Jennifer Coolidge Made 'The White Lotus' Creator Mike White Cry at the Golden Globes

Perhaps one of the least surprising moments of the 2023 Golden Globes was Jennifer Coolidge being awarded for the best actress in a supporting role in a limited series for her performance as Tanya in HBO's satirical drama The White Lotus. Coolidge reprised the character from the anthology show's first season (for which she won an Emmy), and season two saw Tanya take a much more central role.

Prior to being cast in The White Lotus, Coolidge was best known for bit-parts in comedies like American Pie and Legally Blonde, but the critical acclaim she has garnered in The White Lotus means that the actress is more culturally relevant at 61 than ever before.

After being escorted to the stage by Colin Farrell at Tuesday night's ceremony, Coolidge delivered a funny, moving speech in which she spoke about what it meant to her to work with writer-director Mike White and get the opportunity to play a character like Tanya at this stage in her career, bringing The White Lotus creator to tears.

"Truly, I just want you all to know that I had such big dreams and expectations as a younger person, but what happened was they, you know, they get sort of fizzled by life or whatever," she said. "And you know, I thought I was going to be Queen of Monaco, even though someone else did it, but I had these giant ideas, you know, and then you get older... And I just want to say, Mike White, you have given me hope... you've given me a new beginning, even if this is the end because you did kill me off, but it doesn't matter because even if this is the end, you sort of changed my life in a million different ways. My neighbours are speaking to me, things like that. I mean it! None of those people, I was never invited to one party on my hill, and now everyone's inviting me."

"If you don't know Mike White, this is what you should know," she continued. "He's worried about the world. He's worried about people. He's worried about friends of his who aren't doing well... he's always worried about people. You're worried about animals, all that. And I just, he really is one of the greatest people I've ever met. And he gives me so much excitement, you make people want to live longer, and I didn't, so anyway, I just want to say... Mike, I love you to death."

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