Jennifer Coolidge recalls awkward sexual encounter after ‘American Pie’
The entertainment world loves a comeback. Just look how loudly social media whooped when Matthew McConaughey clutched success from the jaws of mediocrity back in the early 2010s or, more recently, when Brendan Fraser stole hearts and minds with his performance in Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. Though whilst these success stories are common knowledge, the meteoric rise of Jennifer Coolidge shouldn’t be ignored.
Enjoying a thriving career in modern TV and cinema, thrilling audiences in Netflix’s The Watcher and HBO’s White Lotus; though it may seem like Coolidge came out of nowhere, she’s actually been fighting her way to the top for some time now. The problem is, in many of her finest modern roles, Coolidge’s face cannot be seen, lending her distinctive voice to characters in 2017s Emoji Movie and Rick and Morty, among other projects.
However, her success can be traced way back to her appearance as Stifler’s mother in the 1999 comedy American Pie, appearing alongside the likes of Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott and Alyson Hannigan in a film that seized the attention of western teenage audiences.
In the iconic 1999 teenage comedy, Coolidge plays Stifler’s eccentric mom, whom many of the young male characters see as a figure of desire. Changing the fortunes of her career, the well-known role opened several new doors for Coolidge’s future, but it also led to a number of awkward situations, with the actor revealing one “awkward” sexual encounter with a young man during an interview for Entertainment Weekly.
Speaking to the pop star Ariana Grande, Coolidge stated that her appearance in American Pie “opened the world up to a much wider group of handsome men – and younger men”. Continuing, she explains: “This one guy was particularly young – legal, of course, it was all very legal – but it was funny because we had to… The one moment was a little bit awkward because he…No, I won’t get into the details”.
Hesitating several times, the actor further clarified: “Afterwards, the next morning, I told him I needed to get a blow dry. So he was so young, we called his mother to see where I could get a blow dry. It was so weird that happened on the phone, it was very clear that we were in the bed together”.
Appearing in four American Pie movies throughout her career, including the most recent instalment, American Reunion, Coolidge became an icon of the frat-boy comedy films. Indeed, it was her appearance in the popular series that helped to significantly boost her career fortunes, with the original 1999 movie helping her to secure a role in the 2001 favourite Legally Blonde with Reese Witherspoon.
“American Pie was just — it helped my dating life in a way that I can’t ever explain,” Coolidge admitted, “If I hadn’t had that movie, I don’t think… Well, let’s just say it would’ve been a very dull decade”.
Take a look at the trailer for the original 1999 frat-boy comedy below.
