‘Friends’ Star Lisa Kudrow Talks Weight, Being ‘Bigger’ Than Jennifer Aniston & Courteney Cox

It’s been over 20 years since Lisa Kudrow landed her iconic Phoebe Buffay role in NBC’s Friends. At the age of 55, the woman behind Central Perk’s quirky blonde has given a new interview. Kudrow’s podcast appearance on WTF with Marc Maron was covered by E! News on May 20.

The interview saw Kudrow reflect on her time on Friends, focusing — in particular — on her weight over the show’s 10 seasons. In her remarks, Kudrow compared her physical frame to the bodies of her female co-stars, Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox.

“Because you see yourself on TV and it’s that, ‘Oh my God, I’m just a mountain of a girl. I’m already bigger than Courtney and Jennifer.'”

The interview did, however, see Lisa cover both sides of the spectrum. Maron asked the actress whether her weight had ever plummeted to the point of prompting concern from others. Lisa’s response answered the question, detailing her opinion on society’s view of thin women.

“Unfortunately for a woman, if you’re underweight, you look good and that’s all I ever got. When I was too thin, I was sick all the time.”

E! News outlines the above sickness as “colds and sinus infections”. As the media outlet states, Kudrow “maintained” her size “despite” them.

Many fans would agree that Phoebe Buffay was generally on the slim side. Much like her co-stars, though, Lisa’s character frequently shared the screen with various food items. While Rachel (played by Aniston) and Monica (played by Cox) would tuck into low-fat ice cream — and Monica’s chef-prepared meals — Phoebe’s status as a vegetarian often saw her opt for other dishes. Fans of the show will likely know that Phoebe’s pizza orders came with vegetarian toppings. A Thanksgiving scene showed the entire cast acting lethargic after overindulging in a turkey meal. Ultimately, though, all of the character’s appetites were scripted.

Kudrow also told Maron about her current battles – namely, that she oscillates between not “[deserving] to be seen by anybody” when feeling larger, and accepting her age.

“Why is that a bad thing?” Lisa said.

In 2015, Lisa revealed that she had been “body shamed” by a fellow cast member, per The Sun. Speaking to Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live, the actress outlined an anonymous guest star’s reaction to her being glammed-up via the hair and makeup department.

“‘Oh wow, now you’re – can I say it? Now you’re f***able,'” Lisa detailed the comment made to her.

While Kudrow did not identify who threw out the comment, she did confirm that the speaker was not Charlie Sheen. The Two and a Half Men actor briefly guest-starred as Phoebe’s boyfriend in Season 2 of the show.

While Friends ended in 2004, the show has experienced a rise in popularity of late. Netflix currently streams the series.