What episode of Seinfeld does Jennifer Coolidge guest star in?

In the past two years since appearing in HBO’s The White Lotus, Jennifer Coolidge has experienced a well deserved resurgence. The actress stars in the dark dramedy anthology series as Tanya, a character that quickly became a fan-favorite and earned Coolidge her first Emmy Award win.

Of course, prior to appearing in The White Lotus, Coolidge was famous and adored for iconic roles in movies like American Pie, Legally Blonde, and A Cinderella Story as well as the six-season CBS sitcom 2 Broke Girls. But the HBO series seemed to remind everyone of her comedic brilliance.

It’s fitting, then, that Coolidge got her start by appearing in one of the most beloved and championed American sitcoms of all time, one that’s going down in history as the best of the best. In 1993, Jennifer Coolidge had her first-ever on-screen role in none other than Seinfeld.

Jennifer Coolidge episode of Seinfeld

Coolidge appears in Seinfeld season 5 episode 9, which is titled “The Masseuse.” The episode aired on Nov. 18, 1993 and was watched by over 27 million people. What an amazing launching pad for new talent like Jennifer Coolidge! The actress was 32 years old in the episode, which as mentioned above was her very first role on television or in film.

In the episode, she plays the titular masseuse Jodi, who’s dating Jerry but refuses to give him a massage. The fact that she will not give him a massage drives him mad, especially considering Jodi had already massaged Kramer. His attempts to finally get her to massage him doesn’t end well, but it’s quite funny to watch. Speaking of, Jodi hates George, but he gets a kick out of it.

For her first role on television, Coolidge was already such a natural at her craft and helped to create one of the most memorable episodes of the series. Over the course of its nine-season run that spanned nearly a full decade, Seinfeld welcomed a number of incredible guest stars, and Coolidge’s legendary turn ranks among the very best. It’s a shame she never came back!

Following her role in the sitcom, Coolidge continue to appear in guest spots in television series and land small roles in movies until receiving her breakthrough role as Stifler’s mom in American Pie in 1999. She then received more recognition with movies like Best in Show, Legally Blonde, and A Cinderella Story and a series regular role in the Friends spin-off series Joey.

These days, Coolidge is super in demand and post-The White Lotus appeared in Netflix titles Single All the Way, The Watcher, and We Have a Ghost. We’ll have to wait and see what’s next for the talented star, but she’s sure to add her second consecutive Emmy Award win to her name at the upcoming Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony in January 2024.

All nine seasons of Seinfeld are available to stream on Netflix.