'The White Lotus' star Jennifer Coolidge recalls 'terrible career mistake' when she was most successful

Jennifer Coolidge spills the tea on her monstrous career blunder that she will always regret

PUBLISHED JUN 6, 2023

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 26: Jennifer Coolidge, winner of the the Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series award for “The White Lotus” poses in the press room during the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in Los Angeles (F

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Jennifer Coolidge has been enjoying great success during this award season, collecting numerous accolades for her outstanding performance as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in HBO's ‘The White Lotus’. She has won the Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award, and consecutive Critics Choice Awards. Additionally, she is a strong contender for back-to-back Emmy Awards, as the nominations for the 2023 Emmys will be announced next month on July 12.

Jennifer Coolidge attends the 2023 Time100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2023 in New York City. (Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

'I made the terrible mistake of…'

Amidst her resurgence as an actress, the ‘Two Broke Girls’ alum spoke of career mistakes during an interview for Variety's 'Actors on Actors' series, which premiered on June 5. The 61-year-old actress who was originally scheduled to host 'Saturday Night Live' before the writers strike, had a conversation with Jeremy Allen White, known for his role in 'The Bear'.

When asked about her career aspirations and whether she had a long-term plan in mind, Coolidge honestly admitted that she had not. “Now that I’m old enough to really look back at my life and certainly my mistakes, I see a lot of those. But I never had any strategy. I just went job to job,' she explained.

Jeremy Allen White, recipient of the Male Actor in a Comedy Series award for 'The Bear', poses in the press room during the 29th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at Fairmont Century Plaza on February 26, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Coolidge continued saying, “I have to say I made the terrible mistake of not riding the wave that I had early on. It was sort of in the ’90s when I had 'Legally Blonde', 'Best in Show' and 'American Pie'. And then there was 'Cinderella Story' and stuff like that. But there was a moment. There was a wave I really could have ridden but I got really distracted”.

Coolidge recalls, “I started pursuing guys. I wasn’t paying attention. I just thought I had my whole life. I did get some jobs, but I didn’t have a plan. And I think that was a fatal flaw of mine, because it took so long to get anything going later”.

The end? Not yet

The demise of her character, which was both untimely and uproarious in 'The White Lotus' became a major topic of conversation in 2022. Surprisingly, Coolidge admitted that she was unaware of the character's fate before the season began. Nevertheless, this doesn't imply that she's ready to bid adieu to the captivating role. Coolidge also shared her aspirations for the highly acclaimed series' third season and contemplated the potential trajectory of Tanya's future.

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Although the show's creator, Mike White, has written off her character, Coolidge humorously proposed a vengeance-filled idea for the Emmy-winning show's next installment. "“If Tanya could come back in any form, maybe she could come back as a seagull and poke Greg’s eyes out”, Coolidge jokingly remarked. Currently, the second season of "The White Lotus" can be streamed on Crave.