Born Jan. 13, 1961, in New York City, Julia Louis-Dreyfus honed her comic skills as part of Chicago's famed Second City improv troupe before joining the cast of "Saturday Night Live" in 1982. The two-year gig led to small parts in Hannah and Her Sisters and the politically incorrect Soul Man (both 1986).After the NBC sitcom "Seinfeld" came into her life in 1990, Louis-Dreyfus would forever be associated with her character, Elaine Benes, the lone female in a tight-knit group of actors that included Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards.
In 1996, Louis-Dreyfus won an Emmy Award for the role.Following "Seinfeld," Louis-Dreyfus returned to television in 2006 with "The New Adventures of Old Christine," which gave her the chance to headline a show and netted her an Emmy win. Her other notable film credits include Deconstructing Harry (1997) and A Bug's Life (1998).