Jennifer Coolidge season is truly upon us. Ariana Grande’s Halloween ode to her role in 00s queer dog training comedy Best In Show (a cult favourite) had us in tears. The beloved actor has also kept us amused and suitably disturbed in Ryan Murphy’s “deranged” Netflix true crime series The Watcher, and now of course, she’s back as the iconic chaotic evil Tanya McQuoid in Season 2 of The White Lotus. Swapping Hawaii for Sicily, the finale of the new season of the HBO show, for which she won her first Emmy, dropped this week.
Picture Jennifer and you’ll probably conjure up an image of her beaming with a plunging neckline, cigarette in hand, wearing all-pink-everything à la Cinderella Story or Legally Blonde. And well, that’s just not her. While she does glam very well indeed, she’s also not opposed to covering up or dressing down — spending the early-00s embracing cutesy summer dresses and rhinestone-flecked tees. In recent years though, she seems to have discovered the colour green, embracing it in various tones for her recent award show appearances.
As we all reel over the shocking finale of The White Lotus, let’s take a look back at some of Jennifer Coolidge’s most iconic outfits.
At an early movie premiere in Hollywood, 2000
After a 90s full of bit parts in Seinfeld and Austin Powers, Jennifer was thrown into the public discourse in 1999, when she played Stifler’s Mom in American Pie — a role that, she says, opened up doors to sleep with like 200 people. Then came Best In Show and Down to Earth, in which she plays the wife of an aspiring comedian (played by Chris Rock) who dies and is reincarnated as a wealthy white businessman. Jennifer wore this casual look to the film’s premiere at Mann’s Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Those natural waves and big silver hoops are really working for her; the simple black dress letting the red leather jacket take centre stage.
At another LA premiere, 2002
In 2002, Jen starred in Women vs Men – exactly the kind of film your parents went to on date night – and rocked up wearing this strappy baby blue dress with appliqué flower detailing, a diamanté bow and the least effective shawl ever. Her beauty look incorporates every trend going at the time: face-framing layers, a handful of tonged curls, zig-zag parting, iridescent eyeshadow and neat brows. Bingo. Full house.
At an industry event in Pasadena, 2002
Well isn’t this adorable? Attending the National Cable & Telecommunications Association Press Tour (us neither) at a hotel in California, J-Cool paired a sweet ruffled dress with a v early-00s crochet jumper with floral detailing. She finished the look off with a pair of patent strappy heels, minimal makeup and her hair pulled back in a low-key bouffant.
At the premiere of American Wedding, 2003
Returning to our screens as Stifler’s Mom in American Wedding, Jennifer went all-out bombshell for the LA premiere. In a low-cut ruched silver dress, she’s giving turn-of-the-millennium Marilyn on the red carpet as she blows a kiss to the paparazzi. Can we get a bend and snap?
At the Chateau Marmont’s Golden Globes party, 2004
Still in her silver phase, for HBO’s Golden Globes party at West Hollywood’s Chateau Marmont, Jennifer wore a skintight lurex dress that lit her up like the fourth of July. Posing for pictures, she clutched a silver bag whose shine matched her glossy lips and glowing skin.
Going to the theatre, 2006
Somebody hand this woman a mic and a Fender Strat because she’s giving mid-00s rock star in this all black look with silver diamanté accents. And look how happy she is! With a programme in hand, she couldn’t be more ready for the opening night of Rock of Ages — the musical, not the subpar film adaptation that won’t come until 2012 — at LA’s Vanguard Theatre.
Attending a NY premiere, 2020
We’re jumping forward more than a decade now to our current Jennaissance — the return of a much-loved comedy figure emerging from her voice acting era. She turned up to the world premiere of Like A Boss — in which she stars alongside Tiffany Haddish, Rose Byrne and Salma Hayek — looking like a veritable superhero in a metallic green dress with built-in cape.
Winning her Emmy, 2022
If you’ve seen The White Lotus, you’ll know just how much Jennifer Coolidge deserved that Best Supporting Actress win for her role as bereaved socialite, Tanya McQuoid. Beating castmates including Sydney Sweeney to the award, when producers attempted to cut her delightfully chaotic acceptance speech short, she danced along to the music instead. “I just want to say,” she opened. “I took a lavender bath tonight right before the show, and it made me swell up inside my dress and I’m having a hard time speaking.” A relatable icon.