"Six years later I met him again"- When Lisa Kudrow opened up about her encounter with her husband on The Ellen Show
Friends star Lisa Kudrow has been married to French advertising executive Michel Stern since 1995. During her appearance on The Ellen Show in May 2005, she opened up about how she met her husband. She said:
I was living with a French girl and he had just moved here and they were dating. But I'm like freakishly polite so I saw him and went "Well, he's the perfect man and it's all ruined because now they're together and I can't- that's not nice to her." The minute I saw him, I went "Well, that's it. There he is."
She continued:
"I was so afraid anyone would see that I liked him. So when he'd come to pick her up. He'd say, "Oh hello, Lisa." I'd say hi and I'd go [covers her face with her hand] and leave the room. He thought I was a freak. They went out for two and a half months. Then six years later, I met him again at her birthday party and we just never stopped."
Elsewhere in the interview, Lisa Kudrow said that her husband is from Paris and he moved to Los Angeles in 1986. The couple lives in Beverly Hills, California, and welcomed a son, Julian Murray Stern in May 1998.
Her pregnancy was written into Friends season 4 and her character Phoebe Buffay was shown to be a surrogate mother for her half-brother and his wife.
Lisa Kudrow talks about her relationship with Michel Stern
During her appearance on The Drew Barrymore Show in January 2025, Kudrow revealed how she felt about being married to Stern for 30 years.
When Barrymore brought up the fact that the couple will be celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary this year, Kudrow said:
"This is 2025, it'll be 30 years. It's not a romance, it's even more than a family member. It's the most intimate relationship you can have. It's different from kids but by 30 years...I'm not going anywhere! No way! That's how I feel about it."
Elsewhere in the interview, Barrymore asked Kudrow about the possibility of a sequel to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. The movie, released in 1997, has earned the status of a cult comedy over the years.
The No Good Deed actress said that Robin Schiff had a good script that might be finalized. In January 2025, The Hollywood Reporter reported that a sequel was in the works at 20th Century Studios, with Mira Sorvino and Kudrow negotiating their deals to reprise their respective characters.
Lisa Kudrow recalled her husband's tough green card interview
During her appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on March 9, 2010, Lisa Kudrow recalled her encounter with the immigration officer during Stern's green card interview. She recounted how the officer had difficulty believing that she was an actress. She said:
"We had the hardest time when we got married and when we went in to get his green card. That guy was staring at us. He’d say like, "You don’t have the same mailing address? And you are an actress, and you’ve kept your name?" [I said,] "Well yeah, because I’m an actress." He’s like, "Oh really?"
When he asked if the HouseBroken actress was in anything he would have seen, she revealed she was in Friends and portrayed Phoebe Buffay. Luckily, he recognized her then and was apologetic for the trouble.
