'Friends' star Lisa Kudrow reveals harsh career snub

Lisa Kudrow went through career setbacks before becoming famous.

In August 2026, reflecting on the time when the sitcom star started working in the showbiz industry, she revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that “I didn’t look like women who were getting cast as series regulars on sitcoms.”

The Friends star learned that talent alone was not enough as “they still wanted a certain look — very pretty and appealing and all of that — and not that funny, right, except for Shelley Long…"

"I was told, ‘It’s very hard because you’re not gorgeous, and they want gorgeous,'" she said

“And I’m like, ‘Okay’… I don’t think that’s ridiculous. I got it. Also, it’s not just how you look; it’s how you act, too. I’m not ‘cute.’ And God, I didn’t want to be cute,” Lisa further added.

Previously, on April 4, speaking to The Independent, the actress, known for her iconic role of Phoebe Buffay, explained how, despite Friends’ success, she received limited attention, stating, “Nobody cared about me.”

Adding, “There were certain parts of [my talent agency] that just referred to me as ‘the sixth Friend.’”

“There was no vision for me, and no expectations about the kind of career I could have.”

“There was just, like, ‘Boy, is she lucky she got on that show,” she added further.

It is pertinent to mention that Lisa Kudrow made her Friends debut in 1994 and is widely known for her character Phoebe Buffay.