Lisa Kudrow has opened up about how she became more aware of her body when she was on the set of Friends, describing the experience as ‘jarring’.
From 1994 to 2004, Lisa starred as the fan-favourite Phoebe Buffay on the widely beloved sitcom, alongside an ensemble including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, David Schwimmer, Matthew Perry and Matt Le Blanc.
Last year, she joined her co-stars in a tear-jerking reunion, which saw the cast reminisce about making the show that made the world fall in love with a group of friends who cried, laughed and loved together for a decade.
During a recent appearance on the podcast Podcrushed, co-hosted by You star Penn Badgley, Nava Kavelin and Sophie Ansari, Lisa recollected the realisation Friends sparked in her about her body.
The 59-year-old explained that prior to winning the role of the whimsical masseuse, she was unaware of how her body really looked.
‘It wasn’t until Friends that I realised, “Oh, I don’t look like I thought I looked.” That’s what was so jarring. And that’s when it was like, “Oh I’ve got to actually lose weight, I have to diet, shoot!”’ she said.
The Easy A star explained that it wasn’t media headlines that made her have a different view of her body, but it was ‘just seeing myself on the show and seeing myself in clothes and seeing Courteney and Jennifer in clothes’.
‘At first I thought, “Oh ‘cause they know tailoring, so they can discuss it with the costume designer about where exactly to take something in.” And then I’d ask one of them, “Can you come with me on my fitting,” and they would, because it was like sisters,’ she recalled.
‘They’d come in like, “Yeah, you’ve got to take it in here, you’ve got to take it in there.” That’s when I would see, “Oh ok. It’s not just about tailoring.” I’m not trying to say I was overweight either, I was not. I just had no idea the shape of my actual body.’
Lisa added that it wasn’t until she was in her late 30s or her 40s that she realised: ‘Oh no, it’s ok, this is just what I looked like. That’s ok. Do what you need to do to be healthy, but this is your body, it’s ok.’
The actor, who’s been married to her husband Michael Stern since 1995, added that he has ‘always loved me the way I was, but wanted me to be healthy’.
Just a few days ago, Jennifer and Courteney shared heartwarming tributes to Lisa in honour of her birthday, continuing to show just how close they all are in real life.
Friends is available to stream on Netflix.
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