Jennifer Coolidge Has A Theory About Her Hollywood Status | HuffPost Entertainment

Jennifer Coolidge has a theory about what has fueled her new Hollywood status amid her recent career renaissance .

The White Lotus star told People in an article published Wednesday that she thinks people are drawn to her underdog story.

I think people liked that I was the underdog, she said. I played a lot of strange women, and people were amused by the comedies Ive done. Then Mike White put me in The White Lotus and it was a drama and comedy at the same time I never really had that.

Many fans of Coolidge have celebrated the recognition she has received in recent years after 20-plus years working in the industry. The beloved actor won her first Emmy for her role as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus at the 2022 Emmys in September. She also won a Golden Globe for the role last month.

During her acceptance speech at the Golden Globes, Coolidge thanked White Lotus creator Mike White for casting her in the critically acclaimed series, and for giving her hope and a new beginning.

Jennifer Coolidge delivers an epic #GoldenGlobes acceptance speech that makes #TheWhiteLotus creator Mike White cry. https://t.co/m069JEKekW pic.twitter.com/WBWx9H6BCj

Variety (@Variety) January 11, 2023","type":"rich","meta":{"author":"Variety","author_url":"https://twitter.com/Variety","cache_age":86400,"description":"Jennifer Coolidge delivers an epic #GoldenGlobes acceptance speech that makes #TheWhiteLotus creator Mike White cry. https://t.co/m069JEKekW pic.twitter.com/WBWx9H6BCj Variety (@Variety) January 11, 2023\n\n","options":{"_hide_media":{"label":"Hide photos, videos, and cards","value":false},"_maxwidth":{"label":"Adjust width","placeholder":"220-550, in px","value":""},"_theme":{"value":"","values":{"dark":"Use dark theme"}}},"provider_name":"Twitter","thumbnail_height":540,"thumbnail_url":"https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/1613015778584072192/img/0CeFAHOkZHiZRltn.jpg:large","thumbnail_width":960,"title":"Variety on Twitter","type":"rich","url":"https://twitter.com/Variety/status/1613016340650151942","version":"1.0"},"flags":[],"enhancements":{},"fullBleed":false,"options":{"theme":"news","device":"mobile","editionInfo":{"id":"us","name":"U.S.","link":"https://action.news","locale":"en_US"},"originalEdition":"us","isMapi":false,"isAmp":false,"isVideoEntry":false,"isEntry":true,"isMt":false,"entryId":"63ee5bd0e4b07f036ba21068","entryPermalink":"https://action.news/entry/jennifer-coolidge-new-hollywood-status-fame_n_63ee5bd0e4b07f036ba21068","entryTagsList":"ariana-grande,jennifer-coolidge","sectionSlug":"entertainment","deptSlug":"entertainment","sectionRedirectUrl":"https://action.news/entertainment","subcategories":"","isWide":false,"headerOverride":null,"noVideoAds":false,"disableFloat":false,"isNative":false,"commercialVideo":{"provider":"custom","site_and_category":"us.entertainment","package":null},"isHighline":false,"vidibleConfigValues":{"cid":"60afc111dcf87c2cd2f5d8bf","overrides":{"front_page_top_videos":{"desktop":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","mobileweb":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d"},"top_media":{"desktop":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","mobile":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"anthology":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"},"content":{"desktop":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","mobile":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","iphone":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","ipad":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","androidphone":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","androidtablet":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c"}},"playerUpdates":{"5668ae6ee4b0b5e26955d6a6":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","56aa41bae4b091744c0440d8":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81","5841b2b5cc52c716ec6e5a7f":"60b8e355cdd90620331ba185","58b5e2b8d85a10302feee895":"60b64316b171b7444beafdb2","58b74698f78ced31417819ae":"60b8e5bec5449357a7ad9b52","58b74ccecebcea57e2c3a3d1":"60b8e5eac5449357a7ad9ca5","58cff690d85a100b9992bc39":"60b8e616cdd90620331bb0ba","58cffb3fb6d9b972a49a3c9d":"60b8e643cdd90620331bb1f6","58cffdd74d96935d7d6ec180":"60b8e671c5449357a7ad9f66","58d03a84f78ced6518eb2fa7":"60b643c82e76be41f112735c","592edf20e0fa177b0c26f7fd":"60b8e699c5449357a7ada04c","5b35266b158f855373e28256":"60b64354b171b7444beaff4d","5c116f29f79c4171d82b7c2a":"60b64440b171b7444beb040b","5c1170fc600c9a697bf0c6b9":"60b646102e76be41f1127ffc","5c47791afa1b317df8ae0c4f":"60b8e6bdc5449357a7ada147","5c477987a6b48b35f164773d":"60b8e701c5449357a7ada2ee","5c4779ee943c3c2a64f28371":"60b8e747cdd90620331bb861","5c477a26fcd67b26879bc7c2":"60b8e788c5449357a7ada67b","5d8921a78c3ae845f366c9b6":"60ae7be5f3a7c13a30417ff9","58b98b00ba82aa39a6534321":"60d0de7c9340d7032ad1146c","58b9d14cb6d9b96c9ec32af3":"60d0dec19340d7032ad115a0","58cff8eccebcea42931e0436":"60d0e005b627221e9d819d44","592edf5de0fa177b0c26f95b":"60d0e38fb627221e9d81adcf","58cff72fd85a100b9992c112":"60d0e447b627221e9d81b0da","56b4d34fe4b022697697c400":"60d2472d9340d7032ad7e443","60b8e4c0c5449357a7ad957d":"60e869dc7c5f3b17b6741b81"}},"connatixConfigValues":{"defaultPlayer":"ff7fdddc-5441-4253-abc4-f12a33fad58b","clickToPlayPlayer":"d014396e-b366-4c17-aeac-3ce906fa3fd0","videoPagePlayer":"f010447b-d244-4111-a314-7b4542ae4145","verticalPlayer":"e58cb05a-0bc8-4210-9108-fea82726c065","stickyPlayerControl":"52ea1755-d601-4ad1-bccc-d8cce3f0e5da","stickyPlayerON":"8055e9e5-3bda-4933-8d45-9ad814fb6e22"},"topConnatixThumnbailSrc":"https://img.connatix.com/86369bb1-d38b-4faf-864b-aeab53d76979/1_th.jpg?crop=480:270,smart&width=480&height=270&format=jpeg&quality=60&fit=crop","customAmpComponents":[],"ampAssetsUrl":"https://amp.assets.huffpost.com","videoTraits":null,"positionInUnitCounts":{"buzz_head":{"count":0},"buzz_body":{"count":0},"buzz_bottom":{"count":0}},"positionInSubUnitCounts":{"article_body":{"count":10},"blog_summary":{"count":0},"before_you_go_content":{"count":0}},"connatixCountsHelper":{"count":1},"buzzfeedTracking":{"context_page_id":"63ee5bd0e4b07f036ba21068","context_page_type":"buzz","destination":"huffpost","mode":"mobile","page_edition":"en-us"},"tags":[{"name":"Ariana Grande","slug":"ariana-grande","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/ariana-grande","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/ariana-grande","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/ariana-grande"},"department":{"name":"Entertainment","slug":"entertainment"},"section":{"title":"Celebrity","slug":"celebrity"},"topic":{"title":"Ariana Grande","slug":"ariana-grande","overridesSectionLabel":false},"url":"https://action.news/entertainment/topic/ariana-grande"},{"name":"Jennifer Coolidge","slug":"jennifer-coolidge","links":{"relativeLink":"topic/jennifer-coolidge","permalink":"https://action.news/topic/jennifer-coolidge","mobileWebLink":"https://action.news/topic/jennifer-coolidge"},"url":"https://action.news/topic/jennifer-coolidge"}],"isLiveblogLive":null,"isLiveblog":false,"cetUnit":"buzz_body","bodyAds":["

\r\n\r\n","

\r\n\r\n"],"adCount":0},"isCollectionEmbed":false}">

Jennifer Coolidge delivers an epic #GoldenGlobes acceptance speech that makes #TheWhiteLotus creator Mike White cry. https://t.co/m069JEKekW pic.twitter.com/WBWx9H6BCj
Variety (@Variety) January 11, 2023

Coolidge has talked about the recent revival of her acting career on several occasions.

Last year, the actor told Jimmy Fallon on The Tonight Show that she credited him and Ariana Grande for helping her get through a career dead zone.

Grande had done a memorable impression of Coolidge during an appearance on the late night talk show in 2018. Coolidge told Fallon that the ball got rolling after that impression.

The actor explained that she connected with Grande on social media after the episode aired, and that that exchange led to her appearance in the singers music video for her 2019 hit song, Thank u, next.

Coolidge told Grande in a December interview conducted for Entertainment Weekly that the singer was sort of the instigator for her recent career success.

Your Support Has Never Been More Critical

Other news outlets have retreated behind paywalls. At HuffPost, we believe journalism should be free for everyone.

Would you help us provide essential information to our readers during this critical time? We can't do it without you.

Can't afford to contribute? Support HuffPost by creating a free account and log in while you read.

You've supported HuffPost before, and we'll be honest we could use your help again . We view our mission to provide free, fair news as critically important in this crucial moment, and we can't do it without you.

Whether you give once or many more times, we appreciate your contribution to keeping our journalism free for all.

Whether you give just one more time or sign up again to contribute regularly, we appreciate you playing a part in keeping our journalism free for all.

Support HuffPost

I think if you hadnt put me in Thank u, next, and done that imitation, I dont think I would be here where I am, she told Grande.

Speaking more about her recent boom in stardom, Coolidge told People in Wednesdays article that she thinks the current awards season has made her more recognizable to fans when shes out in public.

I dont know if they just played clips of me so many times on the Internet or Instagram, but it doesnt matter what disguise I have on, I can be wearing a frog costume with a helmet and people know its me, she said.