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If you watched Friends, you probably remember Phoebe Buffay's baby bump. Turns out, that wasn't just TV magic. Lisa Kudrow, the actress who played Phoebe, was actually pregnant during filming!
Most shows hide real-life pregnancies with tricks like coats or camera angles. Friends did that later with Courteney Cox. But with Kudrow, the writers took a different route. They incorporated Phoebe's pregnancy into the story as she was shown to be carrying triplets for her half-brother, Frank.
Only on Friends could a real-life pregnancy turn into something so weird and loving at the same time, at least in the more conservative 90s.
Lisa Kudrow’s real-life pregnancy led to Phoebe’s surrogacy arc on Friends
By the 4th season, Lisa Kudrow was pregnant in real life. TV shows usually hide pregnancies with creative camera work or sudden plot changes. But Phoebe Buffay wasn't a typical character. She'd been homeless, married a gay ice dancer, and thought a cat was her reincarnated mom!
So the writers leaned into her quirky backstory. They wrote that she was carrying triplets for her brother. This matched Kudrow's actual pregnancy timeline better than a standard "TV baby bump." What could've been a headache for production became one of the show's most memorable storylines.
We still talk about Phoebe's surrogacy!
In season 4 of Friends, Phoebe Buffay's brother Frank asks her to be a surrogate. She agrees, and by season 5, she's giving birth to triplets. So, clearly, Phoebe was the show's most unpredictable yet reliable friend.
Lisa Kudrow, who played Phoebe, has talked about how special her real pregnancy felt during filming. She told People magazine that the cast's famous pre-show huddle started including her unborn son.
They'd chant,
"Love you, love you, love you—love you, little Julian!"
Kudrow says it was one of her sweetest memories.
That "little Julian" is all grown up and graduated from the University of Southern California. The baby is now making his way in the world!
Why did Phoebe’s pregnancy work so well?
Phoebe's surrogacy arc just made sense for her character. Each main character had their own path to family: Ross and Rachel raising Emma, unmarried; Monica and Chandler adopting; Phoebe carrying her brother's triplets.
The Friends writers didn't force Phoebe into a typical TV mom role; instead, they played to her quirky spirit. Fans ate it up!
This storyline handled Lisa Kudrow's real-life pregnancy perfectly, keeping the show's flow intact. More than that, it showed Phoebe's heart. She was the oddball who stepped up for her brother and went through something life-changing for his happiness. That arc hit home back then and feels relevant today.
How did it compare to Courteney Cox’s pregnancy?
Not all pregnancies on the Friends set played out the same.
When Courteney Cox got pregnant during the final season, the writers faced a problem. Monica couldn’t have kids, and that was already set in stone.
So, instead of changing the plot, they got creative.
Cox wore baggy sweaters. Scenes hid her behind kitchen counters or piles of laundry as her character went through the adoption process. Fans might’ve noticed the angles, but her bump never actually appeared on screen.
Phoebe Buffay’s pregnancy went the opposite direction. When Kudrow was expecting, they wrote it into the show. Her character carried triplets for her brother. All because the team saw an opportunity and ran with it!
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