10 Things You Didn’t Know About Julia Louis-Dreyfus

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9. She Studied Theatre

Before her acting career took off, Julia Louis-Dreyfus went to Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, where she studied theatre. While she attended school, she was part of an improv comedy troupe in which she was the only female member.

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8. Star Crossed Lovers

She met her husband, Brad Hall, when they were both undergraduates at Northwestern University. Hall is also an actor and a writer. The two married in 1987 and have two sons together, Henry and Charles.

#LoveWins

A photo posted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@officialjld) on Jun 26, 2015 at 2:33pm PDT

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7. Her Sister is an Actress

Her half sister, Lauren Bowles, is an actress and has appeared in roles alongside Julia on Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine and Watching Ellie.

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6. Elaine Benes Almost Wasn’t on Seinfeld

Julia almost wasn’t cast in her career defining role as Elaine Benes on the NBC comedy series Seinfeld. In the pilot episode “The Seinfeld Chronicles” there is no female cast member. After the episode aired, the network demanded that there be a female presence on the show. Louis-Dreyfus beat out some big names when she auditioned for the role like, Rosie O’Donnell, Megan Mullally from Will & Grace and Patricia Heaon from Everybody Loves Raymond.

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5. Emmy Winner

Over the course of her career, Julia has been nominated for 18 Emmy’s, 15 of which were as an actress, making her the most nominated comedic actress in Emmy history. In 2012, when she won her Emmy for the show Veep, she became the only actress to win three Emmy’s for three separate comedy series, Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine, and Veep.

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4. Wealthy Family

Julia comes from a wealthy background. Her father is a French born American businessman, who is the chairman of a multi-million dollar enterprise known as Louis Dreyfus Energy Services. Her great-great-grandfather founded the French commodities and shipping conglomerate in 1851. However, Julia does quite well on her own. The actress is estimated to be worth about $200 million, much of that is from her Seinfeld success.

 

A photo posted by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@officialjld) on Nov 18, 2014 at 3:42am PST

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3. Youngest Female Ever Cast on SNL

Louis-Dreyfus was cast on the famous live comedy show, Saturday Night Live in 1982 after being scouted during a performance at The Practical Theatre Company in Chicago. Julia made history as the youngest female cast member to ever be cast on the show. It was here that she met writer Larry David who would later cast her for the show Seinfeld. Her husband Hall also appeared on SNL at the same time as Julia, making them the only husband and wife team to do so.

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2. Misspelled Name on Hollywood Star

In 2010, Julia was awarded with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. However, the honor fell short when they misspelled her name! The star reads, “Julia Luis Dreyfrus” — they forgot the hyphen in her name and the letter “o.” Apparently, she was a good sport and laughed off the mistake.

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1. Hidden Pregnancies

While filming for the show Seinfeld, Julia was able to hide two real-life pregnancies while still acting simply by wearing a roomy overcoat. In fact, she spent all of season 3 pregnant.

Katherine G

Katherine is the Managing Editor for Health and Parenting, but she has a soft spot for entertainment. She loves binging shows on Netflix, reality TV is a guilty pleasure, and country music is her go-to playlist. When she's not writing, she's spending time outdoors, especially with her puppy Zoey!