Hasty Pudding celebrates Coolidge as its Woman of the Year

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.

Dressed up as a dolphin and forced to give someone a lightning-fast makeover, “The White Lotus” actress Jennifer Coolidge was roasted on Feb. 4 before being honored as the 2023 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

As the oldest theatrical organization in the nation and one of the oldest in the world, since 1951, Hasty Pudding Theatricals has bestowed this award annually on women “who have made lasting and impressive contributions to the world of entertainment.”

Coolidge, who saw a career resurgence following her Emmy-winning turn as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt in the acclaimed HBO series “The White Lotus,” headlined a parade through the streets of Cambridge Saturday afternoon. Dressed in a leopard print coat and donning a fluffy pink hat, she waved to the crowd that had come out despite unusually frigid temperatures.

“It’s been very fun. I’m really having a blast,” said Coolidge before she was presented with her Pudding Pot award. ”I got to meet all these young students who are so much smarter than me.”

Producers roasted Coolidge with several zingers about her career, including at one point suggesting they wondered whether she was chosen only after Reese Witherspoon dropped out.

Previous winners of the Woman of the Year Award include Meryl Streep, Viola Davis and Debbie Reynolds.