The unsinkable Jennifer Coolidge? - Los Angeles Times
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The unsinkable Jennifer Coolidge?

Illustration of Jennifer Coolidge.
Can Jennifer Coolidge win an Emmy in her new category?
(Illustration by Michael Dunbabin)
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The Emmys’ reclassification of HBO’s “The White Lotus” as a drama (from limited series) could slow 2022 winner Jennifer Coolidge’s awards roll. But Coolidge, who lent new electricity and nuance to the role of troubled heiress Tanya in Season 2, never has been easy to categorize, or count out.

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Groundlings vet Coolidge became a big-screen sensation in her late 30s, delivering hilarious, high-profile performances in “American Pie” (1999), “Best in Show” (2000) and “Legally Blonde” (2001).

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Coolidge appeared in “Pie” and “Legally Blonde” sequels, Christopher Guest’s “Best in Show” follow-up “A Mighty Wind” and on “Sex and the City” and “Friends” in the same year.

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seasons of the CBS sitcom “2 Broke Girls” featured Coolidge as the leads’ glamorous, broadly Polish-accented neighbor, Sophie.

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Times, pre-“Lotus” fame, Coolidge was referred to as “Stifler’s Mom” (her “Pie” character) instead of her name.

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significant individual honors Coolidge has received over two seasons of “Lotus”: the 2022 Emmy, 2023 Screen Actors Guild Award and Golden Globe and two Critics Choice Awards.

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Among “Lotus” nominations, Coolidge lost only twice: a SAG Award to Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”) and Golden Globe to Sarah Snook (“Succession”), both in 2022.

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Snook will submit as lead for the Emmys, but Coolidge faces tough competition in Snook’s supporting actress co-star J. Smith-Cameron, Rhea Seehorn (“Better Call Saul”), Christina Ricci (“Yellowjackets”) and others.

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Coolidge seems like the early front-runner, having already won awards for “Lotus” Season 2 over such talents as Seehorn, Claire Danes (“Fleishman Is in Trouble”) and “Lotus” co-star Aubrey Plaza.

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