Julia Louis-Dreyfus Describes 'Real Grief Period' After the 'Seinfeld' Finale 25 Years Ago (Exclusive)

In PEOPLE's latest cover story, Louis-Dreyfus opens up about the iconic sitcom 25 years later

​​This year marks the 25th anniversary of Seinfeld's series finale — and Julia Louis-Dreyfus remembers being hit hard by the ending.

"There was a real grief period when the show ended that was real and felt," she says in PEOPLE's latest cover story interview. "Because we all loved each other so much."

Still, the actress, 62 — who won her first Emmy for her portrayal of Elaine Benes on Seinfeld and went on to pick up more accolades for her work on The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep —remained clear-eyed about her post-Seinfeld future.

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"I do very much remember wanting and thinking that I needed to keep working," she says. "I wanted to keep working. I wanted to keep doing this thing called acting. I wanted to keep pursuing it, which I've been able to do, which is great."

The groundbreaking sitcom ran from 1989 to 1998 for nine seasons. Louis-Dreyfus starred alongside Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander and Michael Richards.

Now, Louis-Dreyfus is tickled that Seinfeld has since found a new audience among those who weren't even born when the infamous jail-cell finale episode, or Elaine’s meme-worthy dance, first aired.

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"I think it’s incredibly cool that it continues to have life," she says of its resurgence. "I'm not surprised, because it's funny, and it stands the test of time."

Owen Teague, 24, who plays Louis-Dreyfus' son in her new big-screen comedy You Hurt My Feelings (out May 26), agrees: "It's that questioning of the insanity of the world that people my age relate to in that show."

For more on Julia Louis-Dreyfus, pick up this week's issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.

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Read the original article on People.