Jennifer Coolidge Wins Her First Golden Globe at 61: ‘You Changed My Life’

The ‘White Lotus’ star brought director Mike White to tears with her acceptance speech.

Jennifer Coolidge poses with her Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Jennifer Coolidge was the star of this year’s Golden Globe Awards. Her heartfelt and moving acceptance speech for winning Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Limited Series or Motion Picture received a standing ovation at the Jan. 10 ceremony. She played the iconic and hilarious Tanya McQuoid in both seasons of HBO’s The White Lotus.

The 61-year-old, who last night won her first Golden Globe after 30 years in the industry, brought Mike White, the show’s creator and director, to tears with her sweet message thanking him.

“I had such big dreams as a young person, but what happens is they get sort of fizzled by life. Mike White, you gave me a new beginning,” she gushed. “You’ve given me hope. You changed my life in a million different ways. My neighbors are speaking to me and things like that. I mean it. I was never invited to one party on my hill, and now everyone’s inviting me.”

She added that those who don‘t have the pleasure of calling White a friend should know that he is always caring and “worried” about people and the world.

“He really is one of the greatest people I’ve ever [met],” she continued. “I just want to say, Mike White… I love you to death!”

During an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Legally Blonde star revealed that White wrote the role specifically for Coolidge. The two played a couple together in the 2009 film Gentlemen Broncos and became friends. When they traveled to Tanzania on vacation together, Coolidge said White saw a very “unedited version” of her. 

“He was looking for a crazy lady to play [Tanya],” explained Coolidge, who won an Emmy for her portrayal of the character last September. “It would have gone differently if someone else would have gotten this part, but I think he was sort of amused by how strange I was on the trip.”

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