Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Net Worth In 2023 From 'Seinfeld' and More
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Eat your heart out, Elaine Benes!
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ net worth reflects the fact that she has had a prolific career on television. The actress has tied (with the late, great Cloris Leachman) for the most acting Primetime Emmy award wins with eight. In fact, she won her eight Emmys for three different shows over three decades!
Louis-Dreyfus is pretty much the only Seinfeld actor to have subverted the so-called “Seinfeld curse” that has plagued the post-NBC hit sitcom careers of the main actors from the series. And did you know that the decorated comedian comes from an extremely wealthy background to begin with? That definitely has us curious as to her bank account balance!
Here is everything you could ever want to know about Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ net worth.
How did Julia Louis-Dreyfus become famous?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has had several iconic roles to her name in her illustrious career. However, many of her younger fans are unaware that the actress actually made her TV debut as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1982 until 1985. In fact, Louis-Dreyfus even had to drop out of Northwestern University during her junior year to take the star-making gig at the age of 21.
Even with the notoriety earned from being a cast member on SNL, Louis-Dreyfus found her career faltering for the next few years as she appeared in several failed sitcoms. Though she had roles in several movies, including 1986’s Hannah and Her Sisters and 1989’s National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, she did not really find her big break until she was cast in the classic NBC sitcom Seinfeld in 1989. Louis-Dreyfus would achieve worldwide fame and critical success with her portrayal of Elaine Benes, the sole female member of the show’s main quartet.
Louis-Dreyfus has found the most success of the Seinfeld castmates following the series, being the sole member to go on to headline multiple well-received shows. She won an Emmy for her lead role in The New Adventures of Old Christine, which ran from 2006 until 2010. She followed this up with a role that would win her six consecutive Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, that of Selina Meyer in HBO’s Veep, which ran from 2012 until 2019. Post-Veep, the actress has joined the MCU starting in 2021 with her role as the mysterious Valentina Allegra de Fontaine.
Related: 100 Best Seinfeld Quotes
What is Julia Louis-Dreyfus' net worth in 2023?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is worth $250 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. In addition to her earnings from her work as an actor, comedian, producer and voice actor, Louis-Dreyfus also is the daughter of billionaire financier Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, who was reported to be worth $4 billion at the time of his death in 2016.
Related: Julia Louis-Dreyfus' Funniest Seinfeld Quotes
How much is Julia Louis-Dreyfus' father worth?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ father was billionaire financier Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, who was reported to be worth $4 billion at the time of his death in 2016. He earned this fortune by serving as the chairman of Louis Dreyfus Energy Services, a subsidiary of his family's global merchant firm Louis Dreyfus Company. The Energy Services portion of the company was involved in crude-oil trading, gas investments and infrastructure.
Is Julia Louis-Dreyfus a billionaire?
As of this writing, Julia Louis-Dreyfus is not technically a billionaire herself, though she is the daughter of a billionaire. However, she is due to receive an inheritance from her father’s hefty $4 billion estate. Even though she will have to split this money with her siblings and stepmother, this inheritance combined with her own earnings could push her into the billionaires’ club.
Is Julia Louis-Dreyfus a billionaire heiress?
At this time, it is not accurate to refer to Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a billionaire heiress, per se. However, as the daughter of a businessman who was worth a reported $4 billion at the time of his death in 2016, Louis-Dreyfus is technically the heiress of a billionaire. When her father’s estate is bequeathed and split between her and her family members, it is likely that when this inheritance is combined with her own earnings that she will be a bonafide billionaire.
How much did Julia Louis-Dreyfus inherit?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus is one of her billionaire father’s heirs. He passed away in 2016. However, it would appear that she has yet to inherit her portion of his reported $4 billion estate.
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How much is Julia Louis-Dreyfus' family worth?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus comes from the opposite of humble beginnings, as her father, Gerard Louis-Dreyfus was a billionaire financier. At the time of his death in 2016, he was reported to be worth $4 billion. This estate is set to be split amongst Louis-Dreyfus and her family members, meaning altogether her family will likely be worth over $4 billion with their combined earnings on top of this inheritance.
Related: Kim Kardashian's Net Worth Proves It Pays to Be Born Rich
How did Julia Louis-Dreyfus get rich?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus started out in life with a bit of a leg up as her father was a successful businessman, serving as the chairman of Louis Dreyfus Energy Services, a subsidiary of his family's global merchant firm Louis Dreyfus Company. This means that her wealth goes back several generations due to her family’s successful company. At the time of her father’s 2016 death, he was reported to be worth $4 billion.
As a result, Louis-Dreyfus has pretty much always been rich. However, she earned her own fortune through her work as an actress, making her name on the hit sitcom Seinfeld, which she starred on from 1989 until 1998. She followed this up with a starring role on The New Adventures of Old Christine from 2006 until 2010 and then acting as the lead on Veep from 2012 until 2019. Considering she has had a successful run on television since the ‘80s, in addition to guest starring roles and movie appearances, it’s no surprise that Louis-Dreyfus has been able to earn a significant amount of money over the course of her career.
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How did Julia Louis-Dreyfus make her money?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus comes from wealth, with her family running a successful company for generations, the global merchant firm Louis Dreyfus Company. Her own father was worth a reported $4 billion at the time of his death in 2016. This definitely gave Louis-Dreyfus a headstart in life, especially when it came to earning her own fortune.
Louis-Dreyfus has made her own money through her work as an actor, namely her prolific television career. As Elaine Benes on the classic sitcom Seinfeld from 1989 until 1998, the actress was reportedly able to net around $45 million in total. She headlined another sitcom, The New Adventures of Old Christine from 2006 until 2010, which added to this already hefty sum.
Eventually, Louis-Dreyfus added to her successful television resume with the lead role on HBO’s Veep from 2012 until 2019. For her part, Louis-Dreyfus was reportedly paid $500,000 per episode for the last season of the show. It has been reported she was paid $2.5 million each for the show’s early seasons, or $250,000 per episode. As the series ran for 65 episodes, this means if she was paid $2.5 million per season for the first 6 seasons and $3.5 million for the final season, ($500,000 per episode for seven episodes) she would have made at least $18.5 million in total, without counting bonuses or royalties. In addition, the actress has landed movie roles, guest-starring television roles and endorsement deals which have added to her already plentiful bank account.
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How much did Julia Louis-Dreyfus make from Seinfeld?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ early Seinfeld salary is not public knowledge, but it was likely around $20,000, give or take. However, it is known that Louis-Dreyfus along with the rest of the supporting cast were able to negotiate pay raises to $150,000 per episode in 1993. In 1997, the supporting cast requested $1 million per episode for the series’ final season, however, they instead reached a compromise of $600,000, which would give each of them $15 million for the season.
Contrary to popular belief, the supporting actors from Seinfeld do not receive hefty royalties from the show’s syndication rights as they do not have equity ownership percentage points on the show like creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David. This means the other actors most likely earn thousands in royalties each year, not millions. It has been reported that in total, Louis-Dreyfus has earned around $45 million from her role on Seinfeld.
Related: What's Jerry Seinfeld's Net Worth In 2023? Here's How He Still Makes Millions From 'Seinfeld'
Who made the most money from Seinfeld?
Not surprisingly, title actor Jerry Seinfeld made the most money from Seinfeld. As the lead actor, co-creator and also writer of many episodes, he was able to earn a good amount of money for each episode of the series. Seinfeld started out making $20,000 per episode for the first couple of seasons, and double that for season 3. He received another bump in pay for the show’s 4th, 5th and 6th seasons, to $100,000 an episode. By the 7th and 8th seasons, he was making $500,000 per episode. For the 9th and final season of the series, Seinfeld became the then-highest paid actor on television, with a salary of $1 million per episode.
In addition, as a co-creator of the series, Seinfeld also makes a significant amount for the syndication royalties from the series, the DVD sales of the show and the streaming deals as well. It has been reported Seinfeld (and co-creator Larry David) earn as much as $400 million per syndication cycle. It was also said that to stream the series on Hulu, a deal was struck that was worth between $130 million and $180 million. It’s no surprise that Seinfeld is worth a reported $950 million as of this writing.
How much did Julia Louis-Dreyfus make from Veep?
Julia Louis-Dreyfus was reportedly paid $2.5 million per season, or $250,000 an episode, for the early seasons of HBO’s Veep. She is said to have made $500,000 per episode for the show’s final season. That means she would have earned at least $18.5 million in total from the series, before royalties and bonuses. Not bad for a VP!
