Phoebe Buffay

Lore & Background

Phoebe's crass, identical twin sister Ursula Buffay (also portrayed by Kudrow) is introduced in the first season, in 'The One with Two Parts'. Phoebe has a very strained relationship with Ursula, who is one minute older. Phoebe's father, Frank Buffay, abandoned the family when Phoebe was a child, and the woman Phoebe believed was her mother, Lily Buffay, committed suicide when Phoebe was about 14, by means of carbon monoxide poisoning. Phoebe discovers she has a paternal half-brother Frank, Jr., and later meets her real mother Phoebe Abbott (Teri Garr), who had given her up for adoption when she and Ursula were born.

In the second season episode 'The One with Phoebe's Husband', it is revealed that Phoebe was legally married to a 'hoping to be gay' Canadian ice dancer, Duncan (Steve Zahn), for six years, to help him acquire his green card. In 'The One Where Old Yeller Dies', it is shown that her deceased mother Lily would turn off films before a tragic ending. Phoebe repeatedly makes reference to her underworld connections and crimes committed while living 'on the streets'.

Reader's Guide

Phoebe can generally be classified as kind-hearted, but ditzy and whimsical. Due to her extremely traumatic childhood, Phoebe has developed a child-like naïveté in an attempt to shield herself from the world's evils. In addition to being a vegetarian and an avid tree hugger, she also displays a remarkable lack of experience with the 'darker sides' of life. Much to the dismay of her friends (especially paleontologist Ross), Phoebe dabbles in trendy New Age ideas and superstitions throughout the series.

She is convinced she can feel the presence of her dead grandmother in her old apartment, she senses the spirit of her mother in a lost cat, reads tea leaves, and dismisses Charles Darwin's theory of evolution as 'too easy' in 'The One Where Heckles Dies'. Very in tune with her emotions and those of others, Phoebe sometimes serves as a rock to her friends. She especially shows a great deal of maternal instinct towards her younger brother Frank, despite the latter's lack of intelligence.

One of the show's running gags are Phoebe's absurd, folksy songs with awkward titles like 'Pervert Parade', 'Ode to A Pubic Hair', 'You Suck', 'Shut Up & Go Home', 'Ballad of the Circumcised Man', 'The Food Here Will Kill You', however Phoebe's magnum opus is undoubtedly 'Smelly Cat', which she debuts in season one at Central Perk. On August 26, 2015, Kudrow performed the song as a duet with Taylor Swift during Swift's concert in Los Angeles as a part of her 1989 World Tour.

Did You Know?

• Phoebe can speak several languages, including French and Italian.
• Phoebe's twin sister Ursula is a character created for and appearing in the American sitcom Mad About You as a waitress.
• Phoebe's song 'Smelly Cat' was taught to Chrissie Hynde, who released it in a 1999 album; credited songwriters include Adam Chase, Betsy Borns, Kudrow and Hynde.
• In 'The One Where They All Turn Thirty' (season 7), it is revealed that Phoebe was born a year earlier than she thought.
• Phoebe's age seemed to differ throughout the series; in 'The One with the Mugging', it is implied that Phoebe is older than Ross, seeing as she was fourteen when he was 12.