In a 2022 interview for Variety, actor, writer, and director Christopher Guest said, “When I met (Jennifer Coolidge), I knew there was something going on that was special. And I was right, fortunately.” He praised her ability to command attention without commanding the dialogue. “This person stands out. Everyone else to me is invisible. You want to see her.”
We have seen her on our television and theater screens since the early 90s. And 2023 may have been her best year yet.
So, what happened to Jennifer Coolidge, the self-deprecating eccentric humorist and sometimes sex symbol, who owns over 100 credits in television and film? To know that, we must do what we always do: start at the beginning where the beginning began.
Jennifer Coolidge was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 28, 1961. She says she always looked old for her age, so she was able to buy a case of beer when she was 11 with her neighbor’s wig. Coolidge once went on vacation and dated two guys who knew each other. She told them she had an identical twin and went out with both. These sound like stories from one of the many sitcoms she’s been featured in.
She grew up wanting to be a singer and grew to idolize Meryl Streep while earning her bachelor’s degree in theatre from Emerson College. Jennifer wasn’t considered funny by her family growing up, so she long expected to pursue a life of dramatic acting. Luckily for us, she found her calling in comedy, starting with improv groups in New York and LA. She made her television debut in 1993 on Seinfeld in a guest role as Jerry’s masseuse girlfriend. She would go on to guest spots on Fraiser, Friends, and Sex and the City and a recurring role on Joey.
Coolidge first graced the silver screen in 1995’s Not of This Earth. She worked steadily before truly entering the public consciousness for her role as Stifler’s Mom in 1999’s American Pie, a role she would reprise in 2001’s American Pie 2, 2003’s American Wedding, and 2012’s American Reunion. Her other prominent role from around this time was that of Paulette, from 2001’s Legally Blonde and 2003’s Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.
She began working with frequent collaborator Christopher Guest with 2000’s Best in Show. They would also work together on 2003’s A Mighty Wind, 2006’s For Your Consideration and 2016’s Mascots. Guest is known for enabling his actors to improvise dialogue, so this teaming up allowed Coolidge to tap into her improv background and stretch her comedy chops.
Jennifer Coolidge played a supporting role in the television sitcom Two Broke Girls, which ran from 2012 to 2017. Depending on your perspective, she may have been the only good thing about that show, but it maintained great ratings and solid reviews throughout its run.
After the show’s run, Coolidge, by her own standards, briefly stepped out of the limelight. It’s arguable if she ever left, as there are no real gaps in her prolific resume, but as many of you know, the truth doesn’t always affect how we feel. Coolidge herself, referring to this time, told Vogue in 2021, “I feel like that self-centered misery can be really hard to climb out of sometimes. You can meet someone doing even worse than you, but you can barely see it because you’re clouded in your own dark cloak or whatever.”
Coolidge told a Sydney crowd in 2023, “I want everyone to know all my depressing stories. Because I think it will help people. I do feel like I am a good story. I had a very hard time functioning for many years, because I just didn’t think I had a shot in hell.” In an industry with a history of ageism, especially toward women, Jennifer Coolidge experienced maybe the best years of her storied career in 2022 and 2023. She was an Entertainment Weekly “Entertainer of the Year,” alongside her back-to-back Emmys.
At the long-delayed 2023 Primetime Emmy Awards on January 15, 2024, Jennifer Coolidge is presented with her second Emmy in a row for The White Lotus. She beat out 4 of her White Lotus co-stars for the award. I don’t know if that speaks to the brilliance of The White Lotus or the shortage of shows of competitive quality. Her acceptance speech plays on her speech from the year before, where the orchestra played her off the stage for running on a bit too long.
In her acceptance speech, Coolidge thanks White Lotus showrunner Mike White (yeah, Ned Schneebly) for his part in her career resurgence. But are thanks also owed to pop princess Ariana Grande? Ariana Grande’s impression of Coolidge on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon went viral 5. It sparked a friendship between the two stars, culminating in Coolidge being featured in Grande’s music video for Thank You, Next in 2018 and a joint interview for the Entertainment Weekly feature in 2022.
Jennifer Coolidge’s White Lotus role may end up being the one she’s most fondly remembered for, but she’s not stopping anytime soon. She comes off as newly content and confident. Legally, Blonde 3 is in pre-production as of early 2024, and she continues to be one of the hardest-working actors in Hollywood. Coolidge is a lot of things to a lot of people. “Stifler’s Mom”, “Paulette”, “Tanya”, one of the best comedic character actors of our time, the second best “wow” in Hollywood. So nobody should give a fuck about what the fuck happened to Jennifer Coolidge cuz she’s doing just fine… better than ever, actually.