Lisa Kudrow Makes Red Carpet Appearance with Her Son at the 78th Emmy Awards — Photos

Lisa Kudrow turned the Emmys into a family night, stepping onto the red carpet with her 28-year-old son, Julian Murray Stern. Their new photos gave viewers plenty to notice.

Kudrow had her son by her side at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, where their poses and expressions soon gave viewers more than their coordinated looks to notice.

Kudrow and Stern arrived at Los Angeles' Peacock Theater on September 14, with Stern serving as his mother's date for the night. They faced photographers together on the arrivals carpet and were later pictured side by side inside the ceremony.

Their outfits made the mother-son connection easy to spot. Rather than matching piece for piece, both built their looks around black. Kudrow put her own spin on the shared color palette.

She stepped out in Celine, Harper's Bazaar reported, pairing a floor-length black dress with a super-cropped blazer featuring silky rectangular lapels. Her blonde hair fell in a blown-out lob, while a single ring kept the accessories minimal.

Their Coordinated Looks Set Up a Closer Comparison

Kudrow kept the rest of her look understated, wearing her blonde hair smooth and shoulder-length with a side part. Defined eyes and a soft pink lip added the finishing touches.

Beside his mother, Stern kept things classic in a black suit, crisp white dress shirt, and slim black tie. His slightly tousled dark hair and light facial hair gave the formal look a more relaxed finish.

Their body language, however, created a contrast with the coordinated styling. In some of the photos and video, mother and son stood side by side without embracing, giving those moments a reserved, formal quality.

At least one viewer noticed it. On Facebook, a netizen remarked, "So formal."

Other images showed a closer pose. Stern placed an arm around his mother's shoulder in several shots, and the two smiled together for photographers.

That brought a different feature into focus. A separate viewer noticed Stern's resemblance to his mother, writing, "He looks like his Mom ❤️."

Their smiles prompted an even more specific comparison on Instagram. One commenter wrote, "Their smiles are identical ❤️," while someone else remarked, "They have the same smile. ❤️"

A further Instagram commenter focused on the mother-son pairing itself, writing, "Beautiful, outstanding Lisa! Handsome, loving son! ❤️👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻"

The Emmys Marked Another Milestone for Kudrow

The ceremony also marked Kudrow's return to the Emmy Awards for the first time since 2019. E! Online noted that seven years had passed since her previous appearance.

This time, Kudrow arrived with two nominations tied to the third and final season of "The Comeback." According to the Television Academy, she was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance as Valerie Cherish and for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series for the episode "Valerie Does It All."

The recognition continued Kudrow's long history with the Television Academy. Its records list 17 Emmy nominations and one win across her career, including her 1998 victory for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for "Friends."

Valerie has also earned Kudrow Emmy recognition across multiple eras of "The Comeback." She previously received lead actress nominations for the role in 2006 and 2015 before earning another in 2026.

Julian Stern Admitted Working With His Mom Made Him Nervous

The latest season of "The Comeback" also marked a first for Kudrow and Stern: working together professionally. Co-created by Kudrow and Michael Patrick King, the series follows former A-list actress Valerie as she tries to revive her once-prominent acting career while being followed by a camera crew.

Stern appeared as Evan, a former aspiring TV writer who moved into AI and becomes an unexpected source of help for Kudrow's Valerie. In an April 12 interview with Deadline, he called working with his mother a "genuine dream come true."

The experience also put him in an unfamiliar position once the cameras started rolling.

"I was really nervous going in, cause I've never worked with my mom professionally like that before," Stern said. "And to be on camera with her, it's like, 'Oh God, am I gonna mess this up because I'm only gonna be able to see my mom?'"

Kudrow's performance soon eased that concern. Stern explained that once they began acting, he was able to separate his mother from her on-screen role. He saw the character as a different person rather than simply seeing Kudrow in front of him, which made it easier for him to stay in character and focus on the scene.

Stern wanted to make the same separation in his own performance.

"And I just wanted to make sure that I was doing my job and making sure I'm not playing her son, I'm playing this guy, this nerdy guy," he told Deadline.

His connection to "The Comeback" began long before he joined its cast. Stern recalled visiting the production during its first season, though only one memory remained particularly clear.

"I think for the first season, I did. I did visit for the first time. I don't truly recall much. I think I got to hold slate at one point. That's my biggest memory that I have from the first season of The Comeback."

The interview also turned to Stern's experience growing up as Kudrow's son and how he viewed his mother's work from that perspective.

"Well, I would say I didn't grow up with Valerie Cherish, I grew up with my mom, and my mom is a completely separate character from Valerie. That is a character that she created," he said.

He then revealed that his understanding of Kudrow's public profile came relatively late. "But I mean, look, I didn't know the full extent of who my mom was until I was maybe in my late teens, and exactly what it meant to be her son. But beyond that, my only frame of reference is that it was a normal childhood," he explained.

Kudrow also shared her side of their first professional collaboration in a March 22 interview with CBS News. Asked what it was like to have Stern on the set, she responded as both his costar and his mother.

"Oh, it was heaven," Kudrow said. "It's my baby! But he's a grown man and beard, you know? Yeah. I was nervous for him, his first, like, table read. But he was great."

The production carried another personal connection for Kudrow. "The Comeback" was filmed on Warner Bros.' Soundstage 24, the same soundstage where most episodes of "Friends" were filmed. Kudrow was also pregnant with Stern while playing a pregnant Phoebe Buffay on that series.

Asked whether returning to the same place felt special, Kudrow reflected on what both shows have meant to her career and her life.

"Yeah," Kudrow said. "On different levels, it definitely is. We finished up 'Friends,' which was one of the biggest things in my professional life, and life, period. And now I'm finishing up 'The Comeback' trilogy, same place where I finished the other most important thing. So, yeah, that made me a little emotional."

Their first professional collaboration gave added context to their appearance together at the Emmys months later. After sharing the screen on "The Comeback," Kudrow and Stern were back side by side - this time simply attending the ceremony as mother and son.