No, Lisa Kudrow doesn’t have a twin sister.
Lisa Kudrow has an elder sister, Helene Marla Kudrow, who is also associated with Friends. The production used Helene when they had to cast Ursula and Phoebe in the same frame. Helene does have the same body type, height, and structure as Phoebe, but they were never face-to-face; Ursula always had her back towards the camera or vice versa, as they are not twins.
Before landing a lead role on Friends, Kudrow also appeared as the waitress Ursula on the NBC sitcom Mad About You. Ursula’s character assisted Lisa in obtaining the role of Friends. Moreover, Mad About You's broadcast schedule was followed by Friends, so the production houses of both series thought to create a crossover between two very different universes, which, due to double roles, became one.
Ursula and Phoebe's characters don’t share a good bond, even though both of them don't have anyone else besides each other. Ursula, being the evil one, often causes problems for Phoebe; in addition to this, Ursula is always rude to Phoebe.
Why was Phoebe's Ursula introduced in Friends?
Kudrow was asked why Ursula was introduced into the Friends universe as Phoebe's twin during an interview on the “Podcrushed” podcast. According to the actress, her recurring role on “Mad About You” freed her up to apply for other roles, and she soon got the part of Phoebe on Friends. The Friends production team needed to address Ursula's appearance on another TV show because the two series shared the same time slot, which ultimately resulted in her character's crossover.
Lisa said, "I auditioned for Friends because I was available. I was only a recurring role on Mad About You. And I got it both on NBC. And that’s why I liked Friends. I also was going to go to the network for a show that was on Fox, and I went, ‘No, no, definitely the NBC show.’ and everyone seems to love it. So, that’s great. I thought I could still do Mad About You, because that was my goal.”
Kudrow further added, “So, I’ve already been a recurring character on Mad About You. Then they named Ursula and I do Friends, and it gets picked up, and after it gets picked up, they also put us on right after Mad About You. And I don’t know who spoke with who because they were different studios, but it was decided that I still get to be a recurring character on Mad About You. And then Friends needs to address the fact that the exact same human being is on a half hour later sometimes. So I think that’s how it happened. I don’t know what the discussions were with Marta, David, and the Mad About You people.”
How were Ursula and Phoebe positioned in the same frame?
In a 2019 interview with EW, Friends director Kevin S. Bright disclosed that Lisa Kudrow did not like acting with a double and did not enjoy filming scenes with Phoebe's twin. It was more hard for her because her sister, Helene, was her double, though Bright added that the stress "she put her sister into by being the double was more in her head at the time."
The Friends scenes between Phoebe and Ursula were effective despite the awkwardness and discomfort, which did not translate to the final product. If they were ever awkward, it was because of Phoebe and Ursula's relationship, which was at best, strained. Fortunately for Lisa Kudrow, Phoebe's twin was only occasionally mentioned in Friends; as a result, she only had to go through that process a few times.
Comparatively, how was Ursula Buffay portrayed in Mad About You?
On Friends, Ursula Buffay was simply portrayed as Phoebe's evil twin; however, her character on Mad About You is very different. Paul (Paul Reiser) and Jamie Buchanon (Helen Hunt), a young couple living in New York City, are featured in the latter series. They frequently congregate at "Riff's Bar," where Ursula works as a waitress. She quickly rose to the status of supporting cast member during the run of the show.
Friends and Mad About You effectively coexisted in the same universe as a result of this connection. Although Ursula in the latter series was, in Kudrow's opinion, a rather two-dimensional character, at least she was nice and had no bad intentions.
On Friends, the twin's personality was changed to suit the story's requirements, and she primarily played the bad guy, as seen when she used Phoebe's name while working in the porn industry or sold her sister's birth certificate to a Swedish runaway.
Helene Marla Kudrow and Lisa don't actually look identical to one another, despite Lisa's mentioning that she didn't enjoy filming the twin scenes. Nevertheless, even though Ursula was a very different person in Friends and Mad About You, she contributed a lot to both shows.
FAQs
Q. What is the net worth of Lisa Kudrow?
A. As of 2022, Lisa Kudrow’s net worth is estimated to be $130 million.
Q. Why is Ursula so rude to Phoebe?
A. There is no specific reason mentioned in the series, but, most probably it is because Ursula’s character is written that way, to be completely opposite of Phoebe's character.
Q. How many siblings does Lisa Kudrow have?
A. Lisa Kudrow grew up in a middle-class Jewish family with two brothers, David, and Derrick, as well as an older sister named Helene.
