JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS
Name: Julia Elizabeth Scarlett Louis-Dreyfus
Born: 13 January 1961 New York City, New York, United States
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus (born January 13, 1961) is an Emmy-,
Golden Globe-, and SAG Award-winning American actress and comedian who gained
popularity 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.
Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City to a wealthy family known for owning the
Louis Dreyfus Group, a French commodities trading and merchandising firm. 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.
Her parents divorced during her childhood and her mother was remarried to L.
Thompson Bowles. Louis-Dreyfus's 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. Her cousin, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, is the former CEO of Adidas (1993–2001)
and the current owner of the Olympique de Marseille football team; another
cousin, Kaitlin Coble, is Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2007. Julia's half-sister
Lauren Bowles--the daughter of Judith and Thompson Bowles--is an actress who
appeared with her on The New Adventures of Old Christine, as well as acting on
Veronica Mars and the film Ghost World.
Louis-Dreyfus spent her childhood in several countries, living with her mother
and stepfather. 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
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
an 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. They have two sons,
Henry (born 1992) and Charles (born 1997).
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 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. 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. 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, her newer series, The
New Adventures of Old Christine, received high ratings and Louis-Dreyfus won the
Lead Actress Emmy Award for her work on the show's first season.
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".
Name: Julia Elizabeth Scarlett Louis-Dreyfus
Born: 13 January 1961 New York City, New York, United States
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus (born January 13, 1961) is an Emmy-,
Golden Globe-, and SAG Award-winning American actress and comedian who gained
popularity 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.
Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City to a wealthy family known for owning the
Louis Dreyfus Group, a French commodities trading and merchandising firm. 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.
Her parents divorced during her childhood and her mother was remarried to L.
Thompson Bowles. Louis-Dreyfus's 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. Her cousin, Robert Louis-Dreyfus, is the former CEO of Adidas (1993–2001)
and the current owner of the Olympique de Marseille football team; another
cousin, Kaitlin Coble, is Miss North Carolina Teen USA 2007. Julia's half-sister
Lauren Bowles--the daughter of Judith and Thompson Bowles--is an actress who
appeared with her on The New Adventures of Old Christine, as well as acting on
Veronica Mars and the film Ghost World.
Louis-Dreyfus spent her childhood in several countries, living with her mother
and stepfather. 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
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
an 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. They have two sons,
Henry (born 1992) and Charles (born 1997).
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 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. 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. 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, her newer series, The
New Adventures of Old Christine, received high ratings and Louis-Dreyfus won the
Lead Actress Emmy Award for her work on the show's first season.
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".