Mumbai, September 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
‘Friends’ star Lisa Kudrow once found herself in an amusing situation when an immigration officer had no idea who she was despite her playing one of television’s most recognisable characters, Phoebe Buffay.
Kudrow recalled the incident while speaking to host Craig Ferguson during his late-night show. She said the episode took place when she and her husband Michel Stern visited an immigration office to obtain his Green Card after their marriage.
According to Kudrow, the immigration officer gave the couple a difficult time and appeared puzzled when she explained why she had kept her last name.
“When we got married, and we went in to get his green card, they gave us the hardest time in the world. That guy was staring at us, and it didn’t look good either because he said, ‘You’ve kept your last name’ and I said, ‘Well, yeah, because I’m an actress’,” Kudrow recalled.
The officer then asked whether she had appeared in anything he might have seen.
“I’m on a TV show,” Kudrow told him.
The officer followed up by asking the name of the show. When Kudrow said it was ‘Friends’, he still did not immediately recognise her.
“Oh, really? You’re on Friends. And who do you play?” the officer asked.
Kudrow then revealed that her character was Phoebe. It was only then that the officer appeared to realise she was the actress who played the beloved character Phoebe Buffay.
‘Friends’, one of the most popular American sitcoms, aired on NBC from September 22, 1994, to May 6, 2004, running for 10 seasons.
The series follows six friends living in New York City as they navigate friendships, relationships, careers and other aspects of life.
Alongside Kudrow as Phoebe Buffay, the show starred Jennifer Aniston as Rachel Green, Courteney Cox as Monica Geller, Matt LeBlanc as Joey Tribbiani, Matthew Perry as Chandler Bing and David Schwimmer as Ross Geller.
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