Jennifer Coolidge Walked Into Her ‘Legally Blonde’ Audition Thinking She’d Be Elle

Jennifer Coolidge is known now for a lot of different roles, but most insiders link her celebrity status to her breakout role as Stifler’s mom in American Pie and her follow-up role as Paulette Bonafonté in Legally Blonde. Coolidge absolutely stole the show in her supporting role, and she’s been a fan favorite ever since. Still, it’s not the role she was expecting to take on. Coolidge recently revealed that she initially assumed she’d be taking on the role of Elle Woods in the flick.

Jennifer Coolidge admits she was mistaken when she walked into her ‘Legally Blonde’ audition

It has been 25 years since Elle Woods defied the odds and was granted admission into Harvard Law School (what, like it’s hard or something?). Legally Blonde has spawned a cult following and launched the careers of several stars. While we didn’t think there was more to learn about the movie and its production, apparently, there are still some trivia facts left unturned. Jennifer Coolidge recently dropped a massive trivia bomb on fans at the “Elle World” fan event.

During a chat with her costars and fans at Hall des Lumières, Coolidge revealed that she “stupidly” assumed she was going to take on the part of Elle. In fact, it appears Coolidge walked into the audition assuming that she could slide into the role.

It didn’t happen that way, of course. The role of Elle, a recent college graduate heartbroken by her college boyfriend’s betrayal, went to Reese Witherspoon. Witherspoon was just 25 when the movie was released in theaters. Coolidge, who played the big-haired, soft-hearted manicurist that fans fell in love with, was 39 when the film premiered.

A reunion 25 years in the making

Elle World, hosted by Amazon Prime Video, was working double duty. It served as a celebration of the franchise, as well as a reunion for the core cast. While Jennifer Coolidge shared her minor misstep on her journey to becoming Paulette, she also revealed that Legally Blonde is one of her favorite projects. Witherspoon was feeling equally nostalgic, telling the audience, “Playing this character for 25 years has been the privilege of my life.” Witherspoon noted that she’s always happy to hear from fans who tell her Elle inspired them in some way, whether that was going to law school themselves or naming their children after the feisty lead character she played.

The gathering wasn’t just a reunion or a celebration for fans. It also served as a way to lead into the debut of Elle, a prequel series set to arrive on the streaming platform on July 1. The series will follow a teenage version of Elle Woods, with newcomer Lexi Minetree stepping into Witherspoon’s iconic shoes.