Julia Louis Dreyfus' Net Worth (Updated 2022) | Wealthy Gorilla

Net Worth:	$250 Million
Age:	63
Born:	January 13, 1961
Gender:	Female
Height:	1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Country of Origin:	United States of America
Source of Wealth:	Professional Actress
Last Updated:	January 16, 2024

Table of Contents

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• Introduction
• Saturday Night Live
• Seinfeld
• Seinfeld Salary
• VEEP Salary

Introduction

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an American professional actress, comedian, producer, and singer with an estimated net worth of $250 Million

Saturday Night Live

At university, Dreyfus studied theatre and performed in the Mee-Ow Show, an improv and comedy sketch revue run by students. However, she dropped out in her junior year after being offered a job on Saturday Night Live’s late-night comedy show.

After performing with The Practical Theatre Company at their Golden 50th Anniversary Jubilee, Julia Louis-Dreyfus was asked to join Saturday Night Live. She subsequently became a cast member, alongside Eddie Murphy, Martin Short, and Jim Belushi, in 1982, as the youngest female cast member at the time.

During her final year on the series, she met writer Larry David, who would later become the co-creator of the sitcom Seinfeld. Following her departure from SNL in 1985, Julia appeared in several films, including Soul Man and National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. She also appeared in the sitcom Day By Day, which aired on NBC for two seasons before being canceled due to low viewership.

Seinfeld

In the early 1990s, Julia Louis-Dreyfus began playing the role of Elaine on NBC’s Seinfeld. Appearing in all but three episodes over nine seasons, she garnered critical acclaim for her performance and was a regular presence on award shows throughout the 1990s. Her role on the show earned her a Golden Globe, five Screen Actors Guild Awards, five American Comedy Awards, and a Primetime Emmy. Although Michael Richards won more awards for his role as Kramer, Julia came in a close second thanks to her acting skills.

By 1998, when Jerry Seinfeld decided to end the series, the finale was the most-watched TV event in history, with over 76 million viewers tuning in!

Success After Seinfeld

Following a voice role in Pixar’s A Bug’s Life, Julia made several appearances playing herself on Larry David’s newest show, Curb Your Enthusiasm. She took a brief break from TV before appearing alongside Steve Carell in the sitcom Watching Ellie, which premiered on NBC. After this show was canceled in 2003, she took a role on Arrested Development, appearing from 2004 to 2005 as Michael Bluth’s love interest.

In 2005, she was cast in the title role in the CBS sitcom The New Adventures of Old Christine and earned a Primetime Emmy Award. The following year, she hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live and appeared alongside former co-stars Jason Alexander and Jerry Seinfeld. Because her appearance was so successful, Julia was invited to host SNL again in March 2007 and April 2016.

Continued Success And Acclaim

After Old Christine was canceled in 2010, Julia Louis-Dreyfus starred several times with Lisa Kudrow in the web series Web Therapy. Shortly after, she was cast in the lead role of the 2011 HBO series Veep as the U.S. Vice President Selina Meyer. Following the success of the show’s first season, the Huffington Post called Julia one of the funniest people of 2012.

In 2013, she returned to voice acting, providing the voice of Rochelle in the American animated film Planes, which grossed over $200 million. A few years later, in 2015, she appeared in the Comedy Central sketch series Inside Amy Schumer, which proved to be a hit.

Expanding Her Career

In 2020, Julia Louis-Dreyfus appeared in the comedy-drama Downhill with Will Ferrell, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. The following year, she joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier on Disney+ as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. She reprised her role in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever and will appear in the 2024 MCU film Thunderbolts.

In 2023, she started hosting her own Podcast, Wiser Than Me, in which she interviewed women older than herself and asked about their life experiences. After being renewed for a second season, this podcast was also named Postcast of the Year by Apple, giving Julia yet another award. Additionally, in 2023, Julia starred in the Netflix film “You People” and the A24 film “Tuesday,” which premiered at the Telluride Film Festival.

Seinfeld Salary

Dreyfus, Michael Richards, and Jason Alexander all had equal salaries throughout Seinfeld’s nine seasons. Their exact salaries for seasons one through four are unknown, but are thought to be minimal. For comparison, Seinfeld earned $20,000 per episode for the first season, $40,000 for seasons two and three, and $100,000 for season four.

In 1993, Dreyfus, Richards, and Alexander negotiated pay rises to $160,000 per episode. Dreyfus earned $3.52 million for season five, $3.68 million for season six, and $3.52 million apiece for seasons seven and eight.

In 1997, the three cast members threatened to quit the show if they weren’t paid $1 million per episode. They eventually settled for $600,000/episode, which they earned for the ninth and final season. Dreyfus earned $13.2 million for the season, which brought her total upfront salary to at least $27.4 million. Given that Jerry earned only $3.8 million from the first four seasons, Julia likely earned between $1 million and $3 million, which would estimate to roughly $30 million overall.

VEEP Salary

In 2012, Louis-Dreyfus was cast as the lead role of Selina Meyer in HBO’s political drama, VEEP. The show aired for seven seasons, from 2012 to 2019, comprising a total of 65 episodes. According to a 2017 article from Variety, Julia was earning $250,000 per episode. However, it is unclear when she began earning this figure, as VEEP was already in its second-to-last season at the time. Additional reports suggest she earned $500,000 per episode for the show’s seventh and final season.

Based on the information above, Louis-Dreyfus should have earned an estimated $2.5 million for season six and $3.5 million for season seven. The first five seasons could have earned her anywhere between $5 million and $12.5 million, with the total from all seven falling somewhere between $11 million and $18.5 million.