Lisa Valerie Kudrow (KOO-droh; born July 30, 1963) is an American actress. She rose to international fame for her role as Phoebe Buffay in the American television sitcom Friends, which aired from 1994 to 2004. The series earned her Primetime Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, American Comedy and TV Guide awards. Phoebe has since been named one of the most significant television characters of all time and is considered Kudrow's breakout role, spawning her successful film career.

She initially appeared in a 1989 episode of the hit sitcom Cheers, playing a character named Emily. She also starred in several episodes of the show Mad About You(1993) as Ursula before auditioning and earning the role of Phoebe on Friends; her character on Mad About You was written into the Friends storyline as Phoebe's twin. In the late 1990s, she starred in the cult comedy film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997) and followed it with an acclaimed performance in the comedy/drama The Opposite of Sex (1998), which won her the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female. She created, produced, wrote, and starred in the HBO mockumentary series The Comeback, which initially lasted for one season in 2005 but was revived for a critically acclaimed second and final season in 2014. She was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for both seasons.