Episode 5: Tanya with Jennifer Coolidge
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How did Jennifer Coolidge become Tanya in The White Lotus?
Hello, I'm Evan Ross Katz, and welcome back to the White Lotus official podcast, specifically to the episode that we've all been waiting for. Okay, maybe not all of us, but definitely me. That's because today we're talking Jennifer Coolidge and Tanya. Oh my God. This is such a beautiful view. I wonder if anyone's ever jumped from here. As I mentioned in our first episode, Jennifer Coolidge and I initially met via Instagram. But we really became friends some months later after we hung out and hit it off. Or rather, that's how I would describe it. She might say, like, I just wouldn't leave her alone. People always ask me what Jen is like as a person. Is she similar to Tanya? Is she different from her?
And I often have a hard time explaining her je ne sais quoi. The best that I can do is that I'm never more alive than when I'm with her. Truly. A mutual friend of ours once said to me that getting to be around Jen is like when you randomly encounter a butterfly. It's special and magical, and then the butterfly has to fly away to do butterfly things. That's Jen. And it's not just me that thinks this. Those fortunate enough to occupy her circle can all see the special glow she emits. Everyone who meets Jen has an instantly iconic Coolidge story. Just take it from Lucas Gage. Has Coolidge ever told you about the wine story? I buy a bottle of wine. I'm sloppy. I'm an idiot. And I knock and crash the whole entire wine over. I break it. It explodes on the Four Seasons white couch and rug. Just shatters everywhere. I mean, it ruins all the furniture. I freak out. I feel horrible. They come out with like a bill, like an astronomical amount. I mean, maybe it was probably...
the right amount for the damage I had done. And I like turned away to clean myself up and I just see Coolidge in the corner of my eye taking care of it. And she just like put a hand in my back. She's like, I got it. I got it covered. So I don't know in my head if she, and I didn't, I feel like I've tried to press and ask her, I'm like, you can't pay. She's like, I'm not just, I don't know if she took it under her wing and like took care of the bill or took care of the mess or just got the staff to not want to kill me and kick me out right then and there. She's just, I'm obsessed with her. But listen, Jennifer Coolidge isn't just an incredible person to be around. She's also a wildly talented performer. On the screen, she's been a scene stealer since her breakout guest appearance on Seinfeld in 1993. After that came a string of unforgettable roles in films like American Pie, Best in Show, Legally Blonde, and A Cinderella Story.
What makes Jennifer Coolidge's performances unique?
And yet, for much of her career, Coolidge was often relegated to side characters. You know, the one who comes in, steals the show, and is gone by the time you can wipe the tears of laughter from your eyes. For gay men like myself, there's always been a certain Judy Garland-esque appeal to Coolidge, and a sixth sense that she was capable of far more than what she'd been given. I discussed that appeal with Dan Savage, the sex and relationships advice columnist you heard from last episode.
Jennifer Coolidge, it's interesting. Her... I don't want to call it schtick. She's really a star, and a star plays themselves in film after film after film. Bette Davis was always Bette Davis, right? There were just different personifications of Bette Davis, different people that that spirit of Bette Davis inhabited. And that's who Jennifer Coolidge is, right? She's a big star. There is something about her... her performance style, her appetites, that just comes across as kind of gay chaotic that we can identify with, right? She's a little... Not messy in a bad way, just hard to contain herself, right? And she spills out at the edges. And sometimes her characters are, you know, like Stifler's mom, we're self-medicating with alcohol a little bit.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
How did Jennifer Coolidge become Tanya in The White Lotus?
0:53–3:38
2
What makes Jennifer Coolidge's performances unique?
3:38–10:25
3
Who is Tanya McQuoid and how is she portrayed in The White Lotus?
10:25–20:27
4
What are some memorable moments of Tanya on The White Lotus?
20:27
5
How does Jennifer Coolidge's real-life personality compare to Tanya's?
13:41
6
Why is Jennifer Coolidge adored by her co-stars and crew?
9:15–22:45
7
What insight does Natasha Rothwell provide about her character's relationship with Tanya?
22:45–31:42
8
How does Jennifer Coolidge feel about the audience's reaction to Tanya?
31:42–39:25