Phoebe’s twin sister, the iconic character from Friends, is not very well-liked by fans, who often call her Phoebe’s “rude twin.”
What many fans don’t know is that Ursula, introduced in the first season and also played by actress Lisa Kudrow, did not originate in Friends. Kudrow recently discussed the backstory of her character in an interview with Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family on his podcast Dinner’s on Me.
Ferguson began by saying that he was “very confused” about the “genesis” of Phoebe because Ursula already existed. The actor then revealed that Ursula was a character from the sitcom Mad About You, which aired from 1992 to 1999, and therefore overlapped with Friends.
Helen Hunt, star of Mad About You, thanked for her special appearance in Friends when she confuses Phoebe with Ursula, who was a waitress in her own show. To avoid this confusion, Ursula was introduced in Friends as Phoebe’s twin sister.
Kudrow then explained that because it was decided that Friends would air immediately after Mad About You on Thursday nights, they had to come up with something to justify their appearances in both shows.
“I was still being invited to appear on Mad About You… It was decided that [Ursula] was Phoebe’s twin sister, both are in New York,” she explained.
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