Jennifer Coolidge parades through Harvard Square as Hasty Pudding 'Woman of the Year'
By Michael Casey, Associated Press
CAMBRIDGE - "The White Lotus" actress Jennifer Coolidge is being celebrated Saturday as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University's Hasty Pudding Theatricals.
As the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world, since 1951, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has bestowed this award annually on women "who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment."
Coolidge, who saw a career resurgence following her Emmy-winning turn as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the acclaimed HBO series "The White Lotus," headlined a parade through the streets of Cambridge 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 in the Boston area. Later in the evening, she will attend a roast where she will be presented with her Pudding Pot award.
"It is an absolute dream for us to honor Jennifer Coolidge as our Woman of the Year on the heels of her recent accolades for 'The White Lotus,'" Producer Sarah Mann said in a statement. "We know our Pudding Pot will look phenomenal alongside her new Golden Globe, and we swear we won't whisk her away to a palazzo in Palermo!"
Her other film credits include roles in "Best In Show," "A Mighty Wind" and "Shotgun Wedding," and she has appeared in multiple television shows, including "Seinfeld," "2 Broke Girls" and "Nip/Tuck."
Previous winners of the Woman of the Year Award include Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Debbie Reynolds.
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!"