Jennifer Coolidge facts for kids

Jennifer Coolidge (born August 28, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. She is famous for her funny roles in movies and TV shows. Many people know her as Stifler's mom in the American Pie movies (1999–2012). She also played the friendly nail technician Paulette in the Legally Blonde movies (2001–2003).

Coolidge has been in many other films. These include A Cinderella Story (2004), Click (2006), and Promising Young Woman (2020). She also worked with director Christopher Guest on four of his special comedy films called mockumentaries. A mockumentary is a movie that looks like a real documentary but is actually fake and made for laughs.

On television, she appeared in shows like Joey (2004–2006) and 2 Broke Girls (2011–2017). More recently, she won major awards for her role as Tanya McQuoid in the popular HBO show The White Lotus (2021–2022). For this role, she won two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award. In 2023, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Early Life and School

Jennifer Coolidge was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 28, 1961. She grew up in the town of Norwell, Massachusetts. When she was a child, she learned to play the clarinet. She even went to a special music camp for three summers.

She went to Norwell High School and later the Cambridge School of Weston. After high school, she studied acting at Emerson College in Boston. Then she moved to New York City to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

At first, Coolidge wanted to be a serious, dramatic actress like Meryl Streep. However, she discovered she was very good at comedy and decided to become a character actress instead. While studying in New York, she worked as a waitress. One of her coworkers was Sandra Bullock, who also became a famous actress.

Career

Early Roles

Coolidge's first TV appearance was in a 1993 episode of the show Seinfeld. She then had small parts in several movies, including A Night at the Roxbury. She was also the voice of a beauty school teacher on the cartoon King of the Hill.

During this time, she was part of The Groundlings, a famous comedy group in Los Angeles. The Groundlings specialize in improv and sketch comedy, where actors make up scenes on the spot.

Big Break in Movies

Coolidge in 2005

In 1999, Coolidge became famous for her role as Jeanine Stifler in the movie American Pie. The movie was a huge success at the box office, which means it made a lot of money. She played the same character again in the sequels American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003).

In 2001, she played another memorable character, Paulette Bonafonté, in Legally Blonde. This movie was also a big hit. She returned for the sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, in 2003.

She continued to appear in popular movies. In 2004, she played the mean stepmother in A Cinderella Story with Hilary Duff. She also had roles in TV shows like Friends and ... and the City.

From 2004 to 2006, Coolidge was a main character in the TV show Joey. She played Bobbie, the agent for the main character, Joey Tribbiani. She also did voice work, playing Aunt Fanny in the animated movie Robots (2005).

Comedy and Television Success

Coolidge at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards

Coolidge is known for her roles in parody movies. In Date Movie (2006), she made fun of a character played by Barbra Streisand. In Epic Movie (2007), she played the "White Witch of Gnarnia," a funny version of the villain from the Narnia stories.

From 2008 to 2012, she had a recurring role on the TV show The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She also appeared in a dramatic movie called Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans (2009), showing she could do more than just comedy.

In 2011, Coolidge started doing stand-up comedy. She performed her own comedy show in cities across the United States and even in other countries.

From 2011 to 2017, she played Sophie Kaczyński in the popular TV show 2 Broke Girls. Her character was a funny neighbor from Poland. In 2018, she appeared in Ariana Grande's music video for the song "Thank U, Next", where she recreated her famous role from Legally Blonde.

Recent Fame with The White Lotus

In 2020, Coolidge starred in the comedy movie Like a Boss. She also had a supporting role in the highly praised film Promising Young Woman.

Her career reached a new high in 2021 with the HBO series The White Lotus. She played Tanya McQuoid, a rich and emotional woman on vacation. Her performance was so popular that critics and fans loved it. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for the first season.

Coolidge was the only main actor to return for the second season of The White Lotus in 2022. For her performance in the second season, she won another Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award.

In 2021, she starred in the Netflix Christmas movie Single All the Way. The next year, she was in the Netflix mystery series The Watcher. In 2024, she starred in the comedy film Riff Raff.

Personal Life

Coolidge has never been married and does not have children. She loves the city of New Orleans and bought a house there in 2005.

She is also known for her charity work. She supports causes like AIDS assistance and animal rights. Coolidge loves animals and adopted a dog named Chuy, who was rescued from a meat factory in Korea. She tries to eat a plant-based diet and was named PETA's "Vegan Queen" in 2023.

See also

In Spanish: Jennifer Coolidge para niños