 2023 |website=IMDb |language=en-US}}</ref>

===2004–present: Post-''Friends''===
Following ''Friends'', Kudrow starred as protagonist Valerie Cherish on the single-season [[HBO]] series ''[[The Comeback (TV 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''.<ref name="Lisa">{{cite web |title=Lisa Kudrow- Biography |url=https://movies.yahoo.com/person/lisa-kudrow/biography.html |work=[[Yahoo! Movies]] |access-date=May 10, 2013}}</ref> Her production company is 'Is or Isn't Entertainment'.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Otterson |first=Joe |date=October 31, 2017 |title=Lisa Kudrow, Dan Bucatinsky's Is or Isn't Entertainment Inks First-Look Deal With Sony TV |url=https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/lisa-kudrow-dan-bucatinskys-is-or-isnt-it-entertainment-sony-tv-1202603494/ |access-date=October 20, 2020 |website=Variety |language=en}}</ref> Kudrow serves as the executive producer for the [[Who Do You Think You Are? (U.S. TV series)|U.S. version]] of the British television series ''[[Who Do You Think You Are? (UK TV series)|Who Do You Think You Are?]]'', in which celebrities trace their [[family tree]]s. The subjects of the first series included Kudrow herself, in which it was discovered her great-grandmother was murdered in the [[Holocaust]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Emmys 2012: Lisa Kudrow's Own Holocaust Surprise On 'Who Do You Think You Are?' (Q&A) |date=August 24, 2012 |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/emmys-2012-lisa-kudrows-own-365107 |last=Hunt |first=Stacey Wilson |access-date=October 26, 2019 |newspaper=The Hollywood Reporter}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.nbc.com/news/2009/01/28/lisa-kudrow-sarah-jessica-parker-and-susan-sarandon-star-in-nbcs-who-do-you-think-you-are-premiering |title=Lisa Kudrow, Sarah Jessica Parker And Susan Sarandon Star In NBC's 'Who Do You Think You Are?' Premiering April 20 |publisher=NBC |date=January 28, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100219042859/http://www.nbc.com/news/2009/01/28/lisa-kudrow-sarah-jessica-parker-and-susan-sarandon-star-in-nbcs-who-do-you-think-you-are-premiering/ |archive-date=February 19, 2010}}</ref>

Kudrow co-created an improvised comedy webseries, ''[[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 Fiona Wallice. She offers her patients three-minute sessions over iChat.<ref name="Lisa"/> In July 2011, a reformatted, half-hour version of the show premiered on Showtime,<ref>{{cite news |title='Web Therapy' Renewed: Lisa Kudrow's Showtime Series Get A Season 3 |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/16/web-therapy-renewed_n_2146028.html |access-date=May 10, 2013 |newspaper=[[HuffPost]] |date=November 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Hale |first=Mike |title=Analyze This: A Webisode's Id Meets Its TV Ego |url=http://tv.nytimes.com/2011/07/31/arts/television/web-therapy-transitions-to-tv-on-showtime-review.html |access-date=May 10, 2013 |newspaper=[[New York Post]] |date=July 28, 2011}}</ref> before being cancelled in 2015 after four seasons.<ref>{{cite journal |url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/lisa-kudrows-web-therapy-cancelled-showtime-4-seasons-1201497293/ |title=Lisa Kudrow's 'Web Therapy' Cancelled By Showtime After 4 Seasons |author=Amanda N'Duka |journal=[[Deadline Hollywood]] |date=August 11, 2015 |access-date=July 11, 2017}}</ref> Kudrow has guest starred on multiple television series such as ''[[Cougar Town]]'', ''[[BoJack Horseman]]'', ''[[Angie Tribeca]]'', ''[[Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt]]'', and ''[[Scandal (American TV series)|Scandal]]''.<ref>{{cite news |first=Mickey |last=O'Connor |title=Lisa Kudrow Will Guest-Star on Cougar Town |url=https://www.tvguide.com/News/Lisa-Kudrow-Cougar-1011259.aspx |date=October 27, 2009 |magazine=[[TV Guide]]}}</ref>

Kudrow has appeared in multiple comedic films such as ''[[Happy Endings (film)|Happy Endings]]'', ''[[Hotel for Dogs (film)|Hotel for Dogs]]'', ''[[Easy A]]'', ''[[Neighbors (2014 film)|Neighbors]]'' and its sequel ''[[Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising]]'', ''[[Long Shot (2019 film)|Long Shot]]'', and ''[[Booksmart]]''. She also appeared in the [[romantic drama film]] ''[[P.S. I Love You (film)|P.S. I Love You]]'' and co-starred in the [[thriller film]] ''[[The Girl on the Train (2016 film)|The Girl on the Train]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/girl-train-lisa-kudrow-joins-836376 |title=Lisa Kudrow Joins 'The Girl on the Train' (Exclusive) |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |first=Borys |last=Kit |date=November 3, 2015 |access-date=May 8, 2016}} She has also starred recently on The Good Place as Hypatia of Alexandria.</ref> In 2020, Kudrow played [[Hypatia|Hypatia of Alexandria]] in season 4 episode 12 of ''[[The Good Place]]'' "Patty", and starred as Maggie Naird in the [[Netflix]] comedy series, ''[[Space Force (TV series)|Space Force]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://variety.com/2020/tv/news/space-force-lisa-kudrow-casting-premiere-date-netflix-photos-1234573946/ |title=Lisa Kudrow Joins Steve Carell in 'Space Force,' Netflix Sets Premiere Date |website=Variety |first=Danielle |last=Turchiano |date=April 8, 2020 |access-date=April 8, 2020}}</ref> She reunited with her ''Friends'' cast mates for an HBO Max unscripted television special titled ''[[Friends: The Reunion]]'' in May 2021. She is currently, along with [[Mary McCormack]], an executive producer of the syndicated game show, ''[[25 Words or Less (game show)|25 Words or Less]]''; sometimes, Kudrow herself is one of the two celebrity guests playing with a contestant on the show.<ref>{{Citation |title=25 Words or Less (TV Series 2018– ) - IMDb |url=http://www.imdb.com/title/tt8689502/fullcredits |access-date=May 12, 2023}}</ref>

In December 2024, Kudrow starred as Lydia in the [[Netflix]] comedy-drama ''[[No Good Deed (TV series)|No Good Deed]]'', a role for which she gained positive reviews from critics.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2024/dec/11/no-good-deed-review-lisa-kudrow-mystery-netflix|title=No Good Deed review – Lisa Kudrow carries this twisty, binge-worthy mystery|website=The Guardian|last=Nicholson|first=Rebecca|date=12 December 2024|access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/netflix-no-good-deed-lisa-kudrow-review-cast-b2663716.html|title=Lisa Kudrow hailed for carrying Netflix's 'flimsy' new comedy No Good Deed in first reviews|website=The Independent|last=Parkel|first=Inga|date=13 December 2024|access-date=14 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/no-good-deed-review-lisa-kudrow-ray-romano-netflix-1236084842/|title='No Good Deed' Review: Lisa Kudrow and Ray Romano Bring Humor and Pathos to Netflix's Chaotic Comic Mystery|website=Hollywood Reporter|last=Fienberg|first=Daniel|date=December 12, 2024|access-date=December 14, 2024}}</ref>