Jennifer Coolidge recently gained some long-overdue recognition for her performance as Tanya McQuoid on The White Lotus. But for a generation or two, she will always be Stifler’s mom from the American Pie franchise. The notorious MILF role didn’t just raise her Hollywood profile but improved her love life in tremendous ways. Fans already got a hint about her post-American Pie life, which went viral. Now the Legally Blonde alum finally addressed her viral sexual claims about how the teen comedy impacted her love life.
EW recently named the recent Emmy winner as one of its Entertainers of the Year. But rather than being interviewed by a staff writer, she fielded questions from celebrity superfan and multilalent Ariana Grande. Grande went viral earlier this year for her spot-on impression of Coolidge’s most iconic roles. After heaping nothing but praise on each other, the celeb superfan dived into the White Lotus breakout star’s decades-long career by asking about her favorite role. Coolidge enjoyed her recent roles but shouted out beloved comedies Best in Show and Legally Blonde in the process. Of course, the beloved character actress had to mention her role as Mrs. Stifler. Playing everyone’s favorite MILF helped more than her acting career as she explained how the film affected her personal life.
And American Pie was just — it helped my dating life in a way that I can't ever explain. If I hadn't had that movie, I don't think… Well, let's just say it would've been a very dull decade.
Coolidge seemed to enjoy her status as Stifler’s mom following the comedy classic, becoming a cultural phenomenon. The role opened her up to a young male demographic (legal age, of course). Oftentimes, a character’s reception can translate to real life for the actor. That was proven true for the character actress’ personal life. For millions of young men, they seemingly saw the Best in Show star as a desirable woman to connect with.
Of course, this wasn’t the first time Coolidge has opened up about the sex comedy’s impact on her sex life. She made a cheeky joke about the increased male attention she received post-American Pie in a viral Variety interview. After making headlines with her claims, Grande asked how much her sex life changed after the film. Coolidge started to go into detail about one escapade before the pop star cautioned her about giving out any details. The American Pie alum was relieved to finally clear up the air by saying:
I'm glad you asked this because you see, I did say that jokingly [in a previous interview] and, God, you really can't make jokes in our town, because I did make the terrible mistake of saying, ‘Thank God for that movie, I got to sleep with 200 men,’ or whatever. And look, I would love to say that was true, but I mean, that was sort of an exaggeration — so I'm glad you're asking me.
The A Mighty Wind star recalled the teen comedy opening her up to “a much broader group of handsome men” especially men in the 18 to 21 demographics. She talked about an incident where she got hair salon recommendations from the mother of a younger man she had slept with.
Jennifer Coolidge is in the middle of a career renaissance following her turns in The White Lotus and the Netflix miniseries The Watcher. Her American Pie cast members aren't doing too badly either. That doesn’t mean Coolidge has backed away from movies as she'll be packing heat in the Jennifer Lopez rom-com Shotgun Wedding as seen in the explosive trailer. The action comedy will be available with an Amazon Prime Video subscription on January 27. 2023. In the meantime, revisit the Emmy winner’s time as Mrs. Stifler by renting/buying the American Pie films on the streamer.
