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Julia Louis-Dreyfus

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This article is about the American actress. For the French actress, see Julie Dreyfus.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, 2007
Born
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus
Years active1982 - present
SpouseBrad Hall (1987–present)

Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus[1] (born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedienne best known for her roles as Elaine Benes on the NBC sitcom Seinfeld in the 1990s, and as Christine Campbell on the current CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine.

Personal life

Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City to a wealthy French-Jewish family known for owning the French Louis Dreyfus Group, one of the world's largest commodities trading and merchandising firms (with interests in shipping, real estate and sports management, in addition to agribusiness). Her mother, Judith, is a writer, and her French father, Gérard Louis-Dreyfus (who changed his name to William in the 1940s), is an attorney and business executive.[1][2] She also has a sister, Phoebe, who is a social worker.[3] Her parents divorced during her childhood and her mother was remarried to L. Thompson Bowles.[1] Louis-Dreyfus' paternal grandfather, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, was a French Jew who was a member of the French Resistance during World War II; he was the grandson of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, who founded the Louis-Dreyfus Group.[1][4] Her cousin, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, is the former CEO of Adidas (1993–2001) and the former owner of the Olympique de Marseille soccer team (1996-2002); another cousin, Kaitlin Coble, is Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2007.[5] She is also 'very, very distantly' related to Richard Dreyfuss and Alfred Dreyfus. Julia's maternal half-sister Lauren Bowles is an actress who appeared with her on The New Adventures of Old Christine and Seinfeld, as well as acting on Veronica Mars and the film Ghost World.

Louis-Dreyfus spent her childhood in several states, living with her mother and stepfather.[1] They lived in Sri Lanka, Colombia and Tunisia in connection with her stepfather's work with Project Hope.[6] She was later raised in Bethesda, Maryland, and graduated from the Holton-Arms School. She attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied theater and was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority (she left the sorority after a semester of membership). She left Northwestern after 3 years to begin working on Saturday Night Live.[1] She was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 2007. While living in Evanston, she was a member of the Practical Theatre Company, an Evanston storefront theatre. She, now-husband Brad Hall, and Paul Barosse were all members of the Practical Theatre who made the transition to Saturday Night Live. Since 1987, she has been married to actor/writer Brad Hall, whom she met while they were students at Northwestern. Hall also worked on SNL. They have two sons, Henry (born June 1992) and Charles (born May 1997).

Career

Louis-Dreyfus at the 1994 Academy Awards

Louis-Dreyfus was a cast member on NBC's Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985.[1] While on SNL, she met writer Larry David, who would later co-create Seinfeld.[1] Louis-Dreyfus also appeared in a few sitcoms and films over the years, but is best known for her nine-season role as "Elaine Benes" on NBC's Seinfeld from 1990 to 1998, appearing in all but three episodes.[1] On the "Notes About Nothing," on the Season 1-2 DVD, Jerry Seinfeld notes that Louis-Dreyfus' ability to eat a peanut M&M without cracking the peanut aptly describes the actress: "She cracks you up without breaking your nuts".

After Seinfeld, Louis-Dreyfus began a new NBC sitcom, Watching Ellie, which was canceled after two abbreviated seasons. Louis-Dreyfus came to be seen as a victim of "the Seinfeld Curse", a term applied to typecast actors who, after appearing in an enormously popular television series or movie, have trouble finding popularity in other roles.

Her current series, The New Adventures of Old Christine, receives high ratings. Louis-Dreyfus won the Lead Actress Emmy Award for her work on the show's first season , exactly 10 years after her Seinfeld win. Referring to the curse, she stated in her acceptance speech, "I'm not somebody who really believes in curses, but curse this, baby!"[1]

She had a notable recurring guest role as the deceitful prosecutor Maggie Lizer on Arrested Development. She has also appeared on The Simpsons, providing the voice for Snake's girlfriend Gloria on three episodes.

She returned to host Saturday Night Live on May 13, 2006, becoming the first former female cast member to return as host. (Gilda Radner was supposed to host in the 1987-88 season, season 13, but a writers' strike cut the season short, and Radner died of ovarian cancer a year later.) Louis-Dreyfus appeared with former Seinfeld mates Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld in the opening monologue, parodying the so-called "Seinfeld Curse". She mocked the curse once again while accepting her Emmy award in 2006. She has also appeared on Seinfeld co-creator Larry David's show Curb Your Enthusiasm, playing herself fictionally trying to break the "curse" by planning to star in a show in which she would play an actress affected by a Seinfeld-like curse.

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

  • April May June, a female televangelist
  • Becky, El Dorko's (Gary Kroeger) date
  • Consuela, Chi Chi's friend and co-host of Let's Watch TV
  • Darla in SNL's parody of The Little Rascals
  • Weather Woman, a female superhero who controls the weather
  • Patti Lynn Hunnsucker, a teenage correspondent on Saturday Night News (Weekend Update)

Filmography

Louis-Dreyfus with Jerry Seinfeld at the 1997 Emmy Awards

Awards and nominations

Emmy Awards
  • 1996: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 2006: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series -- The New Adventures of Old Christine
Nominations
  • 1992: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1993: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1994: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1995: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1997: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1998: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 2007: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series -- The New Adventures of Old Christine
  • 2008: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series -- The New Adventures of Old Christine
Golden Globe Awards
  • 1994: Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series -- Seinfeld
Nominations
  • 1995: Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series -- Seinfeld
  • 2007: Best Leading Actress in a Comedy Series -- The New Adventures of Old Christine
Screen Actors Guild Awards
  • 1997: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1998: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
Nominations
  • 1995: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1996: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 1999: Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- Seinfeld
  • 2006: Outstanding Performance By an Actress in a Comedy Series -- The New Adventures of Old Christine

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julia Louis-Dreyfus.
  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Stated in interview at Inside the Actors Studio
  2. ^ Forbes World's Richest People. Gérard Louis-Dreyfus & family
  3. ^ Julia Louis-Dreyfus bio
  4. ^ Louis Dreyfus Global
  5. ^ "Can tarnished crown be polished? After controversy over last year's Miss Teen USA, Charlotte's Coble, other hopefuls scrutinized". Charlotte Observer. 2007-08-23. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  6. ^ Rochlin, Margy[1] New York Times, March 9, 2006
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
1994
for Seinfeld 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
1996
for Seinfeld 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
1997
for Seinfeld 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
No Award Ceremony
 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1994
for Seinfeld 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1996
for Seinfeld 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
1997
for Seinfeld 		Succeeded by

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