Lisa Kudrow Net Worth

Television buffs and enthusiasts may recognize Lisa Kudrow for her fantastic work as Phoebe Buffay in the television show Friends. She starred alongside some of the most famous people today, including Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox. Her acting career is rich and varied, and Lisa Valerie Kudrow is now making waves for acting in the movies Long Shot, Booksmart, and the Boss Baby!

If she’s in a movie, chances are it will be a box office hit. Perhaps that’s why Lisa Kudrow’s net worth currently sits at over $130 million. 

Humble Beginnings

Lisa Kudrow wasn’t always a household name, and not many people knew her before she scored the role of Phoebe Buffay in the show Friends. Lisa Kudrow got her feet wet in acting at an older age. In fact, she wanted to be a physician like her father, Doctor Lee Kudrow, who specialized in treating headaches!

Lisa Kudrow is also of Jewish descent, and sadly, one of her grandmothers died during the holocaust before making it to America. This didn’t stop Kudrow’s strong family from prospering. Eventually, they settled in Los Angeles, where Lisa Kudrow was raised and grew up in the valley.

She is considered a “Valley girl,” a role she has used to her advantage in her comedy and acting. She grew up in the Valley region of Los Angeles and attended Portola middle school and Taft High School near her hometown of Encino, Los Angeles.

Transition to Acting 

Although the American actress has won numerous awards, she never intended to become an actress at all! In fact, she was convinced to do so by Jon Lovitz, a comedian friend of her brother’s.

It was good advice she took since she is now one of the highest-paid TV actresses and will go down in television history as one of the most awarded and most memorable successful actresses on daytime TV.

Initially, however, Lisa Kudrow wanted to be a doctor, like her father, Lee Kudrow, who is a physician who specialized in treating headaches. Lisa Kudrow earned a research credit before earning her Emmy award due to her work in helping a research study about left-handed people and their likelihood of developing cluster headaches! 

First Roles in Movies and Television

It took several films and TV spots for Phoebe Buffay to be born and the big name in TV show history, played incredibly well by Lisa Kudrow. Before becoming a star on the sitcom series, Lisa Kudrow appeared on Saturday Night Live and tried to make it big in comedy.

She did so by acting as a comedian on the Improv troupe known as Unexpected Company. Sadly the comedy was short-lived, and it was then that Lisa Kudrow tried to get a permanent role on Saturday Night Live. Julia Sweeney ultimately replaced her.

Struggling for Roles

During this early time, Lisa Kudrow’s net worth was virtually non-existent due to her inability to land good roles. Finally, she would land the role of the ditzy waitress, Ursula Buffay, in the famous television sitcom Mad About You, which inspired her role in other television sitcoms, including Friends. Notice anything about the name? That’s because Ursula Buffay shares the same last name as Phoebe Buffay in the Friends cast and served as their inspiration for the character. 

In fact, the massage therapist Phoebe Buffay is said to be cousins with Ursula Buffay within the television universe!

Fun Facts About Lisa Kudrow

Before we move on to how Lisa Kudrow earned her Kudrow net worth, here are some interesting facts you might not have known about the celebrated actress!

• She trained with her physician’s father to study how left-handedness could contribute to headaches!
• She graduated from Vassar College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology.
• During the fourth season of Friends, Phoebe was pregnant with her son Julian shared with her husband, French advertising executive Michael Stern, but in the show, she’s a surrogate carrying triplet
• She went to Taft High School, the same school where hip-hop legends from the rap group N.W.A. Attended. Those legends are Ice Cube and Eazy-E!
• She is now an executive producer not for a comedy or television show but the game show 25 Words or Less!

Moving on to Riches

While she was a Friends cast member, Lisa Kudrow starred on the hit TV show Frazier but found her true calling and success with the Friends franchise.

Alongside her female co-stars, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow net worth began to prosper, and she eventually became one of the highest-paid TV actresses of all time, earning $1 million per episode!

She also beat them to the punch by being the first cast member to win a primetime Emmy award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series!

It only gets better, as after she starred in friends alongside the likes of Matthew Perry and other big names in Hollywood, it was easier for her to score roles in movies like Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion, Dr. Doolittle 2, Analyze This, and Analyze That among others. She also starred in other HBO comedy works and the hit Cougar Town. 

In addition to her primetime Emmy awards, other awards Lisa Kudrow has earned include a Screen actors guild award and a winner of the American Comedy Awards!

Lisa Kudrow Today

Lisa Kudrow’s net worth continues to increase, and she recently made headlines along with her Friends cast members for earning a whopping $2.5 million for the reunion! That’s not too shabby, considering when she first got the role, she made only $22,000 per episode. You can find her today continuing to make guest appearances in shows and movies!

Lisa Kudrow FAQs