Lisa Kudrow gets 'emotional' recalling Friends' impact after 9/11 Lisa Kudrow played Phoebe Buffay in Friends from 1994 until 2004. 27 March 2026 Lisa Kudrow still gets "a little emotional" remembering Friends' impacted after 9/11. Friends alum Lisa Kudrow The star - who played Phoebe Buffay in the NBC sitcom - understood that the series gave people a sense of escapism following the horrific terrorist attacks on the United States, which claimed the lives of 2,977 victims.