Actress Jennifer Coolidge earned two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for her role as the unhinged heiress on White Lotus, but it was her performance as the leggy blonde mom in the hilariously awkward teen sex comedy American Pie that yielded some surprising benefits.
In a candid interview, Coolidge revealed that landing the iconic character in American Pie opened up unique opportunities. The role, which became a cultural touchstone, not only boosted her career but also resonated with audiences in ways she hadn’t anticipated.
Then 38-year-old Jennifer Coolidge made the hearts of young men race as Steve Stifler’s mom.
After gaining fame as the most iconic MILF, Coolidge reprised her role in three further films within the American Pie franchise and became a mainstream sex symbol who was worshipped by men everywhere.
“People that I could never get in the door,” she told Variety, “all of a sudden they’re asking me to be part of their things.”
Finally, after playing ditzy blondes for years, Coolidge had the chance to elevate her career by starring in the HBO hit series White Lotus.
She won several awards, including her first Golden Globe, for her performance as the self-absorbed Tanya McQuoid, one of the few characters to appear in both the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
Her character, however, which was much loved, was killed off at the end of the last season.
“I’m jealous of everyone that’s going. I just want to stress I’m not a good sport about it, but there’s nothing I can do,” she told Today.
“When they kill you, you have to accept it,” she continued. “Because it means they’re not calling for your costume sizes or anything. It’s over! I have to get another thing. I have to make another thing happen, I guess.”
In a 2022 interview with Variety, Coolidge made a shocking admission.
“I got a lot of play at being a MILF, and I got a lot of sexual action from American Pie,” she shared. “There were so many benefits to doing that movie. I mean, there would be like 200 people that I would’ve never have slept with.”
She added: “Maybe I got this special attention because people saw me as Stifler’s mom or the Legally Blonde woman.”
Later, she said her comment was merely an exaggeration.
“God, you really can’t make jokes in our town, because I did make the terrible mistake of saying, ‘Thank God for that movie, I got to sleep with 200 men,’ or whatever. And look, I would love to say that was true, but I mean, that was sort of an exaggeration — so I’m glad you’re asking me,” Coolidge told Ariana Grande while being interviewed for Entertainment Weekly’s 2022 Entertainers of the Year.
However, while she didn’t really sleep with that many men, her love life did got spiced up.
“But it did sort of open up the world to a much broader group of handsome men — and younger men. This one guy was particularly young — legal, of course, it was all very legal — but it was funny because we had to… The one moment was a little bit awkward because he…” started to reveal more, but Grande interrupted her.
“No, I won’t get into the details,” shared Coolidge. “But afterwards, the next morning, I told him I needed to get a blow dry. So he was so young, we called his mother to see where I could get a blow dry. It was so weird that happened on the phone, it was very clear that we were in the bed together.”