Legally Blonde 3 has been in development for several years, and now Reese Witherspoon has confirmed that Jennifer Coolidge will be a part of the project whenever it releases.
“I’m beyond myself about Jennifer Coolidge,” Witherspoon told Entertainment Tonight. “She deserves every one of those flowers she is receiving right now. And she’s just one of those people who is so naturally gifted and funny and that you can just tell people love her, ’cause she gets up there and everybody’s like, ‘I love her,’ but she’s just done a lot of good work in our business for so long, that it’s really nice to see her getting this incredible moment.”
Witherspoon was then asked if fans would see the actress whenever Legally Blonde 3 does come out and was quick to answer.
“There is no Legally Blonde 3 without Jennifer Coolidge,” Witherspoon said.
Coolidge played the role of Paulette Bonafonté, the manicurist and confidante of Reese Witherspoon’s Elle Woods, in both Legally Blonde and its sequel. Following her appearance in the first film, she became a fan-favorite character and contributed to some of the most memorable moments in the franchise’s history, including the infamous “bend and snap” scene.
Since her appearances in the Legally Blonde films, Coolidge has gone through a renaissance in her career after starring in Netflix’s The Watcher series, as well as Tanya McQuoid in HBO’s The White Lotus, a role which earned her both Golden Globe and Emmy award wins.
Currently, not much is known about the status of Legally Blonde 3. In 2020, it was announced that Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor would write the script for the film, but there have been few updates on how the project is going as of now. The original film was released in 2001 and starred Witherspoon as Elle Woods, a sorority girl trying to earn a Juris Doctor degree at Harvard Law School in order to win back her ex-boyfriend.