NBC
During a recent appearance on Amy Poehler’s podcast, iconic comedy actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus admitted that she was jealous of the actresses on Friends because she felt their characters were sexier than Elaine Benes.
In the pilot episode of Seinfeld, Elaine Benes does not appear. After seeing the pilot, NBC told Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David that the series needed a female character, and Elaine was born.
Unlike the actresses on Friends, however — Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Cox, and Lisa Kudrow — Julia Louis-Dreyfus did not think that her character was “sexy,” which she thinks was a “missed opportunity.”
Seinfeld actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus says she was jealous of the actresses on Friends because she “forgot” to be sexy
“Actually remember when Friends came out at some point, when we were doing Seinfeld, not in the beginning, it was sort of, I can’t remember what the years were. But, and all those girls were so sexy,” the Oscar winner explained.
And I remember thinking like, ‘Oh, f—, I should have been sexy! This was such a missed opportunity.’ Like a mid-drift. Anything. Anything!
“Yeah. I think that all the time,” Poehler replied. “Seriously, I can’t tell you how many I’m like, ‘Oh, I forgot to be sexy. Oh my god!”
jld not thinking she was sexy on seinfeld…baby that was my gay awakening pic.twitter.com/ReJUkMtloB
— selina meyer’s wife (@selinameyersgf) December 12, 2025
Needless to say, many Seinfeld fans disagreed with JLD’s take that Elaine wasn’t sexy.
I think there’s a subconscious misconception that women can’t be funny/goofy and sexy at the same time… like, this is one of the hottest looks ever on TV https://t.co/iG05i2vaw5 pic.twitter.com/r9K0bzPC7D
— Nina ☽☾ (@nocturnologist) December 14, 2025
Ya did just fine Elaine https://t.co/3E1rIcng36 pic.twitter.com/jAdLrc0UVK
— This Podcast is Making Me Thirsty Seinfeld Podcast (@ThisThirsty) December 13, 2025
Playing Elaine Benes in Seinfeld is just one of the iconic comedy roles that the 11-time Emmy Award winner portrayed, as she also famously played the lead role of Selina Meyer on Veep, a role that eared her six Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series between 2012 and 2019.