Jennifer Coolidge was born on August 28, 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA as Jennifer Lynn Coolidge. She is an actress, known for Legally Blonde (2001), American Pie (1999) and Balls of Fury (2007). She has been married to Bill Bailey since October 5, 2003. They have one child. Jennifer Coolidge was born on August 28, 1961 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA as Jennifer Lynn Coolidge. She is an actress, known for Legally Blonde (2001), American Pie (1999) and Balls of Fury (2007). She has been married to Bill Bailey since October 5, 2003. Why Jennifer Coolidge is the perfect Karen Calhoun in The Watcher
She’s an acting veteran
In nearly 30 years of acting, she’s carved a niche for herself playing offbeat, quirky characters. She’s also a comedian (funny enough to host Saturday Night Live’s Weekend Update during their 25th anniversary season), and she studied drama at Carnegie Mellon University. It was there that she met her future husband Paul Rudd, who was studying film. After graduating from college in 1983, Coolidge moved to New York City where she appeared in several Off-Broadway plays before landing her first major role as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1991 to 1995.
She can play dumb or smart
The part of Karen Calhoun, a blind and lonely woman who lives with her cat as she awaits her execution by electric chair, requires an actor/actress that can play a wide range of emotions. In American Pie (1999), Coolidge played Stifler’s mother and was able to act very ditsy and dumb, for example. And yet, she had no problem playing opposite Will Ferrell (in Old School (2003)) as a genius.
She has natural comedic timing
Of course, playing a security guard from Alabama isn’t exactly a stretch for a comedic actress like Coolidge, who first got her start as a member of improv comedy troupes The Groundlings and L.A. Connection. She has countless movie roles to her credit including American Pie 2, Legally Blonde 2: Red White & Blonde, Two Weeks Notice and Zoolander.
She’s great at different accents
Actress Jennifer Coolidge’s performance as Kathy, one of Kristen Wiig’s bridesmaids in Bridesmaids (2011), has been hailed by many as one of that comedy’s best moments. She won a Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance and she was also nominated for an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain. But it was her portrayal of Stifler’s mom, Karen Calhoun, in American Pie (1999) that first put Ms. Coolidge on Hollywood’s radar. Her talent and comedic timing were showcased well in that film, which made her stand out among other actors who auditioned for roles as members of Jim’s high school graduating class. And while she may not be a household name just yet, there are plenty of people who know exactly who Jennifer Coolidge is—and they love what they see! That’s why I think she should play Karen Calhoun again—this time on TV!
Her voice is pure gold
There’s a reason you recognize Jennifer Coolidge. Her voice has appeared in over 100 movies, including Best In Show, Legally Blonde, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Elf. With such an extensive resume, she is surely worth casting for your movie’s main character! But her talents don’t end there. She can also sing, dance and act! What more could you ask for? If you cast her as Karen Calhoun in The Watcher, audiences will be talking about it for years to come!
She looks older than she actually is
Jennifer Coolidge looks like she could be an official mom. She has an older look to her that makes it believable that she could be a mother. If you looked at her and saw how she acts, you would assume that she has children and just lets them run wild because of how much of a free spirit she seems to be. She’s funny but not over-the-top: Karen Calhoun likes to joke around. She’s not serious, but doesn’t like to take herself too seriously either.
Did we mention her voice?
In her own words, I started doing voices because I couldn’t sing. If you can’t carry a tune, you do voices. And it was just something that became kind of fun and funny and interesting to me. When I did Legally Blonde 2, my character was supposed to be British, so they brought in an accent coach to help me out with that. She said something like Now when you say blah-blah-blah, it should sound like blah-blah-blah. And we worked on it for about an hour or so and she said Okay now say blah-blah-blah again. And I said Blah-blah and she goes No no no! You have to make your mouth really small! And I thought Oh…I don’t have to change anything else but my mouth?
