Phoebe Buffay-Hannigan is a fictional character from the television series, Friends (1994–2004), portrayed by Lisa Kudrow. Phoebe is the younger (by one minute) twin daughter born to Phoebe Abbott and Frank Buffay on February 16 1967. Frank was married to Lily Buffay at the time and Lily adopted Phoebe and her identical twin sister, Ursula.

Phoebe was unaware that she had been adopted until adulthood. Phoebe does not talk much about her early years except to note that her father abandoned the family when she was very young and that her mother remarried. She occasionally mentions her mother’s strange behavior and methods in raising the children such as keeping candy in a human skull at Christmas to remind Phoebe and Ursula that people still died, even though it was Christmas.

Phoebe's life dramatically changed when she was thirteen. Lily committed suicide close to Christmas time. Phoebe’s stepfather was in prison at the time.

By the age of fourteen, Phoebe was living on the streets of New York. She never mentions what happened to Ursula after the mother’s death but it seems that they did not stay together. She lived in many locations such as a burnt out Buick Lesabre automobile.

She never attended high school or college, but she ostensibly met behind a dumpster with a small group to learn French, in which she became fluent. She also speaks some Italian, and has a short conversation in Italian with Joey's grandmother. However, her language skills are treated somewhat inconsistently.

She misunderstands when one of Monica's assistants introduces himself as a "sous-chef" (although this could have been to simply endear herself to him by appearing dim, a device which Phoebe uses many times), and she does not appear to understand Rachel's Italian boyfriend when he speaks. Paulo also ended up splitting with Rachel due to him feeling her up on her massage table behind Rachel's back. Phoebe occasionally resorted to mugging to survive.

At one point, when they were fourteen, she mugged Ross, back when these future Friends were still strangers (stealing the only copy ever existing of Ross' cartoon—Science Boy. Phoebe claims this book "taught [her] well"). Phoebe also mentioned that she lived in Prague.

She also stated that she lived with an albino man who washed windows outside the Port Authority, as well as a "guy named Sindey who talked to his hand." Phoebe also claimed that she got hepatitis when a pimp spat in her mouth.

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