How Carrie Coon Got ‘Porcelain Skin’ for The Gilded Age 48 Hours After Wrapping The White Lotus in Thailand

Carrie Coon is revealing her strict sun protection regimen while filming The White Lotus.

During a Today show interview published on Monday, March 31, the actress, 43, shared that she was back to work on the historical drama series The Gilded Age two days after wrapping season 3 of The White Lotus in Thailand.

“I was on The Gilded Age 48 hours later,” she said. “My skin was supposed to look like porcelain. I mean, they eat arsenic biscuits.”

Coon’s White Lotus costar Leslie Bibb then interjected, “They did not!”

“Yes they did,” Coon replied. “And it killed them. Their skin care killed them.”

Per the National Museum of American History, the use of cosmetics was looked down upon in the 19th century. Therefore, to achieve the sought-after white complexion in a “natural” way, women consumed wafers made of toxins such as arsenic, which would help lighten the skin.

In order to maintain a “porcelain” complexion in preparation for The Gilded Age, Coon had to take drastic measures to evade the Thai sun. She also noted that the cast had to avoid getting tan due to continuity purposes.

“We were not allowed to get tan because, remember, the vacation’s only a week, even though [filming] is actually six months of our lives,” the actress shared.

Coon then explained that she “hid in my room from 9 to 4” and then “would swim in long sleeves and long pants at 5 p.m. when the UV index dropped to 1.”

On the latest season of HBO’s The White Lotus, Coon plays Laurie, who is on a girls’ trip to Thailand with her two friends, Kate (Bibb) and Jaclyn (Michelle Monaghan). She’s portrayed new-money matriarch Bertha Russell

In November 2024, Coon responded to a commenter on X (formerly known as Twitter) who said she looks “simultaneously 35 and 55” and “old and young” (while also looking “fine as hell”).

“Thank you. I totally agree and I can answer this one: 43, generally healthy, two little kids and not enough rest, no Botox or filler. Have a marvelous day,” the Emmy-nominated actress replied.

She followed up with another post that read: “And I’m not trolling you! I really do agree! Feeling ‘fine as hell’ and loving my forties; some days I’m feeling 35 and some I lean 55, but they are all me.”