Jennifer Coolidge in 5 crazy roles, from American Pie to The White Lotus

“I always dreamed of playing the role of a dolphinHere’s the actress’ unexpected response Jennifer Coolidge at the question : “What role do you dream of ?”, on the red carpet of Golden Globes, January 11, 2023. If the repartee makes you smile, it also says a lot about the personality and talent of the 61-year-old actress. The star of The White Lotus, who has known since 2021, the year in which the satirical show began, a comeback, seems to be able to play everything. MILF-cougarAmerican Pie (from 1999 to 2012) to the clumsy beautician of A Blonde’s Revenge (2001), she subscribed to the roles of sassy, ​​cash, sexy and whimsical women.

Jennifer Coolidge’s rugged and fabulous rise from waitress to heroine of The White Lotus

But Jennifer Coolidge also knows how to show depth, as demonstrated by the second season of The White Lotus. Ace of improvisation, survivor of a long crossing of the desert (during which he was only offered supporting roles) and specialist in quirky interviews, the Boston-born bombshell seems as unpredictable and endearing in real life as on the big screen. . We also feel that this existence has not always been tender and that Jennifer Coolidge uses this material to feed her comic and very theatrical verve, bringing a form of tenderness to these schoolboy performances.

We know that the actress crowned with a Golden Globe and a Emmy Award started as a waitress in a New York restaurant, alongside Sandra Bullockin the 80s and that she had the habit, to enter a nightclub, to make believe that she was a Hemingway. But the actress also confided with a refreshing frankness on other less funny moments, when she ate six pizzas a day, was depressed, in the grip of anxiety attacks, addicted to cocaine and alcohol (before a stay in rehab) and collected young toyboys. Unfiltered revelations that make its uneven trajectory even more flamboyant…

1. Jennifer Coolidge as a MILF in American Pie (from 1999 to 2012)

After having played small roles in several films (a parody of pulp Fiction titled Plump Fiction, Austin Powers 2: The Spy Who Shagged Me) and series (Seinfeld), Jennifer Coolidge embodies the first character of his career who will be talked about a lot. In American Pie (1999), the actress is Jeanine Stifler, the mother of Steve Stifler, one of the students at East Great Falls High School, who flirts with the teenagers of the schoolboy feature film (and will even go further with one of them). This role of wanton MILF, tinged with “cougar”, which she will defend in the following parts of the saga, will stick to her skin for a long time. And ensure a very rich sex life. Indeed, in 2022, in an interview with the media variety : “I was now seen as a MILF and had a lot of “sex action” thanks to American Pie. There were so many benefits to making this film. There are at least 200 people I would never have slept with without American Pie.”

2. Jennifer Coolidge as beautician and Reese Witherspoon’s confidante in Blonde’s Revenge (2001)

cult comedy A Blonde’s Revenge (2001) by Robert Luketic, we especially remember the amazing performance of Reese Witherspoon in Elle Woods, Barbie dressed in pink, much smarter than you think, who is going to enroll in law at Harvard to get revenge on an ex. But Jennifer Coolidge also shone there, in the role of Paulette, the beautician (specialized in manicures and confidant of the very sympathetic heroine, clumsy with men and always ready to help her neighbor. With her eccentric clothes, her outrageous make-up, her kitsch brushing and her comedic potential, Paulette is like many of the other characters that Jennifer Coolidge will play: bubbly and quirky, she is especially very funny in the scenes where she gets uncomfortable in front of the UPS delivery guy she has a crush on. Fan of the actress’ appearances in this film, Ariana Grande gonna ask her to star in her tube clip Thank U, Nextin 2018. A cameo that Jennifer Coolidge holds responsible for her rebirth on the screens, in 2021, in the series The White Lotus.

3. Jennifer Coolidge as Monica and Phoebe’s ex-roommate in Friends (2003)

Jennifer Coolidge played in many series (Seinfeld, Rude Awakening, Fraser, Sex and the City, Nip/Tuck, 2 Broke Girls, Glee, The Watcher, The White Lotus) but his appearance in season 10 of Friends is arguably one of the funniest. In 2003, in the episode The one who had decided to tanshe takes on the role of Amanda Buffamonteezi, Monica’s self-centered former roommate (Courtney Cox) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow), a New Yorker who makes a fool of herself with her fake English accent. Jennifer Coolidge does not have good memories of the shooting, judging the atmosphere very serious and intimidating. She wasn’t allowed to improvise her lines, but the producers gave her free rein to do some weird French cancan dance moves.

4. Jennifer Coolidge as an unstable millionaire in The White Lotus (since 2021)

With the satirical HBO series The White Lotus (signed Mike White), 61 years old, Jennifer Coolidge proves that there is a life (and a career) after 50, for actresses. Her role as the truculent Tanya McQuoid, a wealthy, unstable woman in search of love who has lost her mother and comes to relax in a beautiful hotel, within an idyllic seaside resort, is one of the most thrilling of the phenomenon series. Her performance – which includes many improvised lines – is already so iconic that Jennifer Coolidge is the only person (along with Jon Gries, who plays her husband) to appear in both seasons of the series. Mike White even wrote the role of Tanya with Jennifer Coolidge in mind and inspired by her for certain scenes. Thanks to The White Lotusthe American won this month the Golden Globe (after an Emmy Award) for Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries. The opportunity to deliver a memorable speech during the ceremony, which made the assembly laugh and cry at the same time. Extract : “My neighbors are talking to me now. I was never invited to their parties and now the invitations are raining down!”

5. Jennifer Coolidge as Jennifer Lopez’s tyrannical stepmother in Shotgun Wedding (2023)

There are at least three reasons to watch the action romantic comedy Shotgun Weddingavailable on Prime Video this Friday, January 27, 2023: Jennifer Lopez, Lenny Kravitz and Jennifer Coolidge. In this feature film which tells the story of a wedding being taken hostage by dangerous criminals, the heroine of The White Lotus plays the bride’s mother-in-law (played by J.Lo). Embarrassing, funny and tyrannical, the latter offers used knives to her stepdaughter and asks her not to sleep with her future husband the night before the wedding. Discovering Jennifer Lopez in undress in her hotel room, she also asks her if she owes this magnificent body to genetics or to Pilates. In a press conference, the actress explains about the film: “I’ve always liked this kind of productions, which combine comedy and something scary. It really is my favorite kind of movie. And I haven’t been in many feature films like this.Also during this press conference, the star added, about her on-screen chemistry with the one who plays her husband, Steve Coulter: “Steve appreciates actresses who have a sense of humor. He even married one. Some guys don’t like comedians. They want you to be more serious. But Steve is in it. So it’s good. When you work with an actor who wants to joke with you, it’s great. I have never been married. I have never been married. I didn’t have Steve’s luck. I haven’t found the love of my life.” Even if she has not found a soul mate, it’s a safe bet that those who are secretly in love with the American in secret now number in the millions.

Shotgun Wedding (2023) by Jason Moore with Jennifer Lopez and Jennifer Coolidge, available January 27 on Prime Video.