‘White Lotus’ Star Parker Posey Was the ’90s “Queen of the Indies” — But What Has She Done Recently?
If you’re a fan of the HBO series The White Lotus (and who isn’t??), which just began its third season then you may have noticed some very familiar faces within the epic cast, including Walton Goggins, Leslie Bibb and the one and only Parker Posey.
Posey was labeled “Queen of the Indies” during the 1990s for starring in so many hit indie films, including Dazed and Confused, Suburbia, Party Girl, Waiting for Guffman and Kicking and Screaming. She also appeared in supporting roles in a few larger films, like You’ve Got Mail (1998). Her run of indie ubiquitousness continued into the early 2000s, when she continued her longtime collaboration with director Christopher Guest in Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003), and dipped into more blockbuster fare with roles in Scream 3 (2000), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), and Blade: Trinity (2004).
But you may not have seen Posey in much recently. However, she’s still been hard at work — here’s just a bit of what she’s been up to.
The Return of Jezebel James (2008)
Courtesy: Everett Collection
Following the success of Gilmore Girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino launched this short-lived follow-up about a successful children’s book editor (Posey) who asks her estranged younger sister (Lauren Ambrose, currently of Yellowjackets) to carry her baby, because she can’t do it on her own. The sitcom also costarred Scott Cohen, who played Max Medina on Gilmore Girls. Only three of the show’s seven episodes aired before Fox cancelled the show due to low ratings.
The Good Wife (2011-2012)
THE GOOD WIFE has a lot (and I mean A LOT) of guest stars, but holy moly the stunt casting of Parker Posey as Alan Cummings’ ex. 💀 pic.twitter.com/pqyQgi7y7y
— Trace Thurman (@TracedThurman) July 7, 2023
Posey had a three-episode arc on the hit legal series The Good Wife, playing political consultant and Eli Gold’s (Alan Cumming) ex-wife, Vanessa Gold. Cumming and Posey both played villains in 2001’s Josie and the Pussycats, and remained friends in the years that followed.
Cafe Society (2016)
Happy birthday Parker Posey, an indie-queen who has also a sort of classic Hollywood charm, as seen in Café Society. pic.twitter.com/IEdxB5b226
— jhpcine (@jhpcine) November 8, 2021
Posey actually shot two films with controversial auteur Allen — 2015’s Irrational Man and his 2016 follow-up, which also starred Jesse Eisenberg, Kristen Stewart, Blake Lively and Steve Carrell. Posey played Rad Taylor, the glamorous owner of a modeling agency in 1930s New York.
Mascots (2016)
Scott Garfield / Netflix / courtesy Everett Collection
Posey once again re-teamed with director Christopher Guest and frequent Guest actors Fred Willard, Jane Lynch and Jennifer Coolidge, for a mockumentary following the lives of a number of mascots as they ready for the World Mascot Association Championships. Posey played Cindi, a former modern dancer who now works as an armadillo mascot.
Lost in Space (2018-2021)
©Netflix / Courtesy: Everett Collection
Posey starred as the devious Dr. Smith in the reboot sci-fi series Lost in Space. On the show, she played criminal June Harris, who, through multiple acts of identity fraud, assumes the identity of Dr. Zoe Smith, a scientist who joins the Robinson family in evacuating a damaged spaceship and crash-landing on an unknown planet. On the show’s first two seasons, fellow ’90s icon Selma Blair played her sister, Jessica.
Beau is Afraid (2023)
Takashi Seida / © A24 / Courtesy Everett Collection
Posey appeared in director Ari Aster’s infamous three-hour surrealist comedy, which lost $35 million at the box office. In it, Posey plays Elaine, the childhood crush of tortured protagonist Beau (Joaquin Phoenix).
Remind
February 2021
1990s Rom-Coms
Pop some popcorn and cozy up to feel-good movies and TV shows from a generation ago.
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