At 60, Jennifer Coolidge’s Career is Reaching New Heights. “I Might Only Have, Like, 20 Years Left On This Earth. So I’d Better Just Go For It.”

Looking for proof that it really is never too late to go after what you want? Just look at Jennifer Collidge, whose performance as the heiress Tanya McQuoid in HBO’s hit The White Lotus is garnering her a slew of accolades, including a Golden Globe nom for best supporting actress. After years of playing the kooky, horny blonde in films like American Pie, Legally Blonde, and Best in Show, Coolidge has come into her own—and we couldn’t be more thrilled to watch. 

Yet in addition to her acting prowess, we recently read an anecdote about Coolidge that wowed us. Apparently, a 22-year-old friend Coolidge describes as particularly fearless urged her to reach out to Ariana Grande in 2018, after Grande did an impression of Coolidge on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. “I was saying that it was really freaking accurate, and my friend said, ‘Well, you should tell Ariana,’” InStyle magazine reported. Coolidge hesitated. She’d never met Grande, and “didn’t have the gonads.” Then, she sent Grande a DM on Instagram. “And the next thing you know I was in her video,” Coolidge told InStyle. “You know, I might only have, like, 20 years left on this earth,” she added. “So I’d better just go for it.”