Julia Louis-Dreyfus covers this week’s issue of Rolling Stone. She’s 53 years old. Can you believe it? I spent my 20s glued to Seinfeld and saw Julia through many hairdos and terrible dances. Now she’s broken the Seinfeld curse with her own successful television show, Veep. I had no idea how raunchy this show was until reading this recap of last week’s episode.
Rolling Stone does its share of topless covers (both male and female), so this cover of a topless Julia isn’t particularly shocking. She’s got part of the US Constitution “tattooed” on her back, and she looks fake-surprised to be pictured. Julia (or one of her underlings) posted the cover on her Facebook page with the following caption: “In my defense, ‘I was in a drunken stupor.’ #crackexcuse.” This is supposed to be a funny explanation, but does it feel a little disturbing? The notion that a woman must be plied with alcohol and be talked into posing topless for a magazine cover — it’s a little skeevy. Here are some interview excerpts:
Succeeding in Hollywood as a female; “There is sexism – I’m not denying its existence. But I’m saying that I will deny its effort against me. I just pay it no nevermind and say, ‘Get out of my way.'”
She curses on Veep and in real life: “Once, when we were trying to come up with the particular perfect, horrible, swear-y thing to say in Veep, I said, ‘You do realize that if we were 12, we would get in big trouble for this conversation.’ That was not part of the curriculum in high school, and the fact that it is now a part of the curriculum of my life is a pleasure, which is the understatement of the universe.”
Veep creator Armando Iannucci on Julia: “Julia’s not just a natural comedic performer — she’s a natural comedic brain. Once we have a script, she likes to go away and have a real think on what her character would do to react to the reality of every situation, if it would be funny to have her twitch, or to be thirsty, or if her mind was on something else.”
She’s not a billionaire: When Rolling Stone asked about her father’s firm, the Louis Dreyfus corporation, which had holdings in energy, soybean-crushing plants and real estate ––and recently donated $1 million to help eradicate voter suppression — she clarified that it’s her father’s business that’s valued in billions. “I’ve been attached to that. It’s unbelievable, because whatever I do, people just assume it’s true. Welcome to the f—in’ Internet.”
[From Rolling Stone]
Those urban/internet legends of Julia’s “billionaire” status run far and wide. They’ve been running for years, so it’s nice to hear Julia clear up her end of the story.
Back to the “drunken stupor.” Jennifer Aniston said something similar about her nude GQ shoot a few years ago. Aniston was clearly joking, and I’m almost certain Julia is at least partially joking. Do we want that kind of joke from female actresses? Maybe I’m reading far to much into this issue. I’d like to hear a female say, “Yeah, I was sober. And I wanted to take it off.” Where’s Miley Cyrus when you need her?
Photos courtesy of Rolling Stone, Fame/Flynet & WENN
I. LOVE. HER.
Yep!
I love her, too. We have a lot in common – I’m not a billionaire either.
Oh my GAWD! I do too. When Veep came back this week, I was in heaven. Julia is GIFT to humanity!
Veep rocks the house. I love that show.
She’s one of the best comediennes, yet she’s barely in the news like Tina Fey or Sarah Silverman. And yeah, Veep is my favorite show at the moment.
Love her, love her show. She looks beautiful, too.
She looks better/different than on Seinfeld. Is it just the weight loss, hair style, or was there work done? I don’t really care because if so, it’s all good and she is hilarious.
The drunken stupor joke: she probably knew what the shoot was but drank to loosen up, or it was entirely a joke.
I think she’s gained weight since Seinfeld.
I think the drunken stupor comment is more a joke regarding the “tattoo”.
She’s 53???
BITCH.
She looks amazing. She either drinks the blood of young virgins, has the best plastic surgeon in the world, or is a member of the immortal coven Leto and Berry belong to. Seriously though, she actually looks great and has avoided the plastic look many actresses her age have acquired.
+ a billion.. love Veep and when I’m in a really bad mood I always go to the video of Elanie dancing, cures it every time.
Ho hum. Another fake nude picture. Aniston was famous for them.
She is so asesore. I adore her.
VEEP IS THE SH-T!! this last episode had me cracking up! Also #MyFavoriteBluthIsThere!
I am so glad Tony Hale is a regular on a hit show!
Veep is good, but it doesn’t have that something special ( Malcolm Tucker) The Thick Of It had.
I LOVE Malcolm Tucker. To an unhealthy degree.
Veep is a bit too watered down for my taste.
I could watch Malcom Tucker clips all day.
I still love Veep though.
God, I love her.
I think you’re over-analyzing that drunken stupor comment. I thought it was funny.
Agreed!
And I love Veep and I Love JLD!!!
Yep, I also think it’s her just shutting down the criticism that will probably come from some circles.
I genuinely don’t think there was any “I was plied with alcohol to do this” to it at all. I’d believe Julia was joking more than Aniston to be honest…it’s kind of possible she’s taking the mick out of Aniston also.
I also think it’s in reference to the ginormous tattoo, not the lack of a top.
I agree
Agree. I was just going to post “why is her comment being over-analyzed”. Sheesh. I think she was simply trying to be funny! Not everything has to mean more than it actually is.
She looks great! I had forgotten she was over 50. She has barely aged at all.
Any ballyhoo about her remark is a tempest in a teapot. Honestly, sometimes I think people are looking for ways to be offended. Jeez.
Yeah, I think it was just a Rob Ford/politicians-be-on-crack joke, not a larger statement about women in the media.
The drunken stupor is a riff on Mayor Rob Ford’s excuse for being caught smoking crack: “Probably, during a drunken stupor”.
Yup! It was 100% a reference to Rob Ford. It was his excuse for smoking crack.
I will ALWAYS love this woman. I didn’t realize she was 53. I’m terrible with ages though.
As much as I could ever ‘look up to’ a celebrity, I’ve looked up to her, Tina Fey, and Amy Poehler.
I saw her make the drunken stupor quip in real time in twitter -she was interacting with co-stars so assume it was her writing then, maybe repeated by an underling on Facebook. I thought she was referring to getting the “tattoo” done in a drunken stupor, not the nude photo.
Beauty and brains. Love her!
I’m pretty sure if my husband was asked to get naked and have pictures taken of him like that he would require some liquid encouragement as well. I don’t think it has anything to do with male or female, alcohol just helps you to make some pretty dumb decisions confidently. 🙂
Yes, you’re reading far too much into it.
Julia is funny, 1,000,000 percent. Watch VEEP. You’ll love it.
Love her so much. Seinfeld if my favorite show ever but Veep is a close second. She is just amazing!
LOVE Veep!
“Ok, I’m not trying to be mean, but YOU are a catastrophe” — her delivery is the BEST
Everybody on that show needs a damn shrink, lol. I love her and the show.
Annaloo,
THAT line! Loved it, loved her delivery too! RIght after she said it, I found myself saying it in my head. LOVE that show.
And Behead: she broke the ‘curse’ with her prior show, New Adventures of Christine. She won an Emmy for that too.
Veep is amazing. Everyone on that show nails it. And they brought us the term fuck weasel.
Where can I watch it?
HBO. HBO Go.
It’s on HBO. You must watch.
It might take you a couple of episodes to adjust – its got a distinct feel / comedy to it.
@Arock – I agree that every actor on that program is on point.
Such a great cast.
But I say hands down, JLD delivers one of the best comedic performances on TV ever. She is inspired.
Dammit! I don’t get HBO 🙁
Maybe it’ll come to Netflix or Amazon Instant..
These shows that were so successful in the 90s that still run on TV till this day,i think its called syndication, do all the actors also get ‘royalties’ or just the creators. Because i am sure Jerry Seinfeld doesn’t have to work another day.
Yes, they get syndication royalties. That’s why the creators, Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, are billionaires. And why you’ll hear jokes (like on the 30 Rock live show) that the other actors have “Seinfeld money.”
So its just creators not the actors? Lets say the Friends cast dont get any royalties,just the creators of the show?
My understanding is that because Jerry and Larry had ownership in the show, they get a huge cut of the syndication deal, whereas the other actors in the show just get standard residuals in accordance with their union/contract.
I think the Friends cast negotiated for a piece of the syndication royalties for the first few years for their final contract, and now just receive the acting residuals too.
And I don’t know what it’s like for actors, but from what I’ve read Screenwriter’s residuals never appear. So, it’s not much. I imagine that it might be a little bit for writers for shows like Seinfeld though… Like, enough to cover your grocery bill for a year!
I heard Carol Leifer on Howard Stern the other day, and she wrote for Seinfeld. She said she still gets residuals checks. She wrote the “Shrinkage” episode (though the idea of Shrinkage” was Larry David’s) and a bunch of others. She brought the Elaine/female perspective quite well.
Actors get residuals.*
They typically reduce in amount as the years pass: they air less frequently or are shown on a technology that wasn’t around when the show was produced. A lot of DVD sales don’t give actors residuals, for example, as the basic SAG contract was updated long after DVDs became popular. Similar to what happened wtih streaming technology. Ultimately it is dependant on the agreement that was signed when the show was produced. I am guessing that the Seinfeld actors are highly compensated in way of residuals, they probably had great lawyers when making the deals and were also vital to the show’s ensemble.
It is possible for actors who were on successful shows decades ago to get tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in residuals.
*When SAG and AFTRA were two unions, SAG actors got residuals, AFTRA actors did not. Most single camera prime time shows were SAG. However, they are now merged into one union, SAG-AFTRA, and all get residuals.
The drunken stupor is based on rob ford. That was his excuse for stupid things he did.
Oh, I bet you’re right. I didn’t catch that.
Exactly, she is paraphrasing Rob Ford!! Nothing more to it!!
That’s what I was coming here to say, too. It’s a political joke reflecting her role on the TV show and paralleling the stupid things a real politician has said as an excuse. Hence the #crackexcuse, also a large part of the Rob Ford story.
She was not making any comments about women having to be drunk to get nude for cameras.
Also #inadrunkenstupor was a popular Twitter meme for the 24 hours after Rob Ford used it as an excuse for trying crack.
I love her always will but if it’s her father’s business she’s still an heiress it’s not like she isn’t a Dreyfus.
It doesn’t mean he’s necessarily going to leave his entire fortune to her. She’s a multi-millionaire in her own right, he may decide to leave his estate to charity. Either way, I think she rocks!
Yeah that’s true but I’ve always heard she was an heir to the fortune not that she is a CEO or something it’s not implausible that she stands to inherit a big chunk of dough. (Though you never know). It’s not like she’s from another branch of the family. That being said I like her a lot. I’ve heard from people who have met her that she is nice.
I agree that the “drunken stupor” tweet is a little flip and face-saving, and I’ve seen her take the easy way out in interviews, before. She rarely goes deep into self-revelation and is a little boastful, but when male comedians talk like this we hardly notice. I think she’s just super confident and there’s not an ounce of false humility in her.
It was a Rob Ford joke.
In my defense ‘I was in a drunken stupor’
That reads like a joke to me, what with the quotes. Like she’s making fun of what a common line that is.
The billionaire thing, I know lots of people never read beyond a headline but if you actually read most articles about her wealth, they make it pretty clear that it’s her family who has billions. The reported net worth of most people who come from insanely wealthy families is vastly over-estimated as it’s more about their future net-worth. Provided she isn’t cut out of her father’s will she likely will be worth what people think she’s worth someday.
I met her in 1992, when she was on Seinfeld. She was so nice to me and so down to earth; friendly, funny, and cool.
I saw her at the Four Seasons bar once in NY. She’s very petite and very pretty. We ere standing right next to each other so I said, “I enjoy your work” and she was really sweet and chatted for a minute.
Not even Julia Louis-Dreyfus can appear on a magazine without being naked? I am just so exhausted of this.
I get it. She chose to. She feel empowered by it. I’m not slut-shaming. It just feels so overwhelming to think that even the most powerful women in Hollywood need to be sexualized to be on a magazine cover.
I think you’re missing the point. True, many celebrities use gratuitous nudity for shock value, attention, etc. but in this case I believe the joke lies in the fact that she, both person and character, wouldn’t have to. Having a tattoo of the Declaration of Independence is making light of both the way society views tattoos and intelligence and her character on the show. The joke is in the juxtaposition, me thinks.
I agree with Ana completely.
I’m also tired of every successful female being naked and sexualized.
Amen to that. I will just say it, women, particularly powerful women need to keep their clothes on.
I can see why she doesn’t want to be viewed as an heiress, but uh, SHE IS. She will inherit unless her father gives it all to charity.
Yes, I read an interview with her a few years ago where this multi-billion dollar company was described as a family business. Her father didn’t start it, he took it over from his father.
Julia is the eldest child and has 3 siblings. She’s also said to be “the apple of her father’s eye” because she relied on hard work and perseverance to succeed instead of family money and connections.
Her father is 82 and for tax purposes has probably been distributing his wealth for several years.
If she’s not already a billionaire she soon will be.
I agree with this, she grew up a billionaire. Granted she herself is “just a millionaire”, but she was born into a extremely wealthy family. It’s playing with words really.
Gee, I wonder how many doors Daddy’s billions opened for her? Granted, she’s funny and talented, but so are thousands of other wannabe actresses.
She put in her time working hard w Practical Theatre and Second City in Chicago before getting the SNL nod.
Seems to me like she’s making a Rob Ford joke
I thought her use of “drunken stupor” was a play on Toronto Mayor Rob Ford’s famous comment, wherein he admitted to smoking crack cocaine in a “drunken stupor”:
http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/11/05/doug-ford-calls-on-police-chief-to-step-down-accuses-him-on-conspiracy-against-torontos-mayor/
Any time we can talk about Rob Ford, that makes me happy 🙂
Such a beautiful woman. This is how you age gracefully okay? *Stares at Madonna and PMK*
Aging gracefully is taking your clothes off and posing for a magazine? Good to know.
I just love her. I never heard of Veep but I will definitely check that out.
I liked her other show too, Christine something??
Is her tattoo real or was that part of the shoot? I couldnt imagine sitting thru that if its real.
I think its funny (not really) that women seem to need to be nude or semi nude but you rarely see men on the covers without their shirts on. Same for movies. I dont think they can even make a movie any more without at least one nude female even tho it isnt relevant to the story line.
If you like dark comedy and very subtle humor (a la Arrested Development), you will like Veep. It’s by the director of the indie film In the Loop – Iannucci. An acquired taste for some.
She looks great.. and so talented.. she Tina, Amy are just the examples of women doing it in Comedy. And I love her answer about sexism..
“There is sexism – I’m not denying its existence. But I’m saying that I will deny its effort against me. I just pay it no nevermind and say, ‘Get out of my way.’”
That is how the BIG GIRLS roll..
I am sure Daddy’s billions helped pave her way a little bit.
We heard you the first 4,600,782 times.
Since no one seems to actually want to admit the truth about how coming from a billion dollar family helped her, I will say it again: I wonder how much her daddy’s billions helped her out and how many doors were opened for her?
I love her.
I have always just absolutely loved her – she is extremely talented but very hard working, seems to be a really great person, and just puts out amazing work. Plus I think she’s beautiful, one of the lucky women who looks even better as she ages. And I’ve always been envious or her hair.
Veep is SUCH a great show, happy to see so many other fans here, and that it’s been recognized with awards too. The whole cast is excellent, and it’s just very sharp and funny.
Maybe the drunken stupor comment was in reference to her being 53 and posing on the cover of RS? Which is in of itself pretty rad but also unnerving and exciting I am sure for her. We get all uppity about magazines not showing enough diversity and oh look—a 53 year old who is showing off her pretty rockin’ bod and we’re upset lol
Plus look at her face. Her face is natural and not airbrushed to oblivion. Right on.
Veep btw is amazing. I love the curse words they use and the awful things they say and call Jonah lol
She doesn’t quite deny that she’s a billionaire (or will be one day), though. Clever wording/phrasing on her part.
“This is supposed to be a funny explanation, but does it feel a little disturbing? The notion that a woman must be plied with alcohol and be talked into posing topless for a magazine cover — it’s a little skeevy”
OMG…it was a JOKE.
When she is 90 she’ll still look great and will be the kind of raunchy old lady that everyone wants to talk to. And our grandchildren will be discovering this great classic show called Seinfeld and loving it as much as we do.
i think it had more to do with the “tattoo”. you know being drunk and “hey lets do this” and then waking up and thinking “oh god no”
I mean– are we missing that it’s a Rob Ford reference?
She’s great, loved her in Seinfeld, love her in Veep.
Whatevs. I worked for her father’s company for 12 years and met her once. The company is run by her father and uncle, if I remember correctly, headquarters in France, US headquarters in Wilton, CT. She’s the sole heir after her dad and uncle, so….yeah….BILLIONAIRE! Lovely lady, though…amazingingly funny in person. 🙂
Doesn’t her father have 2 other children as well? And I think there are cousins too, so I can’t imagine she’s the sole heir.
Plus as others have said, who knows if she will inherit anything, her father could give his whole fortune to charity.
My brother’s friend knew her somehow in Chicago and said JLD spent part of her life traveling or living at time with her mom and stepfather who worked for an overseas charity group, like Hope or Care. He said that experience gave her a pretty aware down to earth attitude, versus entitled.
I love Julia and I loved her movie “Enough Said” with James Gandolfini. Julia was supposed to be less feminine than some of the other characters but I was so in love with her beauty and how she dressed that she put the other women to shame. I think being natural and not trying too hard is more beautiful than desperately clinging to youth. I know this was just a movie but I see this in real life ALL THE TIME. I also see young people being un-authentic and too much into makeup and looking fake rather than just letting their natural self shine. But, I know I am rare among most people and prefer the natural look to being glossed, groomed and packed into an outfit. Off topic – I do prefer straight teeth though.
I have to say I love Armando Iannucci, and ‘The Day Today’ and ‘Brass Eye’ still stand up even now (NEWWWWSSSS!), and his own show – ‘The Armando Iannucci Show’ was excellent too. And Alan Partridge, obviously. He’s great. I’ve yet to watch Veep but I’m always glad that he keeps on working.
Don’t be disturbed by the quote – the “druken stupor” bit is a direct copy of Toronto Mayor Ford’s notorious crack excuses…
A little Rob Ford refresher for you:
http://www.thestar.com/news/crime/2013/11/05/rob_ford_yes_i_have_smoked_crack_cocaine.html
I think she’s quoting Rob Ford with the “drunken stupor” comment.
Also, I’m still going to believe she’s a billionaire haha. An awesome woman with money, what more could you ask for? 🙂
Have you seen the short film she did with her husband Brad Hall, called Picture Paris?
Truly a must!
So she “joked” that the Rolling Stone people sexually assaulted her. That is not funny.
She did? I don ‘t see that at all.
I’m surprised that the author of this post has totally missed the Rob Ford crack excuse joke/reference and attached an annoying (because it is totally off-base) “deep-reading” (*cough* mis-reading) of a quote that was all over the news mere months ago….
Yep. Julia’s always got comedy on the brain, that’s all it was. She is not going to bring down women with this joke, even if the point is missed. I’m so happy to see she’s enduring, she is one of the funniest people who has ever been on television.
Just to be shallow, i have to mention that she has an excellent body. I remember her on the red carpet (Emmys?) in some body hugging dress, and nobody had noticed her body before because Elaine was kind of frumpy.
It was a J O K E !
A Joooooke.
And 53 is the new hot, apparently. She looks great.
If I was her I’d downplay my family’s wealth as well, even though her family is absolutely loaded and has been for more than a century, with the Louise-Dreyfus group existing since 1851. It’s not good to have wealth being made public. I’d imagine it would be risky, lead to difficulties in relation to personal safety of oneself and one’s family.
LOVE HER TOO, great comedic sense and good role model for women ++++