Lisa Kudrow Reveals the One Celebrity She’s Often Mistaken For—and It’s Not Who You’d Expect

Lisa Kudrow has shared one of the strangest fan encounters of her career, recalling a moment from the Friends era when she was stopped by a hostess at Jerry’s Deli who claimed to know her. The woman, who Kudrow said had an Eastern European accent, whispered that she recognized the actress, but then identified her as singer Dionne Warwick. Kudrow said she immediately corrected the mistake, replying that she was not Warwick. The unusual mix-up left Kudrow amused and baffled, especially since the two women have very different ages, appearances and careers.

The story came up during a roundtable conversation with other comedic actresses for The Hollywood Reporter, where participants discussed unusual interactions with fans. Kudrow explained that her first reaction was surprise that the hostess did not know who she was, before the confusion escalated into the unexpected Warwick comparison. She described the moment as her favorite example of mistaken identity.

Kudrow, who became globally famous playing Phoebe Buffay on Friends, said that even more than 30 years after the sitcom premiered, she still gets recognized by fans in public. The cast’s fame was famously predicted by director and producer James Burrows, who reportedly told them during a Las Vegas trip before the show debuted in 1994 that it would be the last time they would ever be anonymous. That prediction proved true, and the Friends cast remains instantly recognizable decades later.

The article notes that mistaken identities are not always hard to understand. It mentions examples such as Kelly Clarkson being confused with Carrie Underwood, or Emma Stone being mistaken for Emma Watson, cases where there are some obvious similarities in age, profession or appearance. By contrast, Kudrow being mistaken for Dionne Warwick was described as far more puzzling.

Kudrow’s story was also presented alongside another memorable Friends cast anecdote from Matt LeBlanc, who played Joey Tribbiani. LeBlanc once said he was filming in Morocco when locals in robes and caves still recognized him, calling out “Joey” and using his famous catchphrase, “How you doin’?” He also recalled seeing a fan crash their car after spotting him in traffic. Even so, Kudrow’s Dionne Warwick encounter stood out as the most surprising of the two stories.

Kudrow recently completed the third and final season of her meta-comedy The Comeback, adding to a career that has remained active long after Friends ended. Her recollection underscores the strange and often funny realities of long-term celebrity, where recognition can happen anywhere, but not always in the way a star expects.