Raise a Glass to Jennifer Coolidge's Heartfelt 2023 SAG Awards Speech

White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge delivered a sentimental, yet hilarious speech at the 2023 SAG Awards. She won the trophy for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.

Jennifer Coolidge's 2023 Screen Actors Guild Awards speech deserves its own prize.

The White Lotus star sparked a whole lot of laughs during her heartfelt speech at the 29th annual ceremony Feb. 26 as she took home the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series. (See the complete winners list here.)

For the award, Jennifer was up against The Crown's Elizabeth Debicki, Ozark's Julia Garner and Laura Linney and Euphoria's Zendaya. The win marked Jennifer's first Actor trophy, and the achievement left her speechless.

"I want you all to know that I am just so grateful, so grateful," a tearful Jennifer told the crowd at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Century City, Calif., before dedicating a message to White Lotus creator Mike White. "You know, you can give money to friends and do nice things for them--and people love money--and I do whatever I can when your friends are broke. The best gift you can give someone is to change someone's perspective for the better and view life in a different way. And that's what Mike White did for me."

She also thanked her "amazing parents" and the "incredible gift" they had--their inability to lie. And as she explained, that trait ties into how she discovered her love of acting.

"One day, the school principal came to my first grade class and said that I needed to be called to the office, and I went to the office," the American Pie actress recalled. "She said 'you know, your father's here.' And my father was sitting there and he goes, 'Yeah, Jenny, we have to go.' And the principal said, 'Jennifer, get well.' And I didn't know what that meant."

After Jennifer and her dad got in the car, he told her, "I'm never going to tell a lie again. But we're going somewhere really cool." Their destination? A Charlie Chaplin film festival.

"He got me out of my first grade class to do it," she continued. "And I swear to god, that seeing Charlie Chaplin for the first time, and having that experience, it's my love of film. It's my love of actors. All that came from my first grade."

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And this isn't the first time Jennifer has stolen the show with her iconic speeches. At the 2023 Golden Globes, the American Pie actress accepted her trophy, but then quickly put it down, adding, "I don't work out! I can't hold it that long."

After going on to thank Ryan Murphy for supporting her career, she then turned to White Lotus boss.

"I just want you all to know that I had such big dreams and expectations as a younger person but what happened is they get sort of fizzled by life," she said, "and I thought I was going to be Queen of Monaco even though someone else did it."

While thanking Mike for giving her a "new beginning," Jennifer noted how he has impacted her life, even though her character Tanya McQuoid's fate has been sealed.

"Even if this is the end, because you did kill me off, you changed my life in a million different ways," she continued. "My neighbors are speaking to me--things like that!"

Keep scrolling to see every star take on the 2023 SAG Awards.

Zendaya

In Valentino with Bvlgari jewelry

Hannah Einbinder

In Staud with De Beers jewelry

Jennifer Coolidge

In Saint Laurent

Angela Bassett

In Giambattista Valli Couture with De Beers jewelry

Paul Mescal

Amy Poehler

In Roland Mouret

Sarah Burns

Taron Egerton

Cate Blanchett

In Armani Prive

Seth Rogen & Lauren Miller

Seth in Fendi; Lauren in Emilia Wickstead

Jeremy Allen White

In Louis Vuitton with Vacheron Constantin jewelry

Colin Farrell

Keeley Karsten

In Tarik Ediz

Kerry Condon

In Louis Vuitton

Michelle Yeoh

In Schiaparelli Couture with Moussaieff jewelry

Claire Foy

In Prada

Christina Applegate & Sadie Grace LeNoble

Christina in Christian Siriano

Eugene Levy

Aubrey Plaza

In Michael Kors

Jackie & Adam Sandler

Ana de Armas

In Louis Vuitton

Rooney Mara

In Alexander McQueen

Jason Bateman & Amanda Anka

Brendan Fraser

In ZEGNA

Jessie Buckley

In Christian Dior Couture with Fernando Jorge jewelry

Jeff Bridges & Susan Geston

Este Haim

In Louis Vuitton

Sarah Polley

Michelle Williams

In Christian Dior with Tiffany & Co. jewelry

Sheila Atim

In Christopher John Rogers