JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS

'Julia Elizabeth Scarlett Louis-Dreyfus' (born January 13, 1961) is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award-winning American actress and comedian who gained popularity while playing the role of Elaine Benes on the NBC sitcom ''Seinfeld'' in the 1990s. She currently stars in the CBS sitcom ''The New Adventures of Old Christine''.

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

''Seinfeld'' and later

Recurring characters on ''Saturday Night Live''

Celebrity impersonations

Selected filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Biography

Early life and career

Julia Louis-Dreyfus was born in Boston to a wealthy French-American family best known for the Louis Dreyfus Group, an international commodities trading and merchandising firm. Her paternal grandparents were Dolores Neubauer and Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, a member of the French Resistance during World War II.
Julia was raised in Baltimore, Maryland, and graduated from the Holton-Arms School. Her mother is Judith Bowles, and her father is French billionaire Gérard Louis-Dreyfus (who changed his name to William in the 1940s).^[2] Her cousin Robert Louis-Dreyfus is the former CEO of Adidas (1993–2001) and another cousin Kaitlin Coble is Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2007.^[3]
She has claimed, unconfirmably, to be related to Alfred Dreyfus, the Jewish-French Army Captain famously known for being the central figure in the Dreyfus Affair.^[4]
Louis-Dreyfus attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied theater and was a member of the Delta Gamma sorority which she left after a semester of membership. She did not graduate from Northwestern and dropped out to pursue her career. She was, however, awarded a honorary Doctor of Arts degree from Northwestern University in 2007. 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''. The couple has two sons, Henry (born 1992) and Charles (born 1997).

''Seinfeld'' and later

Louis-Dreyfus was a cast member on NBC's ''Saturday Night Live'' from 1982 to 1985. While on SNL, she met writer Larry David, who would later co-create ''Seinfeld''. Louis-Dreyfus also appeared in quite 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, in which she appeared in all but three episodes.
After ''Seinfeld'', Louis-Dreyfus began a new NBC sitcom, ''Watching Ellie'', which was canceled after two abbreviated seasons. She had a notable recurring guest role as the deceitful prosecutor Maggie Lizer on ''Arrested Development''. 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. However, the impressive ratings for ''The New Adventures of Old Christine'' plus the series' renewal for a third season have shown that any "curse" is apparently broken in Louis-Dreyfus' case. She received a Lead Actress Emmy Award for her work on the first season of ''The New Adventures of Old Christine''.
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. Louis-Dreyfus made ''SNL'' history again when she became the first former female castmember to host ''SNL'' a second time, on March 17, 2007.
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. That storyline expanded on Seinfeld's "show about nothing" theme by twisting it into a "show about a show about a show about nothing."
She was the commencement speaker in June 2007 at Northwestern University. Her speech focused on three simple aspects of life: "Do good. Act (take action). Don't be an ass. Take time to read and re-evaluate yourself regularly." She also gave all graduating alumni light bulbs. Following her speech, she stayed on the North Side of Chicago to sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" at Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, on Saturday, June 16, 2007.

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)

Celebrity impersonations

★ Nina Blackwood

★ Joanna Carson

★ Diana Ross

★ Ali MacGraw

★ Christina Ferrare

★ Linda Ellerbee

★ Mary Travers

★ Nastassja Kinski

★ Jo Anne Worley

★ Jeane Kirkpatrick

★ Joan Mondale

★ Marie Osmond

★ Helen Caldicott

★ Hu Na

★ Robin Antin

★ Linda Ronstadt

★ JoBeth Williams

Selected filmography

★ ''Saturday Night Live'' (1982–1985)

★ ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' (1986)

★ ''Troll'' (1986)

★ ''Soul Man'' (1986)

★ ''Day by Day (television)'' (1988)

★ ''National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation'' (1989)


★ ''Seinfeld'' (1989–1998)

★ ''Jack the Bear'' (1993)

★ ''North'' (1994)

★ ''London Suite'' (1996)

★ ''Deconstructing Harry'' (1997)

★ ''Fathers' Day'' (1997)

★ ''A Bug's Life'' (1998)

★ ''Curb Your Enthusiasm'' (2000)

★ ''Watching Ellie'' (2002)

★ ''Arrested Development'' (2004)

★ ''The New Adventures of Old Christine'' (2006–present)

Awards and nominations

'Emmy Awards'

★ 1992: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1993: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1994: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1995: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1996: 'won' for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1997: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1998: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 2006: 'won' for Best Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''The New Adventures of Old Christine''

★ 2007: nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''The New Adventures of Old Christine''
'Golden Globe Awards'

★ 1994: 'won' for Best Supporting Actress in a TV production -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1995: nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a TV production -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 2007: nominated for Best Actress in a TV Series-Comedy -- ''The New Adventures of Old Christine''
'Screen Actors Guild Awards'

★ 1995: nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1996: nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1997: 'won' for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1998: 'won' for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 1999: nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''Seinfeld''

★ 2006: nominated for Outstanding Performance By an Actress in a Comedy Series -- ''The New Adventures of Old Christine''

References

1. http://www.celebheights.com/s/Julia-Louis-Dreyfus-2018.html
2. Forbes World's Richest People. Gérard Louis-Dreyfus & family
3. Can tarnished crown be polished? After controversy over last year's Miss Teen USA, Charlotte's Coble, other hopefuls scrutinized.
4. Canada.com TVtropolis: "Julia Louis-Dreyfus - ''Seinfeld''"

External links

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