Women of Emmy’s Past: Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Who could ever forget that funny, quirky and slightly crazy woman-among-men on the hit TV series Seinfeld. No one. Especially when the role was played by extremely talented and hilarious actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Louis-Dreyfus began her career on Saturday Night Live in 1982. She rose to fame as a regular member of the SNL cast from ’82-’85 and at the time was the youngest female cast member to ever grace the SNL stage. While working on SNL Louis-Dreyfus met Larry David and from there her career took off. David cast Julia as Elaine Benes on his new show Seinfeld in 1990. Louis-Dreyfus made Elaine one of the most lovable women on TV and held her ground among comedy masters Jerry Seinfeld and Jason Alexander. Elaine brought Louis-Dreyfus to star status, making her a household name and earning her seven Emmy nominations and one win for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. The show went off the air in 1998.

After Seinfeld, Louis-Dreyfus spent two years on the under-appreciated show Watching Ellie, which was cancelled due to low ratings. However, she quickly came back on the scene in 2005 with a new show called The New Adventures of Old Christine; Julia highlighted the show as the awkwardly hilarious divorcee Christine. A woman who runs a women’s gym, gets bullied by the “cool blonde moms” at her son’s private school, and has an interesting relationship with both her brother and ex-husband (who is dating “New Christine”).

Her new gig landed Julia back in the spotlight and earned her the 2006 Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. Louis-Dreyfus was nominated again for the award for the next four seasons of her show, until it went off the air in 2010 after five seasons.

Fans however, have nothing to worry about. Julia recently starred in the HBO pilot Veep, in which Julia plays U.S. Vice President Selina Meyers. HBO picked up the show as a series to begin filming in fall 2011 and soon Julia will be back on our screens and in our hearts.

In 2010 Louis-Dreyfus received the great honor of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, forever reminding us that she is a comedic-force to be reckoned with. As a woman who has always stood out among the men, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an Emmy woman and a comedy star that will never stop bring laughter into our homes.