Jennifer Coolidge Landed Her Seinfeld Role With A Resume Full Of 'Lies'
We now know Jennifer Coolidge from her terrific role in "The White Lotus," but the actress had humble beginnings. Before she took on the part of Tanya McQuoid, the unhinged massage-obsessed heiress in the HBO series, the experimental comedienne was one of many guest stars who appeared on "Seinfeld" in the '90s.
For Coolidge, her episode-long stint on "Seinfeld" was the first television role she ever got, and the hilarious actress has an interesting story about how she landed the role. The "Legally Blonde" star didn't have many acting credits under her belt to present to the crew at "Seinfeld," but what she did have, was a resume full of "lies."
Fake it 'til you make it
Jennifer Coolidge recently received a long-due Emmy for her role in "The White Lotus," an acclaimed comedy-drama anthology series, and she beat out several of her co-stars for the prize. The actress has made a name for herself in the comedy genre — she's a natural, and her charisma is unmatched. She's also an Emmy-winning performer now, which is huge, but despite her talent, things weren't always looking up for Coolidge, especially at the start of her career.
On "Seinfeld," Coolidge starred as a massage therapist called Jodi, one of Jerry's many girlfriends on the show. Her role lasted a single episode, and saw her torture Jerry by refusing to give him a massage despite it being her job. Their romance doesn't last very long, and Jerry ends the relationship by the end of the episode. When asked how she got the job, Coolidge said that her resume was full of lies, and she didn't have any acting jobs before that.
'I only had lies on my resume'
On the day she booked a role in the sitcom, she scored another part on "She TV," a short-lived all-women sketch on ABC. Here's what the actress told GQ:
"It was a weird day. I booked Seinfeld the same day that I booked this very short lived series called She TV, which was an all-women sketch show on ABC. I didn't really have any jobs before that. I only had lies on my resume. I'd gone to a school called American Academy of Dramatic Arts up in Pasadena, and I'd just named all these shows and all these different theaters at the school as if they played there. You have to do that if you have a blank resume, until you start getting jobs. Then you can slowly erase the lies. I'd love to get my hands on that resume now."
'I didn't have any flattering outfits'
Coolidge credited others who helped put her together since she didn't have impressive clothes for her big sitcom audition. The actress walked into a clothing store, where the employees helped style the actress for the audition and persuaded her to buy a better outfit. Coolidge also joked about how she "looked clueless most of the time."
"I didn't even have decent clothes to audition in. I didn't have any flattering outfits. So I went to this store, and there was a mother and daughter who worked in the store. I said, 'I'm auditioning for Seinfeld tomorrow.' And they were like, 'Oh, honey, you've got to wear better clothes than what you're wearing.' So they made me buy this little outfit, and I think it got me the job! I kind of looked clueless most of the time, and these girls put me together."
Coolidge has since appeared in multiple comedy films, most notably "American Pie," "Legally Blonde," as well as "A Cinderella Story," and the television series "2 Broke Girls." The actress is set to return in the second season of "The White Lotus," which is set to premiere on October 30, 2022.