The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge will be honored with the Comedic Genius award at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards, the network announced Thursday. Hosted by Drew Barrymore, the ceremony will air live on MTV, Sunday, May 7 at 8 PM ET/PT.
Coolidge is the sixth recipient of the award, which honors actors who have made significant contributions to the world of comedy. Last year’s honoree was Jack Black. Sacha Baron Cohen received the award in 2021, Melissa McCarthy in 2016, Kevin Hart in 2015 and Will Ferrell in 2013.
Best known for her portrayal of the wealthy, unstable, and oblivious fan-favorite character Tanya McQuoid in HBO’s The White Lotus, the Groundlings alumna’s breakout role came as Stifler’s mom in the American Pie comedy franchise. For The White Lotus, Coolidge earned a 2022 Emmy Award as well as a Golden Globe Award, two Critics Choice Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. She also recently starred in Ryan Murphy’s Netflix series The Watcher opposite Naomi Watts, in Amazon Prime Video’s romantic comedy Shotgun Wedding opposite Jennifer Lopez and Netflix’s family adventure We Have a Ghost opposite David Harbour. Beloved for her role as Paulette in the Legally Blonde franchise opposite Reese Witherspoon, and well-known for her frequent collaborations with director Christopher Guest in films such as Best In Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006), the actress and comedienne has also made scene-stealing appearances in A Cinderella Story opposite Hilary Duff, and Promising Young Woman opposite Carey Mulligan.
Executive producers of the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards include MTV’s Bruce Gillmer, Wendy Plaut and Vanessa Whitewolf along with Den of Thieves’ Jesse Ignjatovic and Barb Bialkowski. Jackie Barba and Alicia Portugal are executives in charge of production; Lisa Lauricella and Mike Ostolaza serve as the music talent executives.
