Editing Julia Louis-Dreyfus (section)

===1990<!--Her very first appearance on Seinfeld was in the May 31, 1990 episode. DO NOT change it to 1989.-->–1998: ''Seinfeld'' and widespread recognition===
[[File:Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2078586922).jpg|thumb|upright|left|Louis-Dreyfus at the [[47th Primetime Emmy Awards|47th Emmy Awards ceremony]] in September 1995]]
In the early 1990s, Louis-Dreyfus became famous for the role of [[Elaine Benes]] on NBC's ''[[Seinfeld]]''. She played the role for nine seasons, appearing in all but three episodes.<ref name="actors"/> One of the episodes that she did not appear in was the pilot episode, "[[The Seinfeld Chronicles]]", because her character was not initially intended to be a part of the series. It was only after the first episode that [[NBC]] executives felt the show was too male-centric and demanded that creators [[Larry David]] and [[Jerry Seinfeld]] add a woman to the cast. It was revealed in the commentary on the DVD package that the addition of a female character was the condition for commissioning the show. Louis-Dreyfus won the role over several other actresses who also eventually enjoyed TV success, including [[Patricia Heaton]] and [[Megan Mullally]].<ref>{{cite web|first=David|last=Nusair|date=January 5, 2008|url=http://au.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_150/164_special_feature.html|title=5 Things You Didn't Know: Seinfeld|website=[[Askmen.com]]|access-date=November 13, 2011|archive-date=February 13, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160213070805/http://au.askmen.com/entertainment/special_feature_150/164_special_feature.html|url-status=live}}</ref> On the "Notes About Nothing" featurette on the [[DVD]] package, Seinfeld says that Louis-Dreyfus's ability to eat a peanut [[M&M's|M&M]] without breaking the peanut described her: "She cracks you up without breaking your nuts."<ref>{{cite web|first=Sari|last=Rosenberg|url=https://www.mylifetime.com/she-did-that/december-7-1995-the-sponge-episode-of-seinfeld-aired|title=December 7, 1995: "The Sponge" Episode of Seinfeld Aired|website=MyLifetime.com|date=December 7, 2017|accessdate=February 11, 2023|archive-date=February 12, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230212013220/https://www.mylifetime.com/she-did-that/december-7-1995-the-sponge-episode-of-seinfeld-aired|url-status=live}}</ref>

Louis-Dreyfus garnered critical acclaim for her performance on the series, and she was a regular winner and nominee at television award shows throughout the 1990s. Her performance earned her two [[Golden Globe Award]] nominations, winning once in 1994, nine [[Screen Actors Guild Award]] nominations, winning one in 1995 and two in both 1997 and 1998, and seven [[American Comedy Awards]], winning five times in 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997 and 1998. In 1996, she won the [[Primetime Emmy Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/julia-louis-dreyfus|title=Julia Louis-Dreyfus Emmy Nominated|website=[[Emmys.com]]|access-date=November 30, 2011|archive-date=March 8, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308220653/http://feed.emmys.com/celebrities/julia-louis-dreyfus|url-status=live}}</ref> for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, an award she was nominated for on seven occasions from 1992 to 1998. After receiving the award, Louis-Dreyfus said the win was a "shocker", and that after being in both positions, it was "much better to win than to lose."<ref>[http://www.people.com/people/julia_louis-dreyfus/biography Bio] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061010/http://www.people.com/people/julia_louis-dreyfus/biography |date=March 4, 2016 }} Celebrity Central/Top 25 Celebs, ''People''</ref>

In 1998, Jerry Seinfeld decided to end the series after nine seasons. The [[The Finale (Seinfeld)|series finale]] aired on May 14 and was one of the most-watched TV events in history, with over 76 million viewers tuning in.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/16/arts/rating-for-seinfeld-finale-grazed-super-bowl-country.html | work=[[The New York Times]] | first=Bill | last=Carter | title=Rating for 'Seinfeld' Finale Grazed Super Bowl Country | date=May 16, 1998 | access-date=February 17, 2017 | archive-date=April 20, 2019 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190420173004/https://www.nytimes.com/1998/05/16/arts/rating-for-seinfeld-finale-grazed-super-bowl-country.html | url-status=live }}</ref> During her time on ''Seinfeld,'' she appeared in several films, including the comedy films ''[[Fathers' Day (1997 film)|Fathers' Day]]'' (1997), opposite [[Robin Williams]] and [[Billy Crystal]], and [[Woody Allen]]'s ''[[Deconstructing Harry]]'' (1997).