Friends Star Lisa Kudrow's Whole Vibe Changes With Her Natural Dark Hair Color
"Friends" has transcended mere popularity to reach the realm of the iconic, taking all six of its stars along for the ride. Matthew Perry's Chandler Bing became the man who launched a thousand one-liners, and Jennifer Aniston's character Rachel Green inspired one of the most recognizable haircuts of all time. As for Lisa Kudrow, her portrayal of the flighty, free-wheeling, and decidedly blond Phoebe Buffay feels so ingrained that most fans don't even realize that the performer looks totally different au naturale.
Throughout the 10-year run that cemented "Friends" in pop culture history, Kudrow sported long, golden hair. Often, it was worn down and pencil-straight, evoking a '70s hippie vibe that gelled with Phoebe's ditzy character. Other times, Kudrow's hair was twisted up in spiky buns or elaborate twists. Very rarely, it was shown curled. But Phoebe never appeared with dark hair, despite this being Kudrow's real hue.
As shown in a portrait from 1985, dark hair suits Kudrow surprisingly well — and utterly changes her vibe. Brown hair makes her eyes pop, and it seems to illuminate her peachy skin tone. When dark hair looks so good on someone, it's hard to believe that they'd leave it behind. But now, evidence of Kudrow's early brunette days only seems to exist in a handful of throwback photos and early roles.
Lisa Kudrow had naturally dark hair as a teenager
For fans familiar with her work on "Friends" or her equally blond appearance in the cult-classic comedy "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion," it can be hard to imagine Lisa Kudrow with anything other than sunny locks. But on social media, she's occasionally given us glimpses of her undyed hair. For instance, in 2019, Kudrow shared an old family photo in honor of Father's Day. The snap shows a young Kudrow nestled between her parents, tresses long and straight like Phoebe Buffay's, but notably darker and with a set of curling curtain bangs.
A similar Mother's Day post shared on Instagram in 2020 shows more of Kudrow's pre-stardom hair color, which appears to be a rich chestnut brown. She looks a little older here, and the curly bangs have fallen by the wayside. But even though Kudrow is clearly still a teenager, her dark-haired vibe is somehow more grounded and calm than the airy energy we're used to seeing from her on-screen.
Interestingly, this more composed aesthetic may be as natural as her hair color. As Kudrow told Parker Posey in Variety's Actors On Actors series, playing Phoebe Buffay was hard because it was "so far from who I was as a human being." Phoebe's bubbly personality was a state of mind Kudrow had to work for — and before joining the cast of "Friends," Phoebe's blond hair wasn't her default, either. In several earlier TV appearances, Kudrow was still wearing her hair in darker tones.
Lisa Kudrow showed off darker hair in a few early roles
Lisa Kudrow has been blond for the bulk of her career, but when she first broke into acting, her move to lighter hair wasn't instantaneous. In 1989, Kudrow had a guest spot on another classic sitcom, "Cheers," where she showed off her dark mane in all its glory. And a few years later, she appeared in a 1993 episode of "Coach" with her hair in a delightful caramel hue that was softer than her darkest tone, but not quite Buffay-bright yet.
However, by the time she became a household name, Kudrow had fully left behind the sultry brown hair of her youth. And while Lisa Kudrow's had a stunning face transformation over the years, she's stuck close to her now-signature hair color, consistently favoring the familiar blond that we know and love today.
All in all, dark locks put a totally different spin on Kudrow's aura, but it's not Hollywood's craziest makeover. After all, plenty of starlets seem to follow the old adage that blonds have more fun. That said, not every actor follows Kudrow's journey to the blond side. Before and after pics show that some celebrities were equally stunning when they went from blond to brunette.