Lisa Kudrow brought her son Julian to the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards, where the Friends star was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for The Comeback.
Kudrow, 63, and Julian, 28, posed together on the red carpet, with Julian standing several inches taller than his mother as he draped an arm along her shoulder. He wore a suit, while Kudrow wore a sleek, all-black dress paired with a jacket.
A 17-time nominee chasing a second Emmy
Kudrow is a 17-time Emmy nominee whose only win came in 1998, when she took home Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Friends. This year's nominations mark her latest bid for a second trophy, 28 years after her first.
Julian is the son of Kudrow and her husband, Michel Stern. He has followed his mother into acting, taking on roles in several projects, including a part in The Comeback, the show that earned Kudrow her latest nominations.
Kudrow on returning to work after giving birth
Ahead of the ceremony, Kudrow had discussed becoming a mother in 1998, when she gave birth to Julian on May 7 and returned to work almost immediately.
"I'm looking back, and I had given birth to my son and 10 days later I was at a meeting. I did the Tonight Show. And then was in a meeting for Analyze This," she said on CBS Sunday Morning.
She recalled her agent telling her, "Yeah, you'll be okay. You're not shooting until July, and it's May. It's no big deal." But in the meeting for Analyze This, co-star Billy Crystal asked her, "Yeah, I mean, you look great. Are you sure you're able to do this? When did you give birth?" When she told him, he replied, "Alright, well, we start Thursday."
Kudrow said her husband's parents, who were visiting from France at the time, and her own parents all told her she could handle it. "I said, 'But it's wrong. I have a newborn,'" she recalled. She ended up filming significantly earlier than July, with her team assuring her that a baby nurse would go with her to look after the baby and that the newborn "won't remember anything."
Looking back, Kudrow called the decision to resume her schedule so soon "insane," and said she experienced a "smidge" of postpartum depression. "I thought, 'This is insane,' but I need to defer to everybody else because I know my brain's not working right now. Too many hormones, I'm a little like, just like a smidge depressed," she said. She added that she is "not mad at anybody" for how things were handled.
Mariska Hargitay hosts the ceremony
The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday night. Law & Order: SVU executive producer and star Mariska Hargitay hosted the gala, marking the first time in 15 years that a woman has hosted the show.
Widow's Bay leads the night's winners
Widow's Bay was among the biggest winners of the night, taking Outstanding Comedy Series along with acting, writing and directing honors. Matthew Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for the show and also won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for The Beast in Me, making him the first actor to win two leading actor Emmys in one night.
Katie Dippold won Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the Widow's Bay episode "Welcome to Widow's Bay," which also earned Hiro Murai the Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series award. Kate O'Flynn and Stephen Root won the show's supporting actress and supporting actor comedy categories.
Kudrow lost out on Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series to Jean Smart for Hacks, while Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series went to Widow's Bay rather than The Comeback.
The Pitt won Outstanding Drama Series, with Noah Wyle taking Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for the show. Rhea Seehorn won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Pluribus, Allison Janney won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Diplomat, and Tom Pelphrey won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Task.
Sally Field won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Remarkably Bright Creatures. DTF St. Louis won Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, The Traitors won Outstanding Reality Competition Program, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Variety Series.
