Lisa Kudrow — actress with roots in the Russian Empire
Lisa Kudrow is an American actress, writer, and producer best known for playing Phoebe Buffay in Friends (NBC, 1994-2004) — one of the most beloved sitcom characters in television history. She won an Emmy Award for the role and has had a successful post-Friends career including Web Therapy and The Comeback.
Tracing the roots — Ilya (Belarus)
Her grandmother Gertrude Farber came from Ilya, Belarus (then Russian Empire) — part of the Jewish emigration from the Pale of Settlement. Kudrow has spoken about her Jewish heritage and the family connection to Eastern Europe. Growing up in a Jewish household in Encino, California, the immigrant grandmother's world was present in her upbringing.
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Ilya (Belarus). At the time, this region lay within the Russian Empire, which spanned from Poland to the Pacific.
A career defined by ambition
"Smelly cat, smelly cat, what are they feeding you?"