Jennifer Coolidge inspires graduates with commencement speech

Jennifer Coolidge made a commencement speech at this year's Emerson College graduation.

The 63-year-old actress and comedian, who studied performing arts at Emerson before reportedly dropping out to pursue a career in Hollywood, attended the Sunday ceremony to deliver a speech to roughly 1,000 graduates there.

Coolidge began her speech by reflecting on her childhood, calling herself a "very, very strange kid" who grew up a few miles away from the college.

The White Lotus actress then acknowledged her homosexual fanbase by joking she was "excited" to be "speaking with some very excited gay students."

Coolidge again took a trip down memory lane, recalling her last day of first grade during which her school had a field day with an obstacle course. Once she was told how to complete the event, Coolidge said she "ran like hell" and beat the fastest girl in school.

"I was so elated that I had won, and to me, it just meant that I was going to get the blue ribbon. And then the teacher came up to me and told me that I didn't win the blue ribbon because I was disqualified. And it turns out, I had skipped all the obstacles. I just ran along the outside," said Coolidge.

"I realised I was going to go the rest of my life as a joke. I was so uncomfortable with myself, I began to completely live in my head from that moment on," she explained.

She added that the experience caused her to have "insane expectations [for herself] and believe they’re going to come true.”

Her change in mindset grew even stronger after she saw a magazine that belonged to her mother featuring Grace Kelly and her royal wedding, which led Coolidge to dream of becoming the queen of Monaco.

"In retrospect, it was the one and only thing I really had going for me. I had this thing inside of me telling me that I could achieve anything, anything, in this world, and there was just nothing to back it up," she said, causing laughter from the crowd.

"When you find the thing that you want to do, I really want to highly recommend, just friggin' go for it," she advised. "You really have to psych yourself up into believing absurd possibilities, and you have to believe that they are not absurd."

Coolidge noted that being "overly sensitive" made her constantly feel like she was in a "state of just recovering" from negative feedback — whether it was being rejected for a role or hearing a hurtful comment.

Eventually, Coolidge was able to become her "own champion" and find the strength to move forward. "Don't listen to the people who mess up the real story that you've got going," she urged the graduates. 

"It is your ability to convince yourself you really can make it, because you really have to be your own champion."

On a concluding note, the American Pie actress shared that the point of her obstacle course story was to remind the graduates that "it really doesn't matter what anyone thinks or says."

"When it comes to the obstacle course of your life, you have to find your own path," she said. "And you can't perfectly plan it out from the beginning. Part of directing your life is just letting it unfold. So let it."

Before Coolidge's career took off, she was waiting tables and performing with the Groundlings improv troupe.