Jennifer Coolidge’s near-death accident when she got locked out of her own home

Jennifer Coolidge’s on-screen counterpart may have met a grisly end in the last season of The White Lotus, but it turns out she almost suffered a similar fate in real life.

Coolidge, 62, has been enjoying something of a career renaissance recently, thanks in no small part to her Emmy Award-winning turn as Tanya in the hit HBO series.

In the first two seasons, she starred as the rich, needy heiress grieving the death of her mother while also constantly looking for reassurance from others around her.

The season two finale came to a dramatic end as Tanya realised her new husband was actually trying to get her killed, eventually falling to a watery grave as she tried to escape.

Jennifer Coolidge stole the show as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus. (HBO)

Thankfully, Coolidge’s life sounds much less chaotic - although that’s not to say she’s been completely free of danger.

In an interview with US Weekly last year, the star said she was ‘lucky to be alive’ after a near-death incident at her home.

Coolidge was locked out and had to jump over her own fence, but hadn’t realised that her gardener had left a garden stake out in the back yard.

You can probably guess what happened next.

Yep, Coolidge accidentally ‘impaled’ herself as she jumped down, which went about as well as you’d imagine.

"It was a bloody mess. I’m lucky to be alive," she said.

Coolidge continued: "I was once locked out of the house and I jumped the fence but didn’t know the gardener had put a new stake in the yard."

Ouch.

Fortunately, bloody accidents aside, 2023 proved to be a successful year for the American Pie icon.

Coolidge won a number of awards for her turn as Tanya. (VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)

As she scooped her Emmy in February at the postponed awards show, Coolidge thanked the ‘evil gays’ who served as her co-stars in The White Lotus.

"Mike White, thank you for giving me this opportunity to play this incredible character," she said of the show’s creator.

"And he says I’m definitely dead, so I’m going along with it."

Coolidge added: "One more thing... I had a little dream in my little town, and everyone said it was impractical, but it happened. So, don't give up on your dream."

She also landed a Golden Globe for her role, saying the honour 'really meant a lot' as she thanked the Hollywood Foreign Press.

“I can put this down, right?" Coolidge joked, referring to the award itself.

"I don’t work out, you know? What I mean is I can’t hold it that long."