Julia Louis-Dreyfus Recalls ‘Emotionally Devastating’ Miscarriage At 28 And Her Mom’s ‘Comforting’ Response

May 02, 2023 by apost team

Julia Louis-Dreyfus is an accomplished and talented actress with multiple awards, but she is also a wife to comedian/writer Brad Hall and a mother to two boys. One of her sons is following in her footsteps and has starred in an HBO series. 

New York-born Louis-Dreyfus became the youngest-ever female cast member of "Saturday Night Live" at 21 years old. She joined the sketch show in the early '80s, where she met the love of her life, Hall. After dating for a couple of years, the two decided to get married in 1987. Louis-Dreyfus then clinched the role of Elaine Benes in the long-running hit comedy series "Seinfeld" in 1989. This brought her a lot of accolades and widespread recognition as one of the funniest women on TV. 

When "Seinfeld" ended in 1998, the actress went on to star in "The New Adventures of Old Christine" for five years and then elevated her status as one of TV's best stars when she starred in and reaped awards yet again for "Veep" from 2012 to 2019. 

In 1992, Louis-Dreyfus and Hall decided to start a family and welcomed their first son, Henry Hall. Their second son, Charlie Hall, was born in 1997. However, the actress revealed in an episode of her "Wiser Than Me" podcast that before little Henry was even born, she was pregnant with another child that she sadly lost. 

“When I was about 28, I got pregnant for the first time, and I was crazy happy,” she candidly admitted. “I got pregnant easily. I felt very fertile, very womanly. And then, quite late in the pregnancy, my husband, Brad, and I discovered that this little fetus was not going to live.” Read on to learn more about Louis-Dreyfus’ miscarriage. 

At 62, Louis-Dreyfus has achieved many accomplishments as an actress. From winning seven Primetime Emmy Awards as an Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series to nine Screen Actors Guild Awards and one Golden Globe – she seemed to have everything a budding actress could want nowadays. 

However, back when she was still relatively young and starting in the business, Louis-Dreyfus revealed during an episode of her “Wiser Than Me” podcast in which she interviewed food writer Ruth Reichl that she was “crazy happy” before she suffered a late miscarriage at 28 years old. Entertainment Weekly noted she was 28 when “Seinfeld” premiered in 1989. 

“So that was emotionally devastating, as you can imagine, but it got worse because I developed an infection that landed me in the hospital,” she described, calling the whole situation a “total nightmare” for her. 

Because of this, her mother, Judith Bowles, rushed to her side in hopes of making her daughter feel better. Bowles cooked for her daughter to try the healing power of a home-cooked meal. 

When Louis-Dreyfus came home after being hospitalized, she recalled being welcomed with the sumptuous smell of “incredible cozy chili in a cast iron skillet with cornbread on top in the pan.” Despite describing it as the “best meal ever,” Louis-Dreyfus revealed that she wasn’t able to eat the food because she was not allowed to intake solids. 

“Food is central to the traditions of my family,” she added. “I would think that to most families, that’s the case. I relate food especially to my mom. She’s a great cook. This is one of my greatest memories around food, even though it has sort of an odd kicker.”

The actress further said the meal her mother cooked for her at the time felt “comforting” and “embracing” at that particularly low moment in her life. 

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What can you say about Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ tragic miscarriage? Do you also have mixed memories of your “best meal ever” like her? Let us know, and pass this on to your family, friends and other loved ones.