Jennifer Coolidge said she would have slept with 200 fewer people if she had not landed her infamous role in the American Pie franchise two decades ago.
After becoming a nearly overnight sensation playing Stifler’s Mom, the 60-year-old actress admitted that she ‘got a lot of play at being a MILF’ and ‘a lot of sexual action from American Pie’ in 1999.
‘There were so many benefits to doing that movie. I mean, there would be like 200 people that I would never have slept with,’ the Legally Blonde star told Variety.
MILF: Jennifer Coolidge said she would have slept with 200 fewer people if she had not landed her infamous role in the American Pie franchise two decades ago; seen in 2021
While portraying the matriarch of the Stifler family, her character tried to seduce her teen son’s classmate, Paul Finch (played by Eddie Kaye Thomas), in every way.
During the film, she has sex with Finch, to her son’s horror, and the duo go on to have a few more flings, earning her the reputation of a ‘MILF’ [‘Mother I’d like to f**k.]’
The performance led to her starring in American Pie 2, The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, Legally Blonde, A Cinderella Story and a small role on Friends.
Iconic: After becoming a nearly overnight sensation playing Stifler’s Mom, the 60-year-old actress admitted that she ‘got a lot of play at being a MILF’ and ‘a lot of sexual action from American Pie’ (pictured in the film opposite Eddie Kaye Thomas)
‘There were so many benefits to doing that movie. I mean, there would be like 200 people that I would never have slept with,’ the Legally Blonde star told Variety
During her latest interview, Coolidge shared that after so many decades of rejection she became fearless because she felt she had nothing to lose.
‘Ten years of my life of auditioning,’ she told the magazine, ‘none of it added up to a job. The fear is gone when you’re so used to losing. There’s some freedom in that.’
The star also shared that she almost said no to her role of Tanya in The White Lotus even though her friend, series creator, Mike White had written the part for her.
Cover girl: During her latest interview, Coolidge shared that after so many decades of rejection she became fearless because she felt she had nothing to lose
‘I didn’t like the way I looked,’ she said as she had put on weight during COVID-19, something she has been very honest about.
And she added she had no clue The White Lotus would become such a big hit when she was filming the first season.
‘The greatest thing was that no one knew if it was going to be anything!’ said the star.
‘Ten years of my life of auditioning,’ she told the magazine, ‘none of it added up to a job. The fear is gone when you’re so used to losing. There’s some freedom in that’ (seen in 2021)
But she as thrilled she got so much screen time: ‘I feel like the coach asked the other actors to let me dribble the ball more. Give the ball to Jennifer once in a while. I get to shoot now.’
And she has White Lotus creator White to thank for that.
‘I have done one thing really right in my life,’ she said. ‘I’ve picked great friends. If Mike [White] was never successful, and we just did White Lotus as a play in a little theater where everyone paid 10 bucks to see it, it would still be one of the greatest things that ever happened to me. Because it was a killer job that no one else thought I could do.
‘Whatever Mike White did for me, I would wish that for every actor,’ Coolidge added. ‘Even if they fail. We all want a challenge – something really scary that we might not be able to succeed at. I think we all want that opportunity.’
Part of a lifetime: The star also shared that she almost said no to her role of Tanya in The White Lotus even though her friend, series creator, Mike White had written the part for her; seen in 2021
And now she has her confidence back after years of blaming herself for her choices.
‘The saddest thing about life is that you just make decisions about yourself,’ she noted. ‘If I’m not getting great roles, I come to the conclusion that people think I’m incapable of that.
‘And then I make the decision that I am incapable of that. You actually have to have a Mike White that comes in and says, ‘I think you can do this.’
Now she is being chased for projects.
‘People that I could never get in the door – all of a sudden they’re asking me to be part of their things,’ she shared.