Jennifer Coolidge‘s hard work is officially paying off this award season.
The 61-year-old received a SAG Award for outstanding female actor in a drama series for portraying Tanya McQuoid in HBO Max’s hit show The White Lotus. During the award ceremony, which occurred at the Fairmont Century Plaza in California on Feb. 26, Coolidge opened up about how it felt getting a second wind in her acting career after nearly three decades in the entertainment industry. In her acceptance speech, Coolidge expressed how grateful she was to be given this opportunity by series creator Mike White and HBO. A visibly emotional Coolidge said,
“It’s been a very special year and you know, overwhelming. And White Lotus and Mike White writing me this great part that went on for two seasons, and just HBO giving me the thumbs up to let me to it. I just want to say. I want you all to know that I’m just so grateful. So grateful, because this could be it.”
Further, into the speech, the Legally Blonde star also thanked White for helping change her overall perspective on life after playing Tanya McQuoid. Coolidge explained,
“Mike White — you can give money to friends and do nice things for them, and people love money, and I do — whenever I can. When your friends are broke, you can give money and stuff, but the best gift you can give someone is to change someone’s perspective for the better, and view life in a different way, and that’s what Mike White did for me.”
In addition to praising White, Coolidge revealed as she thanked her parents that her love for the arts began at a very young age after they, mainly her father, took her out of school one day by lying to her teachers to go to a Charlie Chaplin film festival in Massachusetts in the first grade. Coolidge would wrap up her speech by thanking her date and best friend, Tim Bagley.
Moments following her big win, Coolidge and the entire White Lotus cast would nab the award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series. Coolidge big night comes a month after the actress won a Golden Globe and Critics Choice Award.
All seasons of The White Lotus are currently streaming on HBO Max.
Published: Feb 26, 2023 11:03 pm