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Lisa Kudrow will forever hold a special place in the hearts of her global fan base. No matter what role she held before, or after her wildly successful tenure on the legendary hit sitcom Friends, she will forever be linked to her iconic character, Phoebe Buffay. The ever-quirky, fabulously funny role she played on Friends was truly a defining experience in Kudrow's life. As the success of the show continued to grow exponentially, she quickly became one of the highest paid actresses on television, and has left a huge footprint in the entertainment industry that can never be duplicated. She has accumulated an impressive $90 million net worth, along the way.
Kudrow Never Intended To Become An Actress
Interestingly, the iconic actress that is forever linked to one of the most influential television shows in history had absolutely no desire to be an actress at all. She was born in Los Angeles, California to a mother that was a travel agent and a father who was a world recognized physician, specializing in treating people with severe headache pain. Her family was Russian Jewish and unlike the character she portrayed on Friends, Lisa excelled academically, and had her sights on a future in medicine. She planned to follow in the footsteps of her father and become a headache specialist, and achieved her Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Vassar College. By pure coincidence, one of her brother's friends encouraged her to try out her luck in the world of comedy and the course of her life was forever altered.
Doors Slam Shut As Kudrow Experiences Career Failures
Lisa Kudrow started to work the comedy circuit by diving in to the world of improv and sketch comedy. She was naturally talented and hysterically funny, and was seeing success in this arena. She decided to audition for Saturday Night Live, but unfortunately she didn't get a call back.
Kudrow's luck improved when she was offered a role on the sitcom Frasier, which was far beyond the realm of the type of role she thought she could snag. Just as she was getting comfortable with the idea of starring in this hit show, she was fired, and was deeply affected by being let go.
Her tenacity led her to one more audition, for the role of Ursula Buffay on Mad About You. Starring alongside Helen Hunt and Paul Reiser, Kudrow was seeing mainstream success in this small role, while simultaneously continuing to audition for other roles to further her career.
She clinched her Friends audition and was poised to play Phoebe Buffay,with one problem on hand. The shows aired back to back on the same network and there was concern that this would lead to fan confusion. The 'twin sister' plot line was established, making Ursula and Phoebe twins on Friends... but in spite of all these accommodations, she wasn't happy with the role, and put in the request to try out to play Rachel.
Kudrow Lands Her Iconic Role On Friends
The producers of Friends, Marta Kaufmann, David Crane, and Kevin Bright were carefully hosting auditions for the cast of their show, but were meticulous when it came to casting. When Kudrow insisted that she connected more to the role of Monica, she was told that was not going to happen - she was cast as Phoebe, and was the second cast member to join what would eventually become the closest knit, most successful group of actors the world had ever seen.
The world will forever associate Lisa Kudrow with her role as Phoebe Buffay, and to her fans, she was an absolute natural in this role. Nobody could ever imagine anyone else taking on the quirky character with success, yet Kudrow was silently struggling with this acting role.
She credits Matt LeBlanc for helping her embrace her role as Phoebe - the role that would be the catalyst for the biggest shift that Kudrow would ever see in her life.
Making Many, Many Millions
The sitcom saw huge success on a global scale, and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. Everyone could relate to this close-knit group of 6 friends that shared their lives with one another, and assembled at their local coffee ship, Central Perk. As the series leapt to worldwide success, so did Lisa Kudrow and her cast mates.
In no time at all, they were all world-famous stars, and Lisa Kudrow was raking in some very big dollars. By the time the last few years of the show rolled around, Kudrow was earning a whopping $1 million per episode, which equates to a jaw-dropping $18 million per season. She was reportedly also earning well over $19 million per year in royalties alone.
She had made it to the very top, and she stayed there, for a long time. Her net worth continued to grow.
Beyond Friends
Lisa Kudrow didn't let herself get pigeon-holed in her role as Phoebe. Instead, she parlayed her role into other opportunities, and saw success in film with P.S. I Love You, Neighbors, and Easy A. She went on to create her own production company, and became the first Friends star to win an Emmy for her time on the hit sitcom.
Over the course of her career, Kudrow earned six Emmy nominations for her role on Friends, and eight nominations for The Comeback, and Who Do You Think You Are, as well as Web Therapy.
She has also received "Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, and American Comedy Award nominations for her iconic role as Phoebe Buffay".
Today, Lisa Kudrow continues to reap the benefits of huge profits from the syndication of Friends, as well as the sale of merchandise, and other royalty fees. She will forever be linked to one of the most legendary, timeless shows to ever be created, and holds the status of being among the highest paid television actresses in entertainment history. She added an astronomical amount of money to her earnings when she participated in the Friends Reunion show, and fans were able to catch a glimpse at their favorite star on the legendary set once more. Her current net worth of $90 million is expected to continue to grow exponentially.
Sources: Failure Before Success, The List, The Famous People
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