Jennifer Coolidge

Jennifer Coolidge (born August 28, 1961) is an American actress.

A character actress with performances across screen and television, primarily in the comedy genre, Coolidge is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and two Primetime Emmy Awards.

In 2023, Coolidge was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

In 1994, she was a regular on She TV, a short-lived sketch comedy that also featured Nick Bakay, Elon Gold, Simbi Khali, and Linda Kash.

She had small roles appearing in such films as A Bucket of Blood, Plump Fiction, and A Night at the Roxbury.

She also voiced Luanne's beauty school teacher, Miss Kremzer, in a recurring role on King of the Hill.

She worked with The Groundlings, an improv and sketch comedy troupe based in Los Angeles.

Coolidge also appeared in 1998 in the children's comedy Slappy and the Stinkers, and as the voice of Aunt Fanny in the animated feature Robots in 2005.

The film was accompanied by an original short animated film based on Robots, titled Aunt Fanny's Tour of Booty, in which she reprised her role.

Coolidge had supporting roles in the American Pie film series (1999–2012) and the Legally Blonde film series (2001–2003).

In 1999, Coolidge got her big break playing Jeanine Stifler, or "Stifler's mom" in American Pie.

The film was a box-office hit and grossed $235 million worldwide.

She has regularly collaborated with Christopher Guest on his mockumentary films, such as Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003), For Your Consideration (2006), and Mascots (2016).

From 2000 to 2006 she played comic parts in the improv

In 2001, she reprised her role in American Pie 2.

Later in that same year, she had a supporting role in Legally Blonde as Paulette Bonafonté Parcelle the manicurist.

Legally Blonde was a box-office hit, grossing US$96 million domestically.

She has appeared in 2001 on Frasier as Frederica, Martin Crane's new physical therapist, in 2003-2004 in 3 episodes of According to Jim, playing Roxanne, Jim's sister, and in 2003 in an episode of Sex and the City.

Coolidge nearly received the role of Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives, but it eventually went to Felicity Huffman.

The film's box-office success led to her reprising the role in its 2003 sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, but the movie was not as financially successful as the first film and generated mostly negative reviews.

In 2003, she again played Jeanine Stifler in American Wedding.

In 2003, she played the protagonist's agent Luise in Testosterone filmed in Argentina starring David Sutcliffe as Dean Seagrave and Antonio Sabato, Jr., as Pablo.

In 2003, she starred in an episode of Friends in its final season as Amanda, an obnoxious acquaintance whom Phoebe Buffay and Monica Geller try to shake off.

She has also appeared in the films A Cinderella Story (2004), Click (2006), Date Movie (2006), Epic Movie (2007), Promising Young Woman (2020), Single All the Way (2021), and Shotgun Wedding (2022).

On television, Coolidge has appeared in the sitcoms Joey (2004–2006), The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008–2012), and 2 Broke Girls (2011–2017), and the drama series The Watcher (2022).

She garnered critical acclaim for her role as Tanya McQuoid, an insecure wealthy woman, in the HBO anthology series The White Lotus (2021–2022), winning two Primetime Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe.

Coolidge was raised in a small town in Massachusetts.

She played the clarinet and went to orchestra camp for three summers as a child.

She attended Norwell High School, the Cambridge School of Weston, and pursued higher education with studies at Emerson College in Boston and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.

During college, Coolidge wanted to become a dramatic actress like Meryl Streep, but instead became a comedic character actress.

While in New York, Coolidge worked as a waitress in a restaurant alongside another aspiring actress, Sandra Bullock.

Coolidge played supporting roles in several comedy movies and guest roles on television.

She made her first appearance on television in the Seinfeld episode "The Masseuse".

In 2004, she had a supporting role in the romantic comedy A Cinderella Story playing Hilary Duff's character's vain, self-absorbed stepmother.

The film went on to become a moderate box office hit despite negative critical reviews.

From 2004 to 2006, Coolidge had a role in the NBC comedy series Joey as Joey Tribbiani's oversexed agent Roberta "Bobbie" Morganstern.

During its second season, she went from a recurring character to a more prominent role, appearing in 37 out of 46 episodes in the series.

In late 2005, Coolidge was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

NBC officially canceled the series in May 2006, citing low ratings.

In 2006, she guest starred on an episode of Top Chef, and played as Adam Sandler's wife's friend, Janine, in the comedy film Click.