DATE OF BIRTH
January 13, 1961
BIOGRAPHY
American actress and comedienne Julia Elizabeth Scarlett Louis-Dreyfus was born on January 13, 1961 in New York City to a wealthy Franco-American family. They own the Louis Dreyfus Group, an international investment and banking firm. She was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, and was educated in the Holton-Arms School and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied theater. She became a member of the Practical Theatre Company, but dropped out of school later on to pursue her career.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus had her first appearance on NBC’s Saturday Night Live. While there, she met writer Larry David who later co-created the series Seinfeld. She became known to many audiences when she was cast as Elaine Benes on the sitcom, playing the character from 1990 to 1998. For her performance, she has received numerous nominations and awards.
She was nominated more than a dozen times for the Emmys, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards, collectively and has won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 1996 and Best Actress in a Comedy Series in 2000. She won a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress in a TV production in 1994 and two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Series in 1997 and 1998.
After Seinfeld, Louis-Dreyfus appeared in the short-lived Watching Ellie, but it was canceled after two seasons. She later found herself as a guest on the series Arrested Development, and has continued her work on Saturday Night Live. She has also been known for voicing characters on the hit animated series The Simpsons. Her next project became a starring role on the series The New Adventures of Old Christine, which earned her more popularity. Louis-Dreyfus won the Lead Actress Emmy Award for her performance during the show’s first season and was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the 3rd consecutive time in 2008.
PLACE OF BIRTH
New York City
BIRTH NAME
Julia Elizabeth Scarlett Louis-Dreyfus
GENDER
Female
FUN FACTS
-Julia is the first female SNL cast member to come back and host the show.
-Julia did not appear in the original pilot for Seinfeld. The reason for this is that Jerry Seinfeld and the writers for the show had not come up with the character of “Elaine” yet, and only later realized that the show would need a female character to balance the cast.
AWARDS
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
Golden Globe Awards
1994: Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series — Seinfeld
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
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)
Animal Farm (1999)
Geppeto (2000)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000)
Watching Ellie (2002)
Arrested Development (2004)
The Simpsons (Snake’s girlfriend Gloria)
The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–present)
HEIGHT
5′ 2.5″ (1.59 m)
QUOTES
-There are lots of strong women on television, which is superb, and I’d like to be one of them. There seems to be a lot of interesting work for women in television, much more so than I would say in films.
-Before computers, telephone lines and television connect us, we all share the same air, the same oceans, the same mountains and rivers. We are all equally responsible for protecting them.
(on her name’s pronunciation)
-It’s LOO-ee DRY-fus. This is the deal: it’s French, and it’s hyphenated, and it’s weird.
-All of my friends who are single have moved out of New York. They didn’t like it.
