Jennifer Coolidge played Stifler’s Mom in the hit film, which launched a whole franchise.
The teen classic was released before she went on to have success in the likes of Best In Show, Legally Blonde and A Cinderella Story, and speaking on ITV’s This Morning today, she reflected on that special time in her life.
In the film, her character famously slept with one of her son’s friends – and it seems she and the actor who played her conquest Finchy, Eddie Kaye Thomas, had a real-life bond off-screen too.
“After the movie he lived in my house and I would like to say that we were together many years romantically, but… No,” she told the show.
“He rented a room and I loved it when I had friends come and visit and I wouldn’t tell them that Eddie was living in the house, and I would just sort of let him pass them in the hallway.
“He lived across the hall from me actually in my house. He definitely had girlfriends and things, not me!”
Reflecting on the film’s success, she said: “The only thing I had really done before that was Seinfeld, I played Jerry’s girlfriend.
“So I have to say that American Pie sort of opened the doors for many other jobs.
“Thank God for that movie, because I don’t know how it would’ve gone if that hadn’t happened. And it was such a fluke, it was a very small part.”
Asked if she knew it would be as big as it was, she recalled: “None of us really knew.
“Seann William Scott who played Stifler, my son, I think he was living in his car.
“Everyone sort of came from very humble beginnings and it was the nicest group of people, but no one had any idea the movie was going to be what it was until the executives called us all up and said they wanted to take us to dinner.
“We went to this little Mexican restaurant, but I remember sitting there and going ‘I’ve never been invited to dinner before by any executive’, but maybe it was a sign it was testing well.”
Coolidge reprised her role in 2001’s American Pie 2, 2003’s American Weddign and in 2012’s American Reunion.
She has also been seen in Friends as Amanda Buffamonteezi, Glee as Whitney S. Pierce, 2 Broke Girls as Sophie and Nip/Tuck as Candy Richards.
While on This Morning today, she taught host Ruth Langsford how to do the Bend and Snap from Legally Blonde – watch that brilliant video above.