Hasty Pudding celebrates Norwell's Jennifer Coolidge as its Woman of the Year

CAMBRIDGE ‒ "The White Lotus" actress Jennifer Coolidge was celebrated Saturday as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

Coolidge, who saw a career resurgence following her Golden Globe and Emmy-winning turn as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the acclaimed HBO series, headlined a parade through the streets of Cambridge on Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a leopard print coat and donning a fluffy pink hat, she waved to the crowd that had come out despite unusually frigid temperatures.

Coolidge, who also played Stifler’s sultry mom in “American Pie” and sage manicurist Paulette in the “Legally Blonde” movies, grew up Norwell.

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On Saturday evening, Coolidge attended a celebratory roast where she had to complete a series of challenges to earn her Pudding Pot award. These tasks included serving as the judge in a Jennifer Coolidge impression competition, giving Producer Aidan Golub a makeover and teaching him to bend and snap, her character's signature move in "Legally Blonde." Coolidge was also required to sing "The White Lotus" theme song in the style of a dolphin, before being “attacked” by marauding sting rays. Reading off cue cards, Coolidge yelled: “These rays! They’re trying to murder me!”

After accepting her Pudding Pot, Coolidge removed the lid and said, jokingly, “You wouldn’t believe what’s in here," adding "I’ve been so blown away that this experience is happening. It’s a big deal − it really is. This is amazing.”

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Hasty Pudding Theatricals, which dates to 1844 and calls itself the third-oldest theater group in the world, has handed out a woman of the year award since 1951. Last year's recipient was Jennifer Garner, and previous honorees include Elizabeth Taylor, Meryl Streep, Halle Berry, Sandra Bullock and Anne Hathaway.

Coolidge, an Emerson College alum, has also appeared in the films “Best in Show,” “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day,” “Like a Boss," the Oscar-nominated "Promising Young Woman" and the TV sitcom “2 Broke Girls.”  She also provided the voice of Mary Meh in “The Emoji Movie.”

Coolidge plays mother-in-law-to-be to Jennifer Lopez in the romantic comedy “Shotgun Wedding,” which is available to stream on Prime Video. She can also be seen on Netflix in the Ryan Murphy series “The Watcher” and the horror-comedy “We Have a Ghost,” which is due out Feb. 24. She is also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild award for her work on "The White Lotus." The SAG awards ceremony will be held Feb. 26 and shown live on Netflix.

Coolidge attended Norwell High School and delivered the commencement address to the Class of 2002, telling graduates: "When something you want more than anything else in life doesn't happen, remember that something more amazing might be waiting."

On Thursday, award-winning actor and bestselling author Bob Odenkirk was honored as the 2023 Man of the Year. Odenkirk, best known as shady lawyer Saul Goodman on “Breaking Bad” and “Better Call Saul,” received his Pudding Pot award at the celebratory roast ahead of a preview of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 174th production, “COSMIC RELIEF!”

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Hasty Pudding honors Norwell's Jennifer Coolidge as Woman of the Year