| Real Name: | Lisa Valerie Kudrow |
| Birthday: | August 19, 1969 |
| Net Worth | $80 million |
| Height: | 173 cm |
| Occupation: | Actress, comedian, writer, singer, and producer |
We all have friends we hang out daily. Imagine having a show where a bunch of friends hang out and chat while sipping coffee? That is the plot of one of the most successful TV shows of all time, Friends. Lisa Kudrow was one of the six main cast members.
The Friends actors were some of the highest-paid actors on television at the time. There is a good reason for that. The show was an instant success, and fans connected with the characters quickly. Nowadays, a salary of $1 million per episode seems like the standard. Many successful TV actors get that much. But back in the 1990s and early 2000s, that was a dream.
Lisa Kudrow had some success before Friends and after that. But her career will always revolve around Phoebe Buffay.
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Life Before Friends
Before playing Phoebe, Lisa played an identical twin sister of Phoebe, Ursula Buffay. Yes, Phoebe had a twin sister. Ursula Buffay is a character originally created for Mad About You, another American sitcom. Ursula appeared in the first season of Friends as well, portrayed by Kudrow.
Ursula was a quirky waitress, and she was one of the funniest characters on Mad About You. Yet, that didn’t get Kudrow a lot of money. After the show, Lisa was cast for Friends. Phoebe and her sister crossed paths several times during the show. Both lived in New York.
Before Friends, Lisa had a cameo and small appearances in other television shows. But those were short and small parts.
Net Worth and Friends Income
Lisa and other cast members should thank David Schwimmer for their net worth. He was the one responsible for raising their salary. David had an idea to band together and form a mini union. Together, they negotiated a collective agreement and asked for equal pay. In the first two seasons, they earned $22,500 per episode.
After the first two seasons, the band negotiated a higher pay, rising to $100,000 for season five. In season six, they earned $125,000 per episode, and in season seven and eight, $750,000 per episode. The Friends cast reached the elusive $1 million per episode in season nine and ten.
Besides salary, Lisa and her friends negotiated for royalty rights. They knew the show couldn’t function without them and used that as an advantage.
Every cast members earn a part of the profit. Even now, Friends brings about $1 billion in revenue per year. So, Kudrow and others make between $10 and $20 million per year.
Life After Friends
While on Friends, Lisa appeared in other TV and movie projects as well. For example, in 2002, she played a main role in the mafia comedy movie Analyze That. She appeared alongside Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal. She then started in the 2007 drama P.S I Love You, gaining huge recognition.
Kudrow followed it up with other movies like Hotel for Dogs, Powder Blue, and Paper Man. In 2010, she even had a small appearance on Cougar Town. That is the show Courteney Cox got after Friends.
From 2008 to 2015, Kudrow appeared in many television series. One of them was her own “The Comeback”. A fun choice for a title, right? The Comeback aired from 2005 to 2014, with a total of 21 episodes. Phoebe also appeared in Web Therapy, from 2008 to 2014 and from 2011 to 2015.
Her latest projects include Feel Good, another television series. The series is in post-production and should start airing in 2020. In Like a Boss, she portrayed Shay.
Who is the Richest Friends Cast Member?
Friends helped the cast members earn millions. Some of them made more money after that, others made less. Some cast members followed Friends with a highly successful movie career. For example, Jennifer Aniston appeared in many comedies in the 2000s and 2010s. She is the richest cast member.
We said before that Friends cast members negotiated equal pay for their time on the sitcom. But after that, they had different careers.
Ironically, one of the most popular characters on the show, Joey, has the lowest net worth. He instantly followed Friends with his show, Joey. But it lasted only for two seasons. Now, he is the main cast member of Man with a Plan.
Matt LeBlanc has a net worth of $60 million.
Matthew Perry appeared in some movies and TV shows after Friends. Now, he has a net worth of $120 million.
David Schwimmer changed the genre of his acting. Friends was a sitcom, a comedy. After that, he tried appearing in more serious movies and shows. His notable job was the portrayal of Rob Kardashian in American Crime Stories.
Courteney Cox is one of the most successful Friends cast members. She got her show, Cougar Town, which ran for six seasons. Cox has a net worth of $120 million.
Finally, we have Jennifer Aniston. You can say she is the most recognizable Friends cast member nowadays. Her iconic Rachel haircut is still a staple in hair studios around the world. She married Brad Pitt. The beautiful blonde has a net worth of $170 million. And it is all thanks to the many romantic movies. The list includes Marley & Me, The Break-Up, Along Came Polly, Just go With It, and more.
Lifestyle and Personal Life
Lisa Kudrow got married during the first season of Friends. She married French advertising executive Michel Stern. They have a son, Julian Murray Stern.
Fun fact: her pregnancy was part of the fourth season of Friends. Her character, Phoebe Buffay, had a triplet as a surrogate mother. So, she was filming while pregnant.
As for her living arrangements, Kudrow has several mansions around the world. She has one in the Los Angeles area. She bought the property in 1996 for $1.9 million. Her 6,400 square-foot mansion was in Beverly Hills. In 2001, she spent $2.4 million to buy another home in Beverly Hills.