Jennifer Coolidge at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Jan. 15, 2024.Photo:FOX
FOX
There’s a new Emmy recipient for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series:Jennifer Coolidge!
The White Lotusstar was nominated alongside her costarsAubrey Plaza,Meghann Fahy,Sabrina ImpacciatoreandSimona Tabasco, all vying for the prize againstElizabeth DebickifromThe Crown,Succession’sJ. Smith-CameronandBetter Call Saul’sRhea Seehornat Monday’s 75th annualPrimetime Emmy Awards.
“I wanna thank all the evil gays,” Coolidge, 62, joked in her acceptance speech — a shoutout to a viral moment from her character Tanya McQuoid — before being verbally nudged offstage.
Mike White’sThe White Lotushas quickly become a fan-favorite show since its HBO debut in 2021. Both the season 1 and 2 casts have garnered praise for their performances, netting major award nominations includingGolden GlobesandScreen Actors Guildnods.
Coolidge’s character, however, was killed off suddenly in the season 2 finale. But the actress believes her on-screen death needed to happen.
“Mike was looking for a big Italian opera ending, and it was big and dramatic,” she previously said in a discussion withJeremy Allen WhiteforVariety. “So he wanted me to die for many reasons.”
Jennifer Coolidge onThe White Lotus.Fabio Lovino/HBO
Coolidge added, “But I also think Tanya’s a lot. Maybe people would get sick of her on another season. Maybe people would be like, ‘Oh my God, get rid of Tanya!'”
The White Lotuswasrenewed for a third seasonin November 2022.
Aside from Coolidge, many of her fellow contenders put up noteworthy performances in 2023, includingThe Crown’s Debicki.
Elizabeth Debicki onThe Crown.Netflix / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Netflix / Courtesy: Everett Collection
The Crownhas garnered plenty of praise over the years, including69 Emmy nominationsand more than 20 wins.
OfThe Crown’s resonance, 33-year-old Debicki — who played the latePrincess Diana— told PEOPLE in November 2023 that it provided a new layer of “empathy” for the real-life figures.
“It’s been a long journey people have had with the show,” she explained, “and I think it’sone of the beautiful thingsThe Crownhas been able to do, is open up in this imaginary way, the very private lives of these public figures and create this huge empathy, I think, for the audience to experience in regards to characters that you may not have known so much about before.”
Aubrey Plaza onThe White Lotus.Fabio Lovino/HBO
Before joining the drama in its sophomore run, Plaza, 39, became a household name playing April Ludgate on the NBC sitcomParks and Recreation. Post-Parks, she’s continued to be celebrated for her diverse array of roles, including inIngrid Goes West,Black BearandEmily the Criminal.
Plaza said herWhite Lotusrole “felt very personal to me” due to her upbringing, where her mother is an attorney like her character and her father works in wealth management.
“They’re not in that billionaire world at all, but the idea of coming from nothing and working your way up — I think that’s why the character felt very personal to me,” she toldVanity Fair. “I grew up navigating different worlds and different communities where I was like, ‘Oh, now all of a sudden we’re living in a bigger house and a more fancy neighborhood.’ But I always felt like an outsider.”
J. Smith-Cameron as Gerri Kellman onSuccession.Macall B. Polay / HBO / courtesy Everett Collection
Macall B. Polay / HBO / courtesy Everett Collection
Successionconcluded itsfourth and final seasoninMay 2023. The series centered around the Roy family, with patriarch Logan Roy (Brian Cox) serving as the head of the global media and entertainment conglomerate Waystar Royco. Amid uncertainty surrounding his health, Logan’s children — as well as other relatives — fought for control of the company throughout the show’s run.
The HBO drama has received several awards and nominations over the years. Heading into Monday’s ceremony,Successiondominated with an impressive 27 nominations.
Smith-Cameron, 66, has also been celebrated for her performance as Gerri Kellman over the years, earning a2022 Emmy nominationas well.
“I will really miss that it’s such a specific character, and I also feel like I have some ownership in creating her right from the start,” she toldForbesof playing Gerri. “We’ve all kind of put our own stamp on our characters and that’s been such a vibrant, wonderful, positive experience.”
“I often feel like when they try to show middle-aged or older lady bosses, they’re just these impenetrable, barracuda-type dragon ladies,” Smith-Cameron added. “There’s a vulnerability about her but she can be mean as a snake, so I will miss that kind of power she has, but also the reality of her being a flesh and blood person.”
Meghann Fahy onThe White Lotus.Fabio Lovino/HBO
Fabio Lovino/HBO
Before joiningThe White Lotusin its sophomore run, Fahy, 33, was best known for playing Sutton Brady on Freeform’sThe Bold Type. She also starred as Hannah O’Connor on the ABC soapOne Life to Liveand appeared in theBroadwaymusicalNext to Normal.
But Fahy never anticipated getting to be on the HBO drama.
“I actually auditioned for the first season,” she previously toldW. “The second season came as a huge surprise for me, but the best surprise ever.”
Rhea Seehorn onBetter Call Saul.Greg Lewis / AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection
Greg Lewis / AMC / Courtesy Everett Collection
Better Call Saulconcluded in August 2022 after six seasons on AMC. TheBreaking Badspinoff followedBob Odenkirk’s character Jimmy McGill — an attorney and former con artist who becomes the show’s titular criminal defense attorney Saul Goodman.
Accolades have poured in for the series over the years. It has garnered twoPeabody Awards, multiple Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards, severalWriters Guild of America Awards, dozens ofCritics’ Choice Television Awardsand nineScreen Actors Guild Awards.
Ahead of Monday’s ceremony, the role of lawyer Kim Wexler earned Seehorn, 51, two Satellite Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. She had also earned two other Emmy nominations, one of which was forCooper’s Bar, before Monday’s ceremony.
“I hope one day there’s an occasion to revisit these characters. Getting to play one character over the course of seven years, and the massive allowance of evolving and subtext and growth that they allowed us to play — she feels very three-dimensional as a human to me,” she added. “There are parts of her that, as an actor and as a human, I am still trying to learn from.”
Sabrina Impacciatore onThe White Lotus.HBO
HBO
BeforeThe White Lotus,Impacciatore appeared inThe Passion of the Christ,Dog Yearsand7 Women and a Murder, as well as has also appeared in dozens of Italian-language films.
For Impacciatore, 55, the HBO drama was a dream come true. “Do you remember when Cinderella goes to the ball? That’s me now,” she toldWof herWhite Lotussuccess.
“I am dancing with my prince and my prince is America. I want to stay at this ball forever,” she added.
Simona Tabasco onThe White Lotus.HBO
Tabasco, 29, appeared in film and television projects includingLuna ParkandThe Ties, plusdozens of Italian-language films,before booking her U.S. breakout turn inThe White Lotus.
The actress toldThe Guardianthat she “wanted to make sure that Lucia was full of emotions, and someone who was very aware and projecting her humanity, because she is hungry for life — but she’s also a little confused.”
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“As we see in the end, she does get to her declared goal of what she wanted to do, but I think she also left behind a part of herself … The part that is to do with her most sincere and buried desires,” Tabasco continued. “She didn’t just want to earn money, she also wanted to earn love and warmth and closeness. In the end, she had to choose — and she chose the more harsh part of herself.”
SeePEOPLE’s full coverageof the 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they’re broadcasting live on Fox from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
source: people.com
