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From wildly eccentric therapists to charmingly awkward high school best friends, Lisa Kudrow has delivered incredible performances that showcase her unique blend of comedy and heartfelt drama. Dive into some of her most memorable roles, spanning hit TV shows, cult classic films, and groundbreaking series, where her talent truly shines with wit, warmth, and undeniable charisma.
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00:00Hello, hello, hello. Welcome to my new chapter. Come on in. Are you coming?
00:07Welcome to Ms. Mojo. And today we're counting down our picks for the most incredible roles
00:11of Lisa Kudrow's career, from her iconic comedy turns to her surprisingly poignant dramatic work.
00:17Then I thought maybe, just maybe, you could raise the viscosity by adding a complex glucose
00:23derivative during the emulsification process. And it turns out I was right.
00:29Number 10. Maggie Naird, Space Force.
00:32The Air Force Chief's house in Arlington is gorgeous and comes with a staff.
00:37Dad, I am so proud of you.
00:39Lisa Kudrow's role in the short-lived Netflix series Space Force is small but intriguingly
00:44mysterious. She plays Maggie Naird, the wife of General Mark Naird, portrayed by Steve Carell,
00:49and the mother of their teenage daughter Erin. From the very first episode, viewers learn that
00:54Maggie is serving time in prison for a, quote, very serious crime, though the show never
00:59reveals exactly what she did. Mark, I'm gonna be in here a long time. So if you need companionship...
01:08No, no, no. No, I am your husband.
01:12Yes, but I'll understand...
01:15Kudrow leans into the absurdity of the premise with perfectly dry delivery,
01:19especially during Maggie's awkward prison visits with her family. Even with limited screen time,
01:24she adds a strange emotional layer to the series, balancing warmth,
01:28confusion, and deadpan humor in a way only Kudrow really can.
01:32How's your work?
01:33Oh, it's okay. Yeah. I mean, I don't see myself cutting eyeglass lenses forever,
01:39but you cannot get a library job unless someone dies or gets beat really bad.
01:45Number 9. Linda Martin. Feel good. In Mae Martin's semi-autobiographical Netflix dramedy Feel
01:51Good, Lisa Kudrow steps into a more understated kind of comedy as Linda Martin,
01:55Mae's anxious, often overbearing mother.
01:58Oh, well, now don't look at me. I'm 3,000 years old.
02:02You two are just the vision of beauty and youth, as per usual. How's cohabitation?
02:08Oh, it's so great.
02:09A little bit adjustment.
02:09Oh, Georgina, don't look at me.
02:11The show explores substance use disorder, relationships, and identity,
02:15and Kudrow's performance fits perfectly into its bittersweet tone. Linda clearly loves her
02:20daughter, but she also carries a mountain of worry, guilt, and awkward attempts at understanding
02:25Mae's life.
02:26Oh, I'm not going to let you do that. You are not a victim, Mae. You are a spare, privileged
02:32little girl.
02:34Take some responsibility.
02:36Kudrow plays those contradictions beautifully, balancing maternal concern with dry humor and
02:41subtle discomfort. The result is a character who feels real rather than caricatured. It's a
02:46reminder that Kudrow's comedic instincts work just as well in quieter, more emotionally grounded
02:51storytelling.
02:52Thank you, Mae. And now, let's take a 10-minute silence so we can all think about Solomon and
02:59all the joy he brought into our lives.
03:02Excuse me, 10 minutes?
03:03Number 8. Mrs. Griffith. Easy A.
03:06This hilarious teen comedy gave us one of Emma Stone's breakout performances, but let's not sleep
03:11on Lisa Kudrow, who absolutely owns every scene she's in.
03:15Olive, do what you gotta do, okay? Let your freak flag fly. Just make sure you have an exit strategy.
03:21Listen, uh, Mrs. Griffith, I really... I don't need these.
03:25You know what? The pill is not 100% effective. Ask some of your friend's parents.
03:29Kudrow plays Mrs. Griffith, the guidance counselor at Ohine North High School who becomes intertwined in the
03:35school scandal after having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Delivering sarcasm
03:39with surgical precision, Kudrow makes Mrs. Griffith unexpectedly layered. She is sympathetic
03:44one moment and completely self-serving the next.
03:47You should know that my marriage is not great, okay? We haven't slept together in, like, in months.
03:51In months, all right? So finally, this great-looking guy comes in and he's nice to me, you know?
03:56And he's not a minor. This is legal. It's legal because he's been here forever.
04:01Ever! The character's personal storyline, which quietly unravels throughout the film,
04:06gives Kudrow room to show some real dramatic range. Supporting roles can easily get lost in
04:11ensemble comedies, but she ensures Mrs. Griffith is anything but forgettable. Scene-stealing is an
04:17understatement here. Sorry, I have an after-school session. Kid brought a knife to school.
04:22Well, be careful, all right? Well, it was a butter knife. But you know what they say,
04:26you know, it's a gateway knife. Number 7. Lydia Morgan – No Good Deed
04:30In Netflix's dark comedy No Good Deed, Lisa Kudrow teams up with Ray Romano as Lydia and
04:35Paul Morgan, a married couple attempting to sell their stunning 1920s Spanish-style villa in Los
04:40Angeles. What happened to finding the right people? What does that matter? We're not gonna
04:45live here with them, right? Your life's work is in this house. It's our home, okay? The only home
04:51that Emily and Jacob have ever known. This simple real estate decision quickly spirals
04:56into chaos as prospective buyers, secrets, and long-buried tensions threaten to unravel their
05:01lives. Kudrow plays Lydia with a fascinating blend of charm and simmering frustration.
05:06Obviously, we're gonna have to take the house off the market.
05:09Oh my god, did you kill him to get out of selling this f***ing place?
05:14He's in a rug, Paul! Because you put him there!
05:17She captures the feeling of someone trying desperately to keep things together while
05:21everything around her slowly slips out of control. Paired with Romano's dry delivery,
05:26Kudrow adds emotional texture and sharp comedic instincts,
05:29making Lydia a key force in the show's tense yet funny ensemble dynamic.
05:34You might be able to put on a pretty face, but I can see the real you.
05:39You're just a f***ing pathetic nobody with a dark soul.
05:45Number 6. Laura McNamara. Analyze this.
05:48Holding your own opposite Robert De Niro and Billy Crystal is no small task,
05:53but Lisa Kudrow manages it with ease in the mob comedy Analyze This.
06:07She plays Laura McNamara, the fiancé of Crystal's psychiatrist Ben Sobel,
06:12whose life becomes chaotic once Ben starts secretly treating De Niro's anxious mafia boss,
06:17Paul Vitti.
06:18Kudrow brings warmth and sharp comedic timing to Laura,
06:21who often finds herself bewildered by the increasingly absurd situations around her.
06:25Of course I'm upset! My wedding is ruined because you've got problems!
06:30I've got problems?
06:32Alright, alright. I'm going downstairs to pack, and then I'm going to New York.
06:37And I am getting married, with you or without you.
06:39Her grounded reactions help anchor the film's wild premise,
06:42and she shares easy chemistry with Crystal.
06:45Kudrow reprised the role and the 2002 sequel Analyze That,
06:48showing just how perfectly Laura fit into the mob therapy universe.
06:52You told her at the drop of a hat.
06:54Well, she's in the FBI. I mean, she needs to know this information.
06:57Oh, okay. I see. Okay. And I don't. I don't need to know these things.
07:00I didn't say that. I didn't say that.
07:01No, no. Don't tell Laura. She can't possibly handle a phone call.
07:04Number 5. Fiona Wallace. Web Therapy.
07:07Hello. I'm Dr. Fiona Wallace.
07:09How are you?
07:18Leave it to Lisa Kudrow to invent one of television's most hilariously terrible therapists.
07:24In Web Therapy, a series she co-created, Kudrow plays Fiona Wallace,
07:28a self-proclaimed online therapist who insists that three-minute sessions
07:32are all anyone needs to solve their problems.
07:34The session is over. They're really only supposed to be three minutes.
07:38So we can see each other again next week and we can pick up where we left off.
07:46You're muted now, so I can't hear you.
07:49Naturally, Fiona has far more issues than her patients.
07:52Over the course of the series, the show reveals a long list of personal baggage,
07:56from childhood insecurities to a crumbling marriage with her husband Kip, who is secretly gay.
08:01Much of the dialogue was improvised with guest stars,
08:04giving Kudrow plenty of room to flex her razor-sharp comedic instincts.
08:08I thought that meant potato.
08:11I took French, but it was a really long time ago.
08:14I guess.
08:16Anyway.
08:16Before it was French?
08:18It would have been very funny if you said I'm in his potato.
08:21Fiona is selfish, oblivious, and wildly unqualified.
08:25And Kudrow makes every moment she spends in her shoes worth our while.
08:29I mean, you're abusing the privileges that come along with working for a person like myself,
08:36who is very important and has all of these wonderful things.
08:39Number 4.
08:40Lucia DeLore, The Opposite of Sex.
08:43What's your name again?
08:44Um, Lucia.
08:46Lucia DeLore.
08:47It's weird.
08:48How do you spell it?
08:49Um, L-U-C-I-A.
08:51It should be pronounced Lucia.
08:53Lisa Kudrow surprised critics with her dramatic chops in Don Ruse's dark comedy,
08:57The Opposite of Sex.
08:58In this film, she plays Lucia DeLore, a sarcastic high school teacher whose carefully controlled
09:03life collapses when the manipulative teenage half-sister of her friend shows up and throws
09:08everything into chaos.
09:09So I always felt around you two.
09:11Like the baroness in The Sound of Music.
09:13Everyone else is off singing and climbing an Alp, and I just want to stuff that guitar
09:17up that nun's ass and...
09:19Ugh.
09:19Lucia navigates betrayal, scandal, and heartbreak while maintaining a razor-sharp sense
09:24of humor.
09:25Released while her juggernaut sitcom Friends was at its peak, Kudrow proved she had a much
09:29wider acting range, as she captured the character's exhaustion and resilience with remarkable subtlety.
09:35You know what my mom said when she found out Tom was gay?
09:37She said, it's just, it's such a lonely life.
09:43She said that to the single straight girl.
09:46Isn't that funny?
09:47The performance earned Kudrow widespread praise and even a Best Supporting Female Actor nomination
09:52at the Independent Spirit Awards.
09:55Number 3.
09:55Michelle Weinberger
09:56Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion
09:59Few comedic duos in the late 90s were as purely delightful as Romy and Michelle.
10:04Like, there's a guy in a rowboat going X miles, and the current is going, like, you know, some other
10:09miles.
10:10And how long does it take him to get to town?
10:13It's like, who cares?
10:14Who wants to go to town with a guy who drives a rowboat?
10:16Kudrow plays Michelle Weinberger opposite Mira Sorvino's Romy White.
10:20Two blissfully oblivious best friends who panic before their 10-year high school reunion
10:24and decide to invent glamorous careers to impress their former classmates.
10:28Michelle, what are you up to?
10:31Okay, um, I invented post-its.
10:34You're kidding?
10:36You must have made a fortune.
10:38Well, yeah.
10:39Michelle is sweet, gloriously ditzy, and completely lovable.
10:43And Kudrow plays her with an infectious, wide-eyed commitment
10:46that never veers into mean-spirited territory.
10:48The film has earned full cult classic status over the years,
10:51and Kudrow's performance is a massive reason why.
10:54The comedic synchronicity between her and Sorvino remains genuinely magical to watch even today.
11:01I can't stand that we're mad at each other.
11:03Okay, I'm sorry I said all those things.
11:06You're as cute as me.
11:07You are.
11:09And in some cultures, maybe cuter.
11:13Number 2.
11:14Phoebe Buffay
11:14Friends
11:15Phoebe Buffay could easily have just been the quirky friend in the corner.
11:19Instead, Lisa Kudrow turned her into one of television's most unforgettable sitcom characters.
11:24That is the nicest kitchen.
11:26I know.
11:26No, but it's the nicest kitchen.
11:28The refrigerator told me to have a great day.
11:30Across 10 seasons of Friends,
11:32Phoebe evolved from a sweetly eccentric massage therapist with a mysterious past
11:36into the group's emotional wildcard.
11:38Kudrow's fearless comedic choices,
11:40from bizarre songs like Smelly Cat
11:42to Phoebe's delightfully blunt observations,
11:45made the character endlessly unpredictable.
11:47Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat,
11:50what are they feeding you?
11:54Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat, Smelly Cat.
11:57Oh, whoa, oh my god.
11:58Yet she also brought genuine warmth to Phoebe's backstory,
12:01including her complicated family history and deep loyalty to her friends.
12:05The performance earned Kudrow a Primetime Emmy Award in 1998,
12:09and helped her stand out in an ensemble full of equally brilliant performers.
12:13Now, look, I deserve to know where I came from, all right?
12:16So if you can help me find my father, then you should.
12:19Otherwise, you're just mean.
12:21Before we unveil our top pick,
12:23here are some honorable mentions.
12:25Wanda Pierce, BoJack Horseman.
12:27Kudrow voiced this happy-go-lucky owl executive who briefly dates BoJack.
12:32We're gonna go on a trip right now, you and me.
12:34What?
12:34I already booked us a room for the weekend, so pack your bags.
12:37Let's go.
12:37Where? Why?
12:38Less asking, more basking.
12:40In the sun, that is.
12:41Santa Barbara.
12:42I'm not really in the mood for-
12:43I think some time away could be really good for us, as a couple.
12:47Charmaine Antzler.
12:48Booksmart.
12:49A brief but warm turn as Amy's sweetly supportive mom.
12:53You know what?
12:53We get it.
12:54We get it.
12:56Yes.
12:56We understand, okay?
12:57What you two have.
12:59We do.
12:59I'm sorry.
12:59What they have.
13:00I'm sorry.
13:00Is very, very special.
13:03Yeah.
13:04It really is.
13:06Paula.
13:07Clockwatchers.
13:07Kudrow ditches sweetness for sharp, snarky office politics in this underrated comedy drama.
13:13I give up.
13:14It's fair.
13:15Yeah.
13:17Got my stage name.
13:18I'll figure it out, too.
13:20Camille Laplante.
13:23Oh, you look beautiful.
13:25Janetta Grace Susan.
13:27Death to 2020.
13:29Kudrow plays a deadpan conspiracy pundit who's very confident.
13:32And very wrong.
13:34So what did he say on the transcript?
13:35What transcript?
13:37You just mentioned a transcript.
13:40Check your tape.
13:41I said no such thing.
13:43You said the only real evidence was a transcript of Trump pressurizing Ukraine.
13:48There's no such place as Ukraine.
13:49Lori Ann Schmidt.
13:51Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.
13:52Kudrow turns Kimmy's chaotic mom into pure comedic absurdity.
13:56We're cool, right?
13:57Maybe I wasn't the best mom.
13:59Like those penguins who hold their eggs in their mouths or whatever.
14:03But I did the best I could, sweetie.
14:06I really did.
14:07I know that should make me feel better.
14:09Number one.
14:10Valerie Cherish.
14:11The comeback.
14:12Well, I got it.
14:15I'm sorry.
14:16Yeah.
14:16I, um, just the whole comeback is about how excited you are.
14:19Well, I am excited.
14:21Nothing else in Lisa Kudrow's career quite compares to Valerie Cherish.
14:25Co-created by Kudrow herself alongside Michael Patrick King, the comeback premiered on HBO
14:30in 2005 and followed a faded sitcom actress desperately clawing her way back into the spotlight
14:35via a reality TV show.
14:37I always try to honor the work, Tom.
14:39So thank you.
14:39Thank you for that.
14:40But, um, it just, it feels like, you know, with that line, Aunt Sassy is just unlikable.
14:47You know, the audience is gonna hate her.
14:49Is that what we want?
14:50The series was wickedly ahead of its time in skewering Hollywood ego, the entertainment
14:54industry's cruelty, and reality television's manufactured authenticity.
14:58Kudrow's performance is a breathtaking highwire act.
15:02Valerie is delusional, painfully awkward, and yet somehow deeply sympathetic.
15:06I'm not no one.
15:09That's not nice.
15:11Maybe you don't think I'm someone, but I have a birth certificate that says I am.
15:15Maybe you should talk to the television academy, because they think I'm someone.
15:20The show was revived in 2014 to enormous critical acclaim, and again in 2026 for a third and final
15:27season, earning Kudrow multiple Emmy nominations.
15:30It is widely considered the greatest performance of her career, and for very good reason.
15:35Well, I got it!
15:37All right, you can't use that, okay?
15:39That was a crazy person, and you cannot use it.
15:42And I need to know that I'm being heard.
15:44Okay.
15:45Okay, we're done.
15:46Good.
15:48Which of Lisa Kudrow's roles has left the biggest impression on you?
15:51Share your favorites in the comments.
15:53Bye-bye.
15:53Bye-bye.
15:53Bye-bye.
15:55Bye-bye.
15:55Bye-bye.
15:56Bye-bye.
15:56Bye-bye.
15:57Bye-bye.
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