Jennifer Coolidge Was So ‘Strange’ on a Trip to Africa With Mike White That He Wrote a Role on ‘The White Lotus’ Just for Her
Jennifer Coolidge is one of the biggest stars to come out of the hit series The White Lotus. The role seems tailor-made for the actor/comedian, and that’s not by accident. Showrunner Mike White created Coolidge’s part specifically for her.
Jennifer Coolidge and Mike White have been friends for over a decade
Coolidge plays Tanya McQuoid, a kooky heiress who travels around the world and stays at the White Lotus resorts. She’s the only character (so far) who has appeared in both seasons of the popular HBO comedy.
The actor and White met long before The White Lotus premiered. They played a couple in 2009’s Gentlemen Broncos, a comedy about an aspiring writer who must defend his stories from another writer who claims he wrote them.
“I knew him from that,” Coolidge said during a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “We had been friends over the years.”
The two grew so close they even vacationed together.
Mike White saw the ‘unedited version’ of Jennifer Coolidge on a trip to Africa
When White’s boyfriend couldn’t go on a “romantic” trip to Africa, the White Lotus creator called Coolidge. She jumped at the chance to travel.
“It was very intimate,” she laughed. “You know, the tents … they’re beautiful, but you’re right next to each other in them, and so he got to see a very unedited version of me.”
She said White was “amused by how strange I was on the trip.” And that was what eventually won her the part.
Coolidge discussed the role further at a White Lotus FYC event. “Mike discovered, on this trip, that I was sort of sad I wasn’t in a relationship, and he saw me watching these wedding videos on my iPhone in the middle of the night,” the actor shared (via IndieWire).
“I swear to God, I think that’s where [Mike] got this whole idea of Greg,” she continued, referring to the character Tanya hooks up with in season 1 and marries in season 2. “I think Mike was just hoping for me to have anything with anyone, and he wrote this part.”
Where you’ve seen Jennifer Coolidge before
Coolidge has been a longtime fan favorite, thanks to memorable roles in popular movies such as Legally Blonde, American Pie, A Cinderella Story, and Best in Show.
Recently, she appeared in the popular Netflix series The Watcher and commercials for Uber Eats and Old Navy.
However, her role in The White Lotus has catapulted her to a new level of stardom. Coolidge even won an Emmy for her performance as Tanya.
What’s next for the ‘White Lotus’ star?
Coolidge will appear alongside Jennifer Lopez, Josh Duhamel, and Lenny Kravitz in Shotgun Wedding, set to premiere later this year. Fans can also see her in the upcoming Netflix movie We Have a Ghost, featuring Stranger Things actor David Harbour and Marvel star Anthony Mackie.
