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While the Norwell, MA native has long been known for her roles in "American Pie," "A Mighty Wind" and the "Legally Blonde" series, her career recently had a resurgence — thanks to her role as Tanya McQuaid in White's wildly popular HBO show. On Jan. 10, she won best actress in a limited series at the 80th Golden Globes.
Here are six things you probably didn't know about 61-year-old Coolidge:
1. She pretended to be Ernest Hemingway's daughter to get into New York City Clubs: In an interview with The Guardian, Coolidge called herself the writer's lesser-known daughter "Muffin," while donning a mini dress and high heels. It worked, she said, but may have reflected poorly on the family when she allegedly got kicked out, she said.
2. She once went on vacation and dated two guys who knew each other, but told them she had an identical twin, she told US Weekly.
3. "American Pie" helped Coolidge get laid: The actress in an interview with Variety said she "got a lot of sexual action," thanks to her role as Stifler's mom in the iconic 1999 movie. "There were so many benefits to doing that movie," she said. "There would've been like 200 people who I never would have slept with."
4. Coolidge — who attended Norwell High School, the Cambridge School of Weston, and Emerson College — suggested filming on a set instead of a boat for "White Lotus" to keep her from getting sea sick in the first season. What happened instead, she tells Variety, was a lot of vomiting. Coolidge went on to say she got sick enough that the cast stopped looking her in the eye.
5. The sunglasses scene in the first season of "White Lotus" was improvised, according to the LA Times. Coolidge realized she forgot her sunglasses on the counter after offering Belinda (Natasha Rockwell) cash instead of a business investment. She asked White if she could go back in and get them and he said, "I think you should."
Coolidge concluded her Golden Globes acceptance speech with the following message:
"I just want to say Mike White you've given me hope because 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 neighbors are speaking to me and things like that.
"It's to you, Mike White... he's one of the greatest people I've ever met. You make people want to live longer and I didn't... This is really a fun night."
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