Awards

Emmy Flashback: Julia Louis-Dreyfus '96

By Robert Pace

While Julia Louis-Dreyfus has had success on television since Seinfeld, no character of hers will probably ever be as fitting as her role of "Elaine Benes." The Academy took note of her supporting role and began nominating her for an individual Emmy in consecutive years.

After Seinfeld's third season in 1992, Louis-Dreyfus had been nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, but had never received the award despite the show receiving the Outstanding Comedy Series award in 1993.


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With her expectations low but her hopes high to win her first individual Emmy, Louis-Dreyfus was on cloud nine when she finally won the award in 1996. After watching her speech following the show in ET's private room, she displays her joy with some tears smudging her make-up.

"I don't know what it was. I'm shocked. I'm telling you, I can't believe it," she says as she reflects on the previous Emmy-less years. "I don't know what to tell you. I don't know how...this happened."


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Although Seinfeld has now become one of the greatest sitcoms in television history and is still in syndication, some critics doubted that the show would last as long as it did because they felt the show's content was getting old. Louis-Dreyfus says she never got caught up in such comments.

"I enjoy this job so much, so when I'm in the middle of it, I'm just focused on this particular week's episode and...making it as funny as possible, and I always feel as if we do a pretty good job at it," she says in the featured flashback. "I love these guys that I work with more than you know. I love this job."


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That year proved to be the only fruitful Emmy year for Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld, as she would be nominated for the show's final two seasons but with no avail. However, ten years after her first Emmy, she won another for The New Adventures of Old Christine.