Jennifer Coolidge is considered by many as one of the most underrated acts in all of Hollywood. Thanks to her work in The White Lotus, she's now reaping the rewards of quite the career, which also features an impressive net worth of $6 million.Among her most memorable roles, includes in the late '90s, cast as Stifler's mom in American Pie.We'll take a look back at the role, and what the actress credits for her success. In addition, we'll take a look at her current career and the struggles along the way.
American Pie Had Several Struggles Behind The Scenes Prior To Its Release
Especially at the start, American Pie was not expected to thrive the way it did. Off a budget of $10 million, the film turned into a cult-classic smashing it at the box office, making over $235 million.
As IMDb stated, it was a struggle to get there, particularly at the start creatively. "When submitting his script to studios, screenwriter Adam Herz titled it "Untitled Teenage Sex Comedy That Can Be Made For Under $10 Million Which Studio Readers Will Likely Hate But I Think You Will Love". It was later changed to "East Grand Rapids High", then "East Great Falls High", then "Great Falls", and finally, "American Pie."
In addition, it was also quite the task for the film to receive its R rating, going for three resubmissions to get the approval.
It all worked out ultimately, and the cast meshed brilliantly, building quite the franchise. There were several underrated components to film's success, and of them included none other than Jennifer Coolidge, who turned out to be a huge part of supporting cast.
Jennifer Coolidge Credits The Plot Build-Up For Her American Pie Fame
Cast as Stifler's mom, Jennifer Coolidge provided the young cast with some terrific depth. She became a popular figure in the film, though she has a theory as to why the success became instant.
Given her words alongside the LA Times, it was the build up throughout the film that made her appearance that much more impactful.
"I think the way Stifler’s mom was written had a lot to do with the success of that character just because, you know, people talked about her throughout the movie and you don’t really see her to the end, but it was — there was a build-up."
CooIidge further downplayed her role, stating that anyone would have thrived in the situation, given that it was set up to be successful. "I feel like I could have looked like Fred Flintstone and people would be like, “I love Stifler’s mom” because the build-up was good."
It all worked out for Coolidge and in addition, she recently claims that her personal life away from the camera was impacted by her role in the film.
Jennifer Coolidge Revealed That The Role of Stifler's Mom Got Her Lots Of Attention...
Following her time as Stifler's mom, Jennifer revealed that she was gaining a lot more interest from others... let's just say.
"There were so many benefits to doing that movie," Coolidge, 60, continued. "I mean, there would be like 200 people that I would never have slept with."
At the moment, Coolidge's career is back to thriving, nominated for her first-ever Emmy due to the role in The White Lotus. Quite the story, given that the actress revealed times were tough at various points during the pandemic.
"I was hallucinating because my mother’s death came up [in] all of these things. And I think it was just because, you know, I didn’t really think we were going to survive the COVID thing. I mean, I really didn’t. I thought it was just a matter of time before it got all of us. And I felt like the moment was just lingering outside."
"I think that’s what it is. I got so in touch with what it would be like to exit the world and hopefully all the people I’d see again if I did, you know, pass away. So it was all those thoughts."
Coolidge would turn this into a positive for her role, "For a character that’s sort of never recovered from someone’s death, it was this perfect recipe for creating something."
Great to see the actress get rewarded in a major way.
