Editing Julia Louis-Dreyfus (section)

== Early life and education ==
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus<ref name="actors">{{cite episode|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus|series=[[Inside the Actors Studio]]|first=James (host)|last=Lipton|network=[[Bravo (U.S. TV network)|Bravo]]|date=June 4, 2007|season=13|number=7}}</ref> was born in [[New York City]] on January 13, 1961.<ref name=biography.com>{{cite web|url= https://www.biography.com/actor/julia-louis-dreyfus|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Film Actor/Film Actress, Television Actress, Film Actress, Actress (1961–)|publisher=[[Biography.com]]|access-date= December 13, 2018|archive-date=October 29, 2018|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181029042641/https://www.biography.com/people/julia-louis-dreyfus-9542456|url-status=live}}</ref><!--additional archive link https://archive.today/20181213151303/https://www.biography.com/people/julia-louis-dreyfus-9542456 December 13, 2018--> Her mother, Judith ({{née|LeFever}}), is an American writer and [[special needs education|special needs educator]].<ref name="actors"/> Her father, [[Gérard Louis-Dreyfus]] (1932–2016), was a French billionaire who served as chairman of the [[Louis Dreyfus Company]]. Her paternal grandfather, [[Pierre Louis-Dreyfus]] (1908–2011), was president of the [[Louis Dreyfus Group]] commodities and shipping conglomerate.<ref>{{cite web |title=Louis Dreyfus Dead at 102 |url=http://www.tradewinds.no/drycargo/article574101.ece |access-date=June 11, 2011 |archive-date=January 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124015010/http://www.tradewinds.no/drycargo/article574101.ece |url-status=live }}</ref> He was a member of a [[French Jews|Jewish]] family from [[Alsace]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/beb450a27e/judd-apatow-s-all-star-video-part-2|title=Judd Apatow's All-Star Video Part 2|work=[[Funny Or Die]]|access-date=September 1, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903153201/http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/beb450a27e/judd-apatow-s-all-star-video-part-2|archive-date=September 3, 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Buried by the Times: The Holocaust And America's Most Important Newspaper|first=Laurel |last=Leff|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|location=Cambridge, England|date=2005|isbn=978-0521607827|page=81}}</ref> and served as a [[cavalry]] officer and member of the [[French Resistance]] during [[World War II]].<ref>{{cite web|author=TVtropolis |url=http://www.canada.com/tvtropolis/story.html?id=1375fbf0-e748-4bfc-9729-d2b6e065bec7 |title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus&nbsp;— Seinfeld |publisher=Canada.com |date=June 1, 2006 |access-date=September 1, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301103839/http://www2.canada.com/tvtropolis/story.html?id=1375fbf0-e748-4bfc-9729-d2b6e065bec7 |archive-date=March 1, 2009 }}</ref> Louis-Dreyfus is the great-great-granddaughter of French businessman [[Léopold Louis-Dreyfus]] (1833–1915), founder of the Louis Dreyfus Group, which members of her family still control.<ref>{{cite web|title=Gerard Louis Dreyfus Executive Biography |publisher=[[Louis Dreyfus Group]] |url=http://www.louisdreyfus.com/content.cfm?page=execbios.cfm&gbus=8 |date=October 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025194715/http://www.louisdreyfus.com/content.cfm?page=execbios.cfm&gbus=8 |archive-date=October 25, 2007 }}</ref> She is the fifth cousin four times removed of [[Alfred Dreyfus]] (1859–1935) of the infamous [[Dreyfus affair]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 14, 2017|first=Gabriela|last=Geseĺowitz|title=Which Actor is Related to the Wrongfully Accused French Jewish Officer, Alfred Dreyfus?|url=https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/dreyfus-dreyfus-dreyfuss|access-date=August 23, 2020|website=Tablet Magazine|language=en|archive-date=July 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715121429/https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/dreyfus-dreyfus-dreyfuss|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Gérard Louis-Dreyfus & family">{{cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=DDGH&datatype=Person|title=Gérard Louis-Dreyfus & family|website=[[Forbes]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120716081805/http://www.forbes.com/finance/lists/10/2004/LIR.jhtml?passListId=10&passYear=2004&passListType=Person&uniqueId=DDGH&datatype=Person|archive-date=July 16, 2012|url-status=dead|date=July 16, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The History of Foreign Investment in the United States, 1914–1945|publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|location=Cambridge, Massachusetts|date=2004|first=Mira|last=Wilkins|authorlink=Mira Wilkins|isbn=978-0674013087|page=479}}</ref> [[Robert Louis-Dreyfus]] (1946–2009), her father's second cousin, was the CEO of [[Adidas]] and owner of the soccer team [[Olympique de Marseille]].<ref>{{cite web|first=Douglas H.|last=Martin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/business/global/14louis-dreyfus.html|title=Robert Louis-Dreyfus, Turnaround Specialist, Dies at 63|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York City|date=July 14, 2009|page=B10|access-date=February 17, 2017|archive-date=September 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170918022348/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/14/business/global/14louis-dreyfus.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Julia's paternal grandmother was the daughter of a [[History of the Jews in Brazil|Brazilian-Jewish]] father (whose family was [[Dutch Jews|Dutch]], [[English Jews|English]], and [[Polish Jews|Polish]]).<ref>{{cite web|first=Douglas H.|last=Martin|url=https://people.com/awards/william-louis-dreyfus-father-of-julia-louis-dreyfus-dies-at-84/|title=Who Was William Louis-Dreyfus? Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Billionaire Business Mogul Father Dies at 84|newspaper=[[People (magazine)|People]]|location=people.com|date= January 29, 2017|page=B10|access-date=January 8, 2024|archive-date=January 30, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130055424/https://people.com/awards/william-louis-dreyfus-father-of-julia-louis-dreyfus-dies-at-84/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1962, a year after her birth, Louis-Dreyfus's parents divorced. She has said that she first noticed her penchant for comedy after sticking raisins up her nose at the age of three, which first made her mother laugh but then led to an emergency hospital visit.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Davies |first=Dave |date=23 May 2023 |title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus recalls the first laugh she got — and the ER trip that followed |work=[[Fresh Air]] |publisher=[[National Public Radio]] |type=recorded radio interview |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/05/23/1177662881/julia-louis-dreyfus-seinfeld-veep-you-hurt-my-feelings |access-date=27 May 2023 |archive-date=May 28, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230528025748/https://www.npr.org/2023/05/23/1177662881/julia-louis-dreyfus-seinfeld-veep-you-hurt-my-feelings |url-status=live }}</ref> After moving to [[Washington, D.C.]], when Louis-Dreyfus was four, her mother married L. Thompson Bowles, dean of the [[George Washington University School of Medicine|George Washington University Medical School]];<ref name="actors"/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.regenerx.com/wt/page/bod_bowles|title=Regenerex.com Board of Directors|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303202133/http://www.regenerx.com/wt/page/bod_bowles |archive-date=March 3, 2016|website=RegenerX.com}}</ref> Louis-Dreyfus gained a half-sister, [[Lauren Bowles]], also an actress. Due to her stepfather's work with [[Project HOPE (USA)|Project HOPE]], she spent her childhood in several U.S. states and countries such as [[Colombia]], [[Sri Lanka]], and [[Tunisia]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=Galloway|first=Stephen|date=April 25, 2016|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus Reveals What Happened Behind the Scenes of Emotional 'Seinfeld' Finale|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/julia-louis-dreyfus-seinfeld-finale-882188/|access-date=November 14, 2021|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|language=en-US|archive-date=November 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211114023909/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/julia-louis-dreyfus-seinfeld-finale-882188/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Margy|last=Rochlin|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/arts/television/09juli.html|title=Trying to Turn Elaine Into Christine|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=March 9, 2006|access-date=February 17, 2017|archive-date=October 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016155552/https://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/09/arts/television/09juli.html|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1979, she graduated from the all-girls [[Holton-Arms School]] in [[Bethesda, Maryland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/julia-louis-dreyfus-alumnae-support-brett-kavanaugh-accuser-letter-1144256|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Former Classmates Support Brett Kavanaugh Accuser in Letter|first=Jackie|last=Strause|date=September 17, 2018|work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|access-date=September 29, 2018|archive-date=April 22, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210422103036/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/julia-louis-dreyfus-alumnae-support-brett-kavanaugh-accuser-letter-1144256|url-status=live}}</ref> She later said of the school, "There were things I did in school that, had there been boys in the classroom, I would have been less motivated to do. For instance, I was president of the honor society."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://capitolfile-magazine.com/julia-louis-dreyfus-veep-seinfeld|title=The Joys of Being Julia Louis-Dreyfus|first=Kelly Jane|last=Torrance|date=December 12, 2011|work=Capitol File|access-date=September 29, 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190227105002/https://capitolfile-magazine.com/julia-louis-dreyfus-veep-seinfeld|archive-date=27 February 2019}}</ref>

Louis-Dreyfus graduated from [[Northwestern University]] in [[Evanston, Illinois]] in 1983,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-13 |title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus (awkwardly) leads the way to Northwestern's big dance |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2017/03/13/julia-louis-dreyfus-awkwardly-leads-the-way-to-northwesterns-big-dance/ |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=Chicago Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=On the Wild Side: Northwestern Magazine - Northwestern University |url=https://www.northwestern.edu/magazine/fall2014/feature/on-the-wild-side.html |access-date=2025-02-23 |website=www.northwestern.edu}}</ref> where she was a member of the [[Delta Gamma]] sorority. She studied theatre and performed in the [[Mee-Ow Show]], a student-run improv and sketch comedy revue, before dropping out during her junior year to take a job at ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-how-julia-louis-dreyfus-became-most-successful-sitcom-star-20181017-story.html|title=How Julia Louis-Dreyfus quietly became the most successful sitcom star ever|first=Geoff|last=Edgers|date=October 17, 2018|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=November 23, 2018|archive-date=November 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181124055320/https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/tv/ct-ent-how-julia-louis-dreyfus-became-most-successful-sitcom-star-20181017-story.html|url-status=live}}]</ref> In 2007, she received an honorary doctor of arts degree from Northwestern University.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus to Speak at Northwestern Commencement: Northwestern University News|url=https://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2006/11/commencement.html|date=November 21, 2006|access-date=August 23, 2020|website=www.northwestern.edu|language=en|archive-date=August 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808213635/https://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2006/11/commencement.html|url-status=live}}</ref>