Julia Louis-Dreyfus says TV is 'so f***ing good' now for women after winning Mark Twain Prize in comedy
“Television is more fertile ground for women right now, and that’s why television is so f***ing good right now, really!” Julia Louis-Dreyfus tells Makers.
But let’s face it, Louis-Dreyfus has always been the queen of the castle. The celebrated TV star and producer already holds the record for the most Primetime Emmy wins as an actor for the same role. (That would be six total.) Now the Veep star has one more accolade to add to her résumé: She received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts on Oct. 21.
The recognition comes at a particularly emotional time for Louis-Dreyfus, who was diagnosed with breast cancer last fall. The D.C. awards ceremony marks the first time Louis-Dreyfus has made a public appearance since she completed treatment earlier this year.
For her award-winning roles as the neurotic-yet-relatable Elaine Benes on Seinfeld to the hilariously flawed politician Selina Meyer on HBO’s Veep, Louis-Dreyfus is credited for “enrich[ing] American culture” for four decades with a brand of humor that has “left us in stitches,” says Kennedy Center president Deborah F. Rutter.
She has also busted down doors for women throughout her career. “I’m certainly aware of the fact that women need to be more represented in Hollywood. But I have never let it get in my way. I’ve gone for the jobs I’ve wanted and I’ve stuck to my guns,” she tells Makers.
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While today there are more women in lead roles, Louis-Dreyfus recounts a very different setting when she started out on Saturday Night Live between her junior and senior year of college.
“There weren’t a lot of women writers, but more importantly than that, there weren’t people writing for women, be they men or women. So I struggled tremendously,” Louis-Dreyfus reveals.
Although the comedian was “miserable” at SNL, the connections she made set her up for her groundbreaking career. In 1990, Larry David, a former writer at SNL, and comedian Jerry Seinfeld approached Louis-Dreyfus for a role in their new television series Seinfeld, after NBC executives criticized the pilot for being too male-centric.
It was “a very fundamental note,” Louis-Dreyfus says. “It seems to me that if there are no female characters in a show you might want to think about putting a female character, be it in 1989, 2014, or 1955.”
Beyond becoming one of the most critically and commercially successful sitcoms of all time, Seinfeld pushed the envelope for women onscreen with episodes like “The Contest,” which centered around women talking about masturbating.
“That doesn’t seem so radical right now. But in 1992 I kept waiting for somebody to shut this thing down,” Louis-Dreyfus tells Makers. “The whole thing, first and foremost, was funny. And look what came along with it: groundbreaking stuff.”
“We weren’t trying to change the world, we were trying to make something really funny. And that’s very hard to do,” she adds. “And if you can do it, you can change the world a little bit. ”
Although Louis-Dreyfus insists that her Seinfeld character is not a role model for women, her strong, flawed characters have paved the way for more complex female roles.
“There are shows on television right now with women in starring roles and supporting roles that aren’t just ‘the woman’ role. And the marketplace is responding,” Louis-Dreyfus says. “So, what the hell? I’m proud to be a part of this wave right now. I really am.”
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