On Friends, everyone’s favourite musician-slash-masseuse Phoebe Buffay never seemed to have any shortage of confidence — whether she was busking, dating one of her many flings, or dishing out wise (if unconventional) advice to her titular besties. As Lisa Kudrow revealed in an Aug. 3 appearance on Podcrushed, she was similarly self-assured as a young adult. “I was confident,” she said. “And by the way, I half-think that if you are confident but have a weakness, that’s when the mob goes for you.”
When Kudrow was on the brink of becoming a household name via Phoebe, she felt that confidence falter for the first time. “It wasn’t until Friends that I realized, Oh, I don’t look like I thought I looked,” she said. “And that’s what was so jarring, and that’s when it was like, oh, I’ve got to actually lose weight? I have to diet? Shoot.”
Kudrow explained that she previously considered herself “a stick,” but her body image changed while working with Jennifer Aniston and Courteney Cox on the beloved sitcom — though, she clarified, the friends (IRL and on the show) were nothing but supportive.