You Won't Believe Who Was The Inspiration Behind Friends' Phoebe Buffay

Phoebe Buffay must be one of the most interesting characters in Friends, with the most polar opposite reactions from the fandom. While other characters like Chandler Bing Or Monica Geller are portrayed to be generally good people with prominent flaws and quirks, with Phoebe, things were always different.

As a viewer, you either love her or hate her with no in between.

Phoebe Buffay had the worst childhood out of all the characters on the show. Abandoned by her own mother, forced to grow up on the streets, always bullied by her twin sister, Phoebe has suffered a lot.

Her trauma is what lies as the base of her behavior, as she often acts either too random, or too harsh on her friends. And that is exactly what makes her so controversial to the audience.

We all know the in-universe character’s origin story now, but not many people know who was an inspiration for Lisa Kudrow to act Phoebe right.

In an interview with WENN, the actress admitted to having some issues with her character’s spirituality and bold expressions, as they are not at all alike on this matter. However, there was one person around, who shared similar enough beliefs:

“If anyone was, it was Jennifer. She introduced me to certain books that gave me an insight into that world – which was a more spiritual realm,” Kudrow said.

It was probably very convenient to have Jennifer Aniston, who portrayed Rachel Green, not only as an advisor, but also as someone close on set, as it might’ve helped the actress to ease in into the eccentric and eclectic ways of Phoebe Buffay. The atmosphere on set is one of the most important things for the actors to feel comfortable enough to perform, after all.

If you want to give your favorite Phoebe Buffay’s moments a rewatch, all the episodes of Friends are available to stream on Netflix or MAX.

Source: WENN via Digital Spy