Jennifer Coolidge fueled by early career rejection

Jennifer Coolidge is a lot like Nevada. She had her drought years.

Her agent compiled all of the no’s: She wasn’t young enough, pretty enough or leading lady material.

This went on for 10 lean years. Some would have quit the business, but Coolidge held on. “A decade of auditioning for roles and no jobs,” the 61-year-old says. “But there is power in rejection. The fear ebbs away when you’re so used to losing. There’s a freedom that is so liberating that it can become life changing.

“You let go of the insecurities and just do you,” she adds.

Just doing Jennifer Coolidge is working out fine. Some say Hollywood is going through Coolidge mania.

“It feels the same,” the actress says. “I didn’t lose any weight or anything.

“I thought if I finally got popular, I would be skinny all of a sudden. But it’s still me. I wake up with the same problems every day even though it has been a lucky two years.”

She not only won an Emmy this year for her role in “The White Lotus” but stars in two of the hottest entities on television this season.

In Season 2 of “The White Lotus,” debuting Sunday on HBO, she appears opposite Aubrey Plaza, Michael Imperioli and F. Murray Abraham in a sequel to Mike White’s satirical dramedy. This one is set on the coast of Sicily, where Coolidge reprises the role of childlike heiress Tanya McQuoid, a woman who whiles away her time at the world’s top resorts.

In the Netflix hit “The Watcher,” Coolidge portrays Karen Calhoun, a pushy real estate artist with secrets in the series about a couple facing the neighbor from hell.

Add these roles to her long list of classics, including unforgettable turns in “American Pie” and “Legally Blonde.”

Coolidge’s long blond hair falls in loopy curls as she wears a blue silk dress for interviews from her L.A. home. Tell her that she looks beautiful and her pauses between sentences become longer.

“I had a bath last night,” she says in that deadpan voice.

That’s just one of her tips for a good life.

— Realize it’s your turn when it’s your turn: What was the best part of her Emmy win? “I had a few ex-boyfriends I would have never heard from call me,” she shares. “If I wasn’t nominated for an Emmy that would have never happened, so count your blessings. … Honestly, in a million years, I didn’t think it would get this good for me. You just have to hang on until you get to the good in life. The doors will open. The seas will part.”

— Learn to say no: “My friend Salma Hayek taught me that’s it’s OK to say no. A guy came up to me at a grocery store the other day and said, ‘My wife loves you from ‘American Pie.’ I was wondering if you could sign this?’ It was a box of Stayfree maxi pads,” Coolidge says. “I did sign because it didn’t occur to me that I could say, ‘Not that box. I’ll sign a Snickers bar.’ … It’s hard to say no. I needed Salma, who leads by example — she doesn’t do what she doesn’t want to do.”

— Embrace your inner sixth grader: Two years ago, at the Emmys, Coolidge took out her gum and it got all over her dress just seconds before she had to announce nominees. “I had melted gum all over me and walked onto the stage. I couldn’t tell if people were laughing at something I was saying or the fact that I was trying to hold my stomach in. I actually thought, ‘I wonder if they’re catching my neurosis, including how I’m trying to look cool with gum on me?’”

— Live with your unresolved feelings: “I could relate to so many things about Tanya,” she says of her “White Lotus” character. “She’s someone who hasn’t really resolved the death of her mother.” There was a personal element to the role that Coolidge rarely discusses. “I was 31 when my mother died. It was a devastating thing. I didn’t get to have my moments with her. It happened so fast and she only had a month to live because of a horrible cancer. So, I could relate to Tanya’s sadness. … I think if you haven’t resolved death in your life and still think about that person every day it’s pretty easy to access. I’m still grief stricken after all of these years, and that’s OK. We all process in our own way.”

— Think of life as one giant improv: Coolidge is known for her improv comedy work in movies like “Best in Show.” “Am I afraid sometimes? Yes. There are people who are afraid of the unknown, but I embrace it,” she says. “Somehow, you get in the groove and it always works out. Same thing with life.”

— Entertain your wildest fears: Coolidge said that starring in “The Watcher” made her think about what scared her in real life. “It’s not the monsters and creatures that are scary to me. I’m not afraid of things from outer space. What creeps me out is scary human beings,” she says. “I can’t handle a person who is unpredictable, creepy and too far into your life.”

— Admit your flaws: “For me, the ultimate challenge would be a role where someone talked really fast, was organized and absolutely had their act together. A real badass who had it all together,” she says. “I can’t do any of those things, plus I’m not those things. Everything about me is slow and methodical, which is a nice way of saying disorganized. I’m going to tell my whole family that I’ve been ‘methodical’ my whole life. New adjectives turn into affirmations and not into something negative.”

— Make sure to relax: “Getting in the bath for me at the end of the day is the thing that really gets rid of the stress. The bath and then my own bed. It’s the simple things that get you ready for tomorrow to have gum all over your dress.”