Jennifer Coolidge Thanks Ariana Grande For Being the “Instigator” of Her Newfound Career Success

Image Source: Getty / CBS Photo Archive / Kevin Mazur

Jennifer Coolidge has experienced a career renaissance over the past few years. Her star turn as the unforgettable Tanya McQuoid on “The White Lotus” has catapulted her to a new level of fame — and she says it all began with Ariana Grande‘s “Thank U, Next” video. In Entertainment Weekly‘s Entertainers of the Year cover story, published on Dec. 12, Coolidge told Grande that her appearance in the “Thank U, Next” visual helped launch her back into the spotlight.

“I mean, from there I got ‘Promising Young Woman,’ and this whole thing,” she told Grande. “You were sort of the instigator. I really believe that. I think if you hadn’t put me in [‘Thank U, Next,’] and done that imitation, I don’t think I would be here where I am.”

Grande refused to take credit for Coolidge’s newfound success, calling her statement “absolutely the most untrue thing I’ve ever heard in my life,” but the 61-year-old doubled down. “No, I really think that! And I think it’s pretty cool,” Coolidge said. “I was kind of flatlining, and you got things going for me. I just want to thank you. I know you’re a very humble person, you wouldn’t admit to it, but I’m just going to thank you.”

Coolidge reprised her “Legally Blonde” character, Paulette, in Grande’s “Thank U, Next” music video, which came out in 2018. The video references several iconic 2000s movies, including “Mean Girls” and — of course — “Legally Blonde,” which is where Coolidge comes in, complete with the classic “bend and snap.”

Watch the video below.