Jennifer Coolidge attends 2023 TIME100 Gala at Jazz at Lincoln Center on April 26, 2023 in New York City© Getty Images

Jennifer Coolidge candidly reveals the 'terrible mistake' she made in her life

The White Lotus may be her renaissance, but she's always been a star

Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
June 6, 2023

Jennifer Coolidge got into the thick of things for a conversation with The Bear star Jeremy Allen White in Variety where they discussed their rise to the top of the industry, particularly over the last year.

The actress, 61, opened up especially about the means through which she found early success with her work as a character actress and why she feels it was the wrong decision to not capitalize on them.

When asked by Jeremy, 32, if she chose roles for longevity or because she found people she liked and wanted to work with, Jennifer responded: "Now that I'm old enough to really look back at my life and certainly my mistakes, I see a lot of those.

WATCH: Jennifer Coolidge's touching Golden Globes acceptance speech

"But I never had any strategy. I just went job to job. I have to say I made the terrible mistake of not riding the wave that I had early on."

The acclaimed comedienne continued: "It was sort of in the '90s when I had Legally Blonde, Best in Show, and American Pie. And then a few years later, there was Cinderella Story and stuff like that. But there was a moment."

MORE: Everything Jennifer Coolidge has said about her love life

She explained that she entered a phase where she specifically pursued people for roles while not bearing in mind what were the jobs she actually wanted.

Jennifer opened up about making mistakes early in her career© Getty Images
Jennifer opened up about making mistakes early in her career

"I wasn't paying attention," she said. "I just thought I had my whole life. I never said, 'I want to do…' 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. I look back and I go, 'What was I thinking?' And then I bought a house in New Orleans, and I was consumed with fixing that up."

MORE: 8 Facts About Jennifer Coolidge That You'd Never Believe

While Jennifer remained a significant presence in mainstream cinema thanks to her comedic turns in movies like Legally Blonde and American Pie, she achieved critical acclaim and awards love in recent years thanks to turns in Promising Young Woman and, specifically, The White Lotus.

© Getty Images
The actress became a comedic legend thanks to her performances in the 90s and aughts

However, it was quite the shock when the season two finale killed her character Tanya McQuoid off after she gunned down all those aboard a yacht before slipping and hitting her head on a dinghy and then drowning.

It seems like that's probably the end for Jennifer's run on the show, but is there a possibility for her return given the HBO series' massive success?

MORE: Jennifer Coolidge takes style notes from Kate Middleton wearing the ultimate Princess dress

Jennifer stated in an interview with The New York Times after the finale's premiere in December that she didn't want her trajectory on the show to come to an end.

© Getty Images
Jennifer experienced a career resurgence in 2021 with The White Lotus

She'd said: "You can't talk [The White Lotus creator] Mike White out of anything, really. But whenever Mike was in a really good mood, and laughing about something, I'd go like, 'I don't have to die, right?'"

In the same Variety chat, she continued: "Mike was looking for a big Italian opera ending, and it was big and dramatic, so he wanted me to die for many reasons. 

© Getty Images
Showrunner Mike has stated that this will be the end of Tanya McQuoid on the HBO show

"But I also think Tanya's a lot. Maybe people would get sick of her on another season. Maybe people would be like, 'Oh, my God. Get rid of Tanya!'"

Read more HELLO! US stories here

Like this story? Sign up to our newsletter to get other stories like this delivered straight to your inbox.

More TV and Film

See more