Lisa Kudrow

Friends is the little show from the 90’s and 2000’s about six best friends living in New York City navigating their lives in their 20’s and 30’s. Perhaps the most misunderstood character of the entire show was Phoebe Buffay, played by Lisa Kudrow. She was an important character; one that was mostly overlooked throughout the show’s entire 10-year run. Her unique blend of eccentric humor, bohemian spirit, and unwavering optimism provided a crucial emotional anchor and comedic counterpoint to the group, while her backstory of hardship offered a perspective on resilience and inner strength. She drove key plot developments, such as discovering Rachel’s pregnancy and delaying her flight to Paris, and her evolution from an unconventional outsider to a more mature, voice-of-reason figure was central to the show’s overall narrative and themes of friendship and self-discovery. Here, we breakdown Phoebe’s character arc to its entirety. We explore her surrogacy journey and its significance for women going through infertility. And we explain how Phoebe redefined the meaning of family. Let’s discuss…