Jennifer Coolidge Continues Her It Girl Era with New e.l.f. Cosmetics Super Bowl Commercial 

Just when you thought Jennifer Coolidge's year couldn't get any better, she's living out her dream of playing a dolphin.

This comes after a streak of wins for The White Lotus star that include her first Golden Globe, a Harvard Woman of the Year induction and launching her TikTok channel (with the help of JLo!). And now the actress can add Super Bowl commercial star to the pantheon of projects she's tackled.

Coolidge teamed up with e.l.f. Cosmetics on the brand's first-ever Super Bowl spot highlighting its viral Power Grip Primer — fitting for the 61-year-old actress who is very much in her prime.

True to form, she brought her signature sense of humor and quirkiness to the spot — watch PEOPLE's exclusive sneak peek above — which actually takes some inspiration from her own getting ready routine and sees her impersonating, yes, a dolphin!

"I put products on out of order," Coolidge tells PEOPLE. "I put the primer on after my makeup, because I feel like it makes me look extra dewy. I was putting it on in front of my friend, and we were joking around and I said, 'Oh my god — It does look like I'm coming out of the sea. I look like I'm wet.' And then I said, 'Like a dolphin.'"

Of course, Coolidge is riffing off her much-memed-about Golden Globes moment when she told Access Hollywood that she'd love to take on the role of a dolphin in her next film.

Looking back, she's surprised her response went viral, saying, "I just wanted to say something broad. And just dolphin, dolphin fits everything."

Coolidge's full commercial with e.l.f. Cosmetics — the script was co-written by The White Lotus creator Mike White! — will air on Feb. 12 during Super Bowl LVII.

"To be one of the small moments in between the big game that's going on is just so flattering," she tells PEOPLE. "And I'm in such good company. There are so many high quality commercials being made in this very limited time."

Teaming with e.l.f. on its first Super Bowl commercial was an organic fit for the star who cites the brand's animal activism and accessibility as paramount to her involvement.

"It's the perfect fit because I don't think makeup and skincare should be so incredibly expensive that girls are having to skip meals so they can buy this stuff," she says. "The greatest gift about e.l.f. beyond that it's cruelty-free is that it's more affordable than other lines. I've had my e.l.f. makeup brushes forever. They're well made, the right price point and the longevity e.l.f. products have is unbelievable."

Coolidge says she's been into makeup "forever" and always finds herself keeping up with the latest beauty trends. In the early '80s, before pursuing acting full time, she took a cosmetology course that covered everything from basic glam skills, to special effects makeup to mortuary cosmetology.

"I was very nervous about the mortuary makeup part, but it turned out we didn't work on any bodies or anything — it was all sort of virtual," she shares. "We never had to actually do it on a corpse. It wouldn't be my first choice."

While she remembers the experience fondly — and has the certificate to prove it — Coolidge maintains she never got to a pro level.

"I had to become an actress because I really was a two on the makeup artist scale," she says. "I wasn't great. But it doesn't matter, when you really like makeup and products you become addicted. I still like it all, even though I do better when I pay someone to make up my face."

But when she has time to play with makeup for fun, the actress fancies herself a "chemist."

"I like to mix a lot of things together. Sometimes I take a couple drops of face oil mixed in with a foundation. I've never been nuts about the matte face. It's just not my thing," she says. "I always want to look like there's moisture on my face. I never want to look powdered — ever. I don't think that looks good on me. I want to look like I just walked up a flight of stairs."