Alongside being a certified scene-stealer, Jennifer Coolidge is also one of the most candid Hollywood stars out there, especially when it comes to the ups and downs of her career. However, that rawness comes from her biggest fear.
Back in 2023, Coolidge came Down Under alongside The White Lotus creator, Mike White, for Vivid Sydney where she not only charmed fans with her charisma, humour and undeniable prowess, but also opened up about her previous career failures and how she champions never giving up.
Returning to Sydney three years later, in partnership with Audible, the Legally Blonde icon has continued her crusade on resilience, but this time, in a much stronger and incredibly real manner.
@pedestriantv Now I want a hot dog… REAL BAD. 🌭 Icon of our life @jennifercoolidge has surprised Aussies in Bondi, appearing to sport headphones while trotting with a trolley. Love this for her!! #jennifercoolidge #bondi
♬ original sound – PEDESTRIAN.TV
I had the pleasure to sit down with Jen this week while her team curled her hair following a long stroll with a stubborn shopping trolley through Bondi, and she revealed why she decided to come clean about her struggles, especially in her personal life and her career.
“Eventually people are going to know [your failures], so I want to tell them ahead of time,” she told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“If you just completely tell on yourself, you don’t have to deal with a lot of heavy crap later. If you tell people all this wretched stuff, no one can blackmail you.
“That’s my biggest fear.”
Turning to P.TV, after her hair was beautifully curled, Jennifer delved deeper into her fear of blackmail, sharing that those who are out to hurt you with your secrets “can’t shame you because you’ve already told on yourself”.
“If you tell your secrets, you know, there’s not a lot people can do about it,” she said before revealing, “There’s a couple really bad stories I haven’t told yet”.
“Well, the floor is open,” I joked before she laughed and replied, “God, I wish I had the energy tonight.”
Her love for The White Lotus, her most humiliating audition and resilience
Touching on the highs of her career — in which there are so many — Jennifer revealed that The White Lotus was her “least humiliating” job.
“I had a very good friend directing; I think he would be too shy to fire me, or actually not. Mike White’s pretty tough,” she laughed.
“If someone you know is directing a film, it’s sort of — there’s something pretty great about the freedom of it. You’re not worried about them liking you, you know? They might think that your performance isn’t up to par or whatever, but that’s it.”
Jennifer also added that playing Tanya McQuoid-Hunt — a fabulously chaotic, wealthy empress who dropped the iconic “the gays, they’re trying to kill me” line — was memorable because of the cast, and that the experience was “sort of life-changing”.
But on the other side of the spectrum, the comic legend shared a throwback story of her earlier days in Hollywood, revealing one of the most humiliating experiences in showbiz.
“I somehow had to audition in the Valley in California. I had to audition for this role where it was elevator doors open, and then I [had to say] to the guy, ‘Going up?’ I didn’t get it,” she shared.
“I drove so far. I didn’t have AC in my car; I was like, this is so humiliating. This is going to be a terrible life. I kept thinking that. I’m just so glad I hung in there. Sometimes people bail too early, just right before something cool could happen.
“That’s why I think, you know, when I think it’s important to hang in there, even when you really think you can’t.”
Honestly, coming from someone with such an impressive career and long list of achievements, that piece of advice is an absolute golden nugget. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to pick her brain regarding the upcoming season of The White Lotus — especially with the rumours of behind-the-scenes drama — but I am so thankful to have heard all of these stories from the comfort of her makeup chair.
Jennifer Coolidge, you will always BE A STAR.
The post Jennifer Coolidge Spills On Biggest Fears & Why White Lotus Was Her ‘Least Humiliating Job’ appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
