Lisa Kudrow Says She Felt Like 'Just A Mountain Of A Girl' Compared To 'Friends' Co-Stars Jennifer Aniston And Courteney Cox

Dec 07, 2022 by apost team

Lisa Kudrow is an actress, comedian, writer and producer best known for her starring role as Phoebe Buffay on the iconic television sitcom "Friends." The show aired from 1994 to 2004 and was extremely successful and helped boost the careers of its six main stars, including Kudrow, Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt LeBlanc.

Some of Kudrow's other works include "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," "The Opposite of Sex," "Easy A" and "Booksmart." Her work is clearly impressive, as it has won her a plethora of awards and accolades and has helped her stay relevant in Hollywood for several decades.

The show was incredibly instrumental in Kudrow's long, successful career and even played a huge role in her personal life. She was pregnant with her son Julian while filming for the series, and fans loved how her pregnancy was written into the story, making it one of the more exciting moments of the show. "Friends" has continued to hold a special place in Kudrow's heart as she even reunited with her former castmates for a reunion in 2021.

The hit show returned for a one-time television special, “Friends: The Reunion,” which aired on HBO Max. The show saw the reunion of the much-beloved gang sitting together again on the iconic orange sofa in front of the equally iconic fountain. 

While the reunion thrilled fans, Kudrow opened up about how she felt to stand and act alongside her stunning co-stars Cox and Aniston during an August 2022 interview with the podcast "Podcrushed" featuring hosts Penn Badgley, Sophie Ansari, and Nava Kavelin. 

"Friends” was one of the most critically acclaimed sitcoms that aired in the '90s. The iconic television sitcom landscape has changed ever since its release. 

The show, which went down as one of the most popular television series in American history, has won countless awards, accolades and fans over the show’s 10-year run from 1994 to 2004. On paper, the show might seem rather ordinary. As its name suggests, the show revolves around a group of six friends — Rachel Green (Aniston), Monica Geller (Cox), Phoebe Buffay (Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (LeBlanc), Chandler Bing (Perry) and Ross Geller (Schwimmer) — as they live life as young adults in New York City. The show follows the ensemble cast as they date each other, move in together and further their careers in Manhattan.

Kudrow’s portrayal of the ditzy Phoebe Buffay is one of the show’s many highlights. While she is not singing on the streets anymore, nor is she performing “Smelly Cat,” Kudrow’s career has been nothing but successful since she originated the role. Recently, Kudrow, 59, starred in a Disney+ original film, “Better Nate Than Ever,” along with Joshua Bassett and Rueby Wood, as struggling Broadway actress Aunt Heidi. She will also be starring in the American horror-comedy film “The Parenting” with Nik Dodani, Brandon Flynn, Brian Cox and Edie Falco. 

In "Friends," Phoebe had many relationships before ultimately ending up with Mike Hannigan, portrayed by Paul Rudd. In her real life, Kudrow married her prince charming, Michel Stern, on May 27, 1995, after the show's first season.

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Although her character was beloved and lucky in love, in 2022, Kudrow spoke very candidly about how she felt during its heyday. 

Standing next to her slighter co-stars, she admitted that she felt like a “mountain of a woman.” She talked about how seeing herself on-screen affected her self-image. “It wasn’t until Friends that I realized, ’Oh, I don’t look like I thought I looked,'" she said. 

She explained, “You see yourself on TV and it’s that, ’Oh, my God, I’m just a mountain of a girl. I’m already bigger than Courteney and Jennifer — like my bones feel bigger.’"

Kudrow's family and upbringing deeply influenced her sense of self. She told hosts, “I had body dysmorphia in the way of like, ‘I’m a stick, just like my sister, just like my dad,’ and I wasn’t... I thought I was just really skinny and I could just do whatever." 

However, her thinking shifted when filming began. She recalled, "I was just seeing myself on the show and seeing myself in clothes and seeing Courteney and Jennifer in clothes…” The actress understandably found herself comparing herself to the others. She continued, “I’m not trying to say I was overweight either. I was not. I just had no idea of the actual shape of my body.”

She concluded, “Not ’til my late 30s I just realized, ‘Oh no, it’s OK. This is just what I look like. That’s OK.’ I mean, do what you need to do to be healthy, but this is your body. It’s OK.’”

What's your favorite memory of Phoebe? Let us know — and be sure to pass this article on to friends, family, as well as any fellow "Friends" fans!