Phoebe is introduced as one of the five original friends, including neighbors Joey and Chandler, former roommate Monica, and Monica's brother, Ross. She is a musician at their typical meeting place, Central Perk, where she plays guitar and sings self-written songs. During the first season, she has a myriad of boyfriends, including Tony, a physicist named David, played by Hank Azaria, and a psychologist named Roger, played by Fisher Stevens. Phoebe's twin sister, Ursula Buffay, a character originally created for and appearing in the American sitcom Mad About You as a waitress, is also introduced in the first season, in "The One With Two Parts". Ursula is also portrayed by Kudrow. Phoebe works as a temporary secretary for Chandler for a brief period of time in "The One With The Ick Factor". It is revealed that Phoebe's believed mother, Lily Buffay, committed suicide when Phoebe was about 14, by means of carbon monoxide poisoning.
During the second season, it is revealed that Phoebe was married to a Canadian ice dancer, Duncan Sullivan, who was posing as gay, in order to allow him to get a green card, for six years. The two agree to get a divorce after he comes to the realization that he is, in fact, heterosexual, and wants to get married to another woman, in "The One With Phoebe's Husband". Phoebe is also temporarily replaced as the primary singer for Central Perk by a professional singer named Stephanie Schiffer.
Phoebe's song "Smelly Cat" is introduced in the same episode. "Smelly Cat" is discovered by a record company, and Phoebe stars in a fictional music video for the track, in which her voice is dubbed over by another singer.
