Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus (New York, January 13, 1961), known as Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is an actress, comedian, singer, and American producer. She is known for her work on the comedy television shows Saturday Night Live (1982-1985), Seinfeld (1989-1998), The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006-2010) and Veep (2012-2019). She is one of the most decorated actresses in American television history, winning more Emmys and Screen Actors Guild Awards than any other performer, tying Cloris Leachman for the most acting wins.

Louis-Dreyfus broke into comedy as a performer at The Practical Theater Company in Chicago, Illinois, which led to her appearance on the sketch show Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985. Her breakthrough came in 1989 with a nine-season run playing Elaine Benes on Seinfeld, one of the most critically and commercially successful sitcoms of all time. Other notable television roles include Christine Campbell on The New Adventures of Old Christine, which ran for five seasons on CBS, and her role as Selina Meyer on Veep, which aired for seven seasons on HBO. Her film roles include Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), Deconstructing Harry (1997) and Enough Said (2013). She also lent her voice to roles in the animated films A Bug's Life (1998), Planes (2013) and Onward (2020).

Louis-Dreyfus has received eleven Emmy Awards, eight for acting and three for production. He has also received a Golden Globe Award, nine Screen Actors Guild Awards, five American Comedy Awards, and two Television Critics Awards. Louis-Dreyfus received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2016, Time named Louis-Dreyfus one of the 100 most influential people in the world on the annual Time 100 list. In 2018, he received the Mark Twain Award for American Humor, presented by the Kennedy Center as America's highest honor for comedy.

Early Years

Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City on January 13, 1961. Her American-born mother, Judith (née LeFever), was a writer and special needs tutor, and her French-born Jewish father, Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, Chairman and CEO of the Louis-Dreyfus Group until 2006. His paternal grandfather, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, was Chairman of the Louis Dreyfus Group; he was a member of a Jewish family from Alsace and served as a cavalry officer and member of the French Resistance during World War II. She is also a great-great-granddaughter of Léopold Louis-Dreyfus, who in 1851 founded the Louis Dreyfus Group, a French freight and shipping conglomerate, still controlled by members of his family; and is distantly related to Alfred Dreyfus of the infamous Dreyfus Affair. His paternal grandmother was born in the United States to Jewish parents of Brazilian and Mexican origin; during the 1940s, she brought Julia's father to the United States from France.

In 1962, a year after Louis-Dreyfus was born, his parents divorced. After moving to Washington, D.C. when he was four years old, his mother married L. Thompson Bowles, dean of the George Washington University School of Medicine. Louis-Dreyfus spent his childhood in various states and countries, in connection with his stepfather's work with Project HOPE, including Colombia and Tunisia. He graduated from the Holton-Arms School in Bethesda, Maryland, in 1979. He later said, "There were things I did in school (Holton- Arms School) that, if there had been children in the classroom, I would have felt less motivated to do. For example, I was president of the honor society".

Louis-Dreyfus attended Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she was a member of Delta Gamma sorority. He studied drama and performed on the Mee-Ow Show, a student-run sketch and improv comedy revue, before dropping out during his junior year to take a job at Saturday Night Live. received an honorary doctor of arts from Northwestern University in 2007.

Career

1982-1988: early career and Saturday Night Live

Louis-Dreyfus as part of the "Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee" of The Practical Theatre Company in 1982, together with his castmates Brad Hall, Gary Kroeger and Paul Barrosse

As part of his comedy training, Louis-Dreyfus appeared in The Second City, one of Chicago's best-known improvisational theater groups, whose alumni include Alan Arkin, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Shelley Long, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, John Candy, Chris Farley, Bob Odenkirk and many, many others who became successful comedians and pop culture icons. It was his performance with The Practical Theater Company at their 'Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee'. (50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee) which led to her being asked to join the cast of NBC's Saturday Night Live at the age of 21.

Louis-Dreyfus subsequently became a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1982 to 1985, the youngest female cast member in the show's history at the time. [19] During her time on SNL, she appeared alongside several later notable actors, including Eddie Murphy, Jim Belushi, Billy Crystal, and Martin Short. It was during his third and final year on SNL that he met writer Larry David during his only year on the show, [20] who would later co-create Seinfeld. Louis-Dreyfus has commented that his casting on SNL was a "Cinderella experience getting to the ball"; however, she has also admitted that it was quite tense at times, stating that she "didn't know how to navigate the waters of show business in general and specifically doing a stand-up comedy show".

Recurring characters on Saturday Night Live

• April May June, a televangelist.
• Becky, the appointment of El Dorko (Gary Kroeger).
• Consuela, Chi Chi Chi's friend and co-presentative Let's Watch TV.
• Give it to the parody SNL of The Little Rascals.
• Weather Woman, a superhero that controls the weather.
• Patti Lynn Hunsucker, teen correspondent Weekend Update.

After his departure from SNL in 1985, Louis-Dreyfus appeared in several films, including Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters (1986); Soul Man (1986), starring C. Thomas Howell; and National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989), in which he starred with his former SNL bandmate, Chevy Chase. In 1987, Louis-Dreyfus appeared in the NBC comedy pilot The Art of Being Nick, a spin-off of Family Ties starring Scott Valentine. When the pilot did not make it to series, Louis-Dreyfus was hired by producer Gary David Goldberg for a role on his new sitcom Day by Day, as the sarcastic and materialistic neighbor, Eileen Swift. Premiering in early 1988, Day by Day ran for two seasons on NBC before being cancelled.

1989-1998: Seinfeld and widespread recognition

Louis-Dreyfus at the 47th edition of the Primetime Emmy Awards in September 1995

In the early 1990s, Louis-Dreyfus rose to fame as Elaine Benes on NBC's Seinfeld. She played the role for nine seasons, appearing in all but three episodes.One of the episodes she did not appear in was the pilot episode, "Chronicles of Seinfeld," because her character was not initially intended to be a part of the series. the Serie. It was only after the first episode that NBC executives felt the show was too male-centric and demanded that creators Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld add a woman to the cast. It was revealed in the commentary on the DVD package that the addition of a female character was the condition for commissioning the show. Louis-Dreyfus won the role over several other actresses who would also eventually enjoy television success, including Patricia Heaton and Megan Mullally.

Louis-Dreyfus garnered critical acclaim for her performance on the series, and she was a regular winner and nominee on television award shows throughout the 1990s. Her performance earned her two Golden Globe nominations, winning once in 1994, nine Screen Actors Guild nominations, winning one in 1995 and two in 1997 and 1998, and seven American Comedy Awards, winning five times in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998. In 1996, he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, an award for which she was nominated seven times from 1992 to 1998. After receiving the award, Louis-Dreyfus claimed victory. She was a "surprise," and that after being in both positions, it was "much better to win than lose."

In 1998, Jerry Seinfeld decided to end the series after nine seasons. The series finale aired on May 14 and was one of the most watched television events in history, with more than 76 million viewers tuning in.

During her time on Seinfeld, she appeared in several films, including Fathers' Day, opposite Robin Williams and Billy Crystal, and Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry, which was nominated for an Oscar.

1999-2004: Post-Seinfeld

Following a voice role in Pixar's hit film A Bug's Life, Louis-Dreyfus provided the voice of Snake's girlfriend, Gloria, in the episode of < i>The Simpsons, "A Hunka Hunka Burns in Love". In 2001, she made several guest appearances on Seinfeld co-creator Larry David's Curb Your Enthusiasm show, fictionally portraying herself trying to break the & #34;curse& #34; by planning to star in a show in which she would play an actress affected by a Seinfeld-like curse.

After several years away from a regular television job, Louis-Dreyfus began a new single-camera sitcom, Watching Ellie, which premiered on NBC in February 2002. The series was created by her husband Brad Hall and co-starred Steve Carell and Louis-Dreyfus's half-sister, Lauren Bowles. The initial premise of the show was to present viewers with a "slice of life" of the events and events in the life of Ellie Riggs, a jazz singer from Southern California. The first season included a 22-minute countdown digitally placed in the lower left corner of the screen, which many critics criticized, claiming it was useless and "did nothing for the show". The show received mixed reviews, but debuted strongly with over 16 million viewers tuning in for the series premiere, and maintained an average viewership of around 10 million viewers per week.

When the series returned for a second season in the spring of 2003, it suffered a decline in viewership, averaging around eight million viewers per week. The show had undergone a drastic stylistic change between the production of seasons one and two. The first season was filmed in a single-camera format, but the second season was presented as a traditional multi-camera sitcom filmed in front of a live studio audience. With dwindling audiences and unable to retain numbers from its initial run of Frasier, the series was canceled by NBC in May 2003.

Following the cancellation of Watching Ellie by NBC, the media began circulating rumors of the so-called "Seinfeld curse," which claimed that none of the former Seinfeld actors could once again succeed in the television industry. Louis-Dreyfus dismissed the rumor as "something made up by the media," while Seinfeld co-creator Larry David claimed that the curse was "completely idiot".

Louis-Dreyfus was interested in the role of Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives, the role which ultimately went to Teri Hatcher. Instead, Louis-Dreyfus was given a recurring guest role as Maggie Lizer, the deceitful prosecutor and love interest of Michael Bluth on the Emmy-winning comedy Arrested Development from 2004 to 2005.

2005-2010: The New Adventures of Old Christine

Louis-Dreyfus representing his role TNAOC Paley Center for Media in April 2007

In 2005, Louis-Dreyfus was cast in the lead role of a new CBS sitcom, The New Adventures of Old Christine. The series and its concept were created by the writer and producer of Will & Grace, Kari Lizer. The series told the story of Christine Campbell, a single mother who manages to maintain a fantastic relationship with her ex-husband while running a gym for women. The series debuted on CBS in March 2006 with a viewership of 15 million and was initially a ratings winner for the network.

Louis-Dreyfus also garnered considerable critical acclaim for his performance on the show, with Variety's Brian Lowry claiming that Louis-Dreyfus broke the so-called "Seinfeld curse [...] with one of the best conventional half-hours in a while'. Alessandra Stanley of The New York Times stated that Louis-Dreyfus's performance in the series proved that she is "one of the funniest women on network television" 34; Louis-Dreyfus also won the 2006 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in the first season. Referring to the curse, he stated in his acceptance speech, "I'm not one to really believe in curses, but curse this, honey!" Over the course of the series, he received five consecutive nominations for Emmy Awards, three consecutive Satellite Award nominations, two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and a Golden Globe nomination. In 2007, she also received two People's Choice Award nominations for her return to popularity, thanks to the success of Old Christine.

In May 2006, Louis-Dreyfus hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live, becoming the first former female cast member to return to the show in the role of host. In the episode, he appeared with his Seinfeld co-stars Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld in their opening monologue, parodying the so-called "Seinfeld curse". After a successful reception of their 2006 episode, Louis-Dreyfus was invited back to host SNL, on March 17, 2007, and again on April 17, 2016. Louis-Dreyfus reprized his role as Gloria in two episodes of The Simpsons. : "I Don't Wanna Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" from 2007 and "Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes" 2008. In the fall of 2009, she appeared with the rest of the cast of Seinfeld in four episodes of the seventh season of Larry David's sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm >. The reunion shows received much media attention, and the episode received strong ratings for HBO series.

Louis-Dreyfus in the presentation of his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in May 2010

In 2009, Louis-Dreyfus received the Honorary Award for Legacy of Laughter at the TV Land Awards. Past winners have included Lucille Ball and Mike Myers. His friend Amy Poehler presented him with the award. The following year, Louis-Dreyfus received the 2,407th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on May 4, 2010, for her notable contribution to the broadcast television industry as an actress and comedian. Originally, the star was placed with the misspelled name Louis-Dreyfus. The "o" as the hyphen in her last name. The star was corrected and the misspelled portion was removed and presented to the actress. Celebrity guests at the event included past and current colleagues from across her career, including Clark Gregg, Larry David, Eric McCormack, and Jason Alexander.

Old Christine was canceled by CBS on May 18, 2010, after 4 years. After its dissolution from CBS, talks were held with ABC to have the show revived on the network, but these plans never came to fruition.

In the spring of 2010, Louis-Dreyfus guest-starred multiple times on the third season of the web series, Web Therapy, starring Lisa Kudrow. Louis-Dreyfus played the main character's sister Fiona Wallice, who gives him online therapy. When the series transitioned to cable television on the Showtime network, Louis-Dreyfus's appearance on the web series was included in the second season, which aired in July 2012.

In the fall of 2010, Louis-Dreyfus made a guest appearance on the live episode of the Emmy-winning comedy 30 Rock. She played the role of Tina Fey, Liz Lemon in the cut out shots. Louis-Dreyfus was among several former Saturday Night Live colleagues to appear in the episode, including Rachel Dratch, Bill Hader and regulars Tracy Morgan and Fey. Louis-Dreyfus also starred in a special on Women of SNL, on November 1, 2010 on NBC.

2011-2019: Veep

Louis-Dreyfus with Vice President Joe Biden in April 2013.

In May and June 2011, Louis-Dreyfus teamed up with her husband Brad Hall for their first short film, Picture Paris. This was the first time the pair had collaborated since their early 2000s NBC sitcom Watching Ellie. Hall wrote and directed the film, while Louis-Dreyfus played the title role of an ordinary woman with an extraordinary obsession with the city of Paris. The film premiered on January 29, 2012 at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival and has received considerable critical acclaim. It made its television premiere on HBO on December 17, 2012.

In early 2011, HBO confirmed that Louis-Dreyfus had been cast as the lead role of United States Vice President Selina Meyer in a new satirical comedy series titled, Veep. The series was commissioned for an eight-episode first season. It was announced that in addition to her starring role, Louis-Dreyfus would also serve as a producer for the series. In preparation for her role, Louis-Dreyfus spoke with two former vice presidents, including Al Gore, senators, speechwriters, heads of staff from various offices and programmers. Louis-Dreyfus has praised HBO for allowing the cast and crew to engage in a "protracted pre-production process", which included a six-week rehearsal period before for filming to begin.

The first season was filmed in the fall of 2011, in Baltimore, and the series premiered on April 22, 2012. The premiere episode was met with high praise from critics, particularly for Louis' performance. -Dreyfus. The Hollywood Reporter claimed that the character of Selina Meyer was her "best post-Seinfeld role"; to date and stated that she makes "an Emmy-worthy effort," while Los Angeles Times maintained that the series proves that she is "one of the great comedians of the middle". Following the success of the first season, Louis-Dreyfus was named by the Huffington Post as one of the funniest people of 2012, stating that she is " the most magnetic and naturally funny woman on television since Mary Tyler Moore".

Louis-Dreyfus after receiving her third Primetime Emmy Award to the best lead actress in a comedy series by Veep August 2014

For her performance in Veep, Louis-Dreyfus has received a number of accolades, including six consecutive Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series from 2012 to 2017. Emmy Awards for Veep, following previous awards for Seinfeld and The New Adventures of Old Christine, made her the only woman to win an acting award for three independent comedy series. Her sixth win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2016 surpassed the record previously held by Mary Tyler Moore and Candice Bergen for the most wins in that category. In 2017, her sixth straight win and eighth overall actress win made her the artist with the most Emmys for the same role in the same series (beating out Candice Bergen and Don Knotts) and put her in a tie with Cloris Leachman for the most. number of Emmy Awards ever won by an artist. She was also nominated as one of the producers of Veep in the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Comedy Series from 2012 to 2014, but the show lost to Modern Family all three times. The show, however, won the top award from 2015 to 2017.

Louis-Dreyfus has also received five Critics Television Award nominations, winning twice in 2013 and 2014, ten Screen Actors Guild nominations, winning twice in 2014 and 2017, and five Television Critics Association Award nominations. winning once in 2014. His performance has additionally garnered his five Satellite Award nominations and five consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations.

Louis-Dreyfus with his colleague Timothy Simons accepting the Peabody Award for Veep of Al Franken in May 2017

Louis-Dreyfus lent his voice to the 2013 animated feature Planes as Rochelle. The film grossed over $200 million at the worldwide box office. He also starred in the film Enough Said, directed by Nicole Holofcener, which was released on September 18, 2013. This marked his debut as a leading actress in a feature film. The film earned rave reviews from film critics and was ranked among the best reviewed films of 2013. Website Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a score of 96% based on 152 reviews, many praising Louis's performance. -Dreyfus. [61] She received several Best Actress nominations for her role in the film at award ceremonies, including the Golden Globe Awards, Satellite Awards, Critics & # 39; Choice Movie Awards and American Comedy Awards.

Since December 2014, Louis-Dreyfus has appeared in a series of television commercials for Old Navy.

On April 16, 2016, he hosted Saturday Night Live for the third time with musical guest Nick Jonas. During the cold opening of the episode, she reprized the role of her as Elaine Benes from Seinfeld.

2020-present: Production deal with Apple TV+

In 2020, Louis-Dreyfus headlined the dramatic comedy, Downhill, opposite Will Ferrell. The film premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival and was released theatrically on February 14. She later provided the voice of herself as a suburban elf mother in Pixar's Onward opposite Tom Holland. and Chris Pratt. The film was released on March 6, 2020.

In January 2020, Louis-Dreyfus signed a multi-year deal with Apple TV+. Under the deal, he will develop new projects for Apple TV+ as an executive producer and star.

In 2021, Louis-Dreyfus appeared in two episodes of The Falcon and the Winter Soldier as Fontaine's Valentina Allegra, although she was originally intended to make her film debut, Black Widow.

Personal life

Louis-Dreyfus and her husband Brad Hall at Tribeca Film Festival 2012

Louis-Dreyfus's maternal half-sister, Lauren Bowles, is also an actress. He also has two paternal half-sisters: Phoebe and Emma, the latter of whom died in August 2018. Robert Louis-Dreyfus (1946-2009), one of his cousins, was a former CEO of Adidas and owner of the club football club Olympique de Marseille.

While at Northwestern, Louis-Dreyfus met her future husband and Saturday Night Live comedian, Brad Hall. They married in 1987 and have two sons together: Henry (born 1992) and Charles (born 1997). Henry is a singer-songwriter who has performed on the Tonight Show. Charles was a member of the Northwestern Wildcats men's basketball team. In 2007, Louis-Dreyfus was a guest to return to Northwestern to receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree.

Louis-Dreyfus has stated that he has a lot of respect for "women who are not afraid of looking bad or making a fool of themselves for a laugh," citing idols such as Lucille Ball, Mary Tyler Moore, Madeline Kahn, Teri Garr, Valerie Harper and Cloris Leachman. Actress Tina Fey has stated that Louis-Dreyfus was the inspiration for her character Liz Lemon on the award-winning NBC comedy series 30 Rock.

On September 28, 2017, Louis-Dreyfus announced on Twitter her diagnosis of breast cancer, a diagnosis she received one day after receiving a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Veep. She said: "One in eight women gets breast cancer. Today it's me. The good news is that I have the most glorious group of caring and supportive family and friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let's fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality,' she announced on the 18th episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live! October 2018 that he was cancer free.

Filmography

Cinema

Television

Awards and nominations

Louis-Dreyfus in 2007

Primetime Emmy Awards

Golden Globe Awards

Screen Actors Guild Award