"It was so awful"— Seinfeld star Julia Louis-Dreyfus reveals a nurse called her 'Elaine' during childbirth

On the April 17 episode of her Wiser Than Me podcast, Julia Louis-Dreyfus recalled the "awful" moment she was referred to as her Seinfeld character, 'Elaine,’ when she was in labor with her first son Henry in 1992.

While talking with chef and author Ina Garten about the negatives of being recognized outside, Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared how the nurse at the hospital confused her for her television character.

“I was standing there, and my water broke, and all of a sudden a nurse came into the room, and I went, ‘My water broke!’ Okay, reminding you — [I was] naked. And she goes, ‘Elaine!’ It was so awful. Isn’t that crazy?"

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Julia Louis-Dreyfus opens up about the “downside” of being a recognizable celebrity

Julia Louis-Dreyfus played Elaine Benes for nine seasons on Seinfeld, a hyper-observant comedy show about a friend group from New York City. The show also featured Jerry Seinfeld, Jason Alexander, and Michael Richards. In the newest episode of her podcast, Wiser Than Me, Louis-Dreyfus opened up about the “downside” of being a recognizable face in the industry to guest star chef and author Ina Garten.

Fifty minutes into the podcast, while discussing how audiences, who have become familiar with television characters, often struggle to separate fact from fiction, Julia Louis-Dreyfus shared an incident where a nurse called her by her Seinfeld character name during one of her most vulnerable moments in her life.

“I think particularly with television, with computers, I should say, I mean everybody’s watching it on all these other devices. But you’re in their home, so they feel relaxed in your presence which can be lovely but there is a downside to it though," Julia Louis-Dreyfus said.

Narrating the incident, Julia Louis-Dreyfus added,

"I was giving birth, and when you’re in labor, they put that monitor around your tummy. And I was in the bathroom and I was naked, and I had the thing around my tummy and I was massive, by the way. And I gained like 50 pounds when I was pregnant.”

The Veep star, who is the daughter of French-American billionaire Gerard Louis Dreyfus, was in the Chicago improv troupes The Second City and the Practical Theatre Company before she became the youngest female cast member of SNL in 1982. Louis-Dreyfus, who has been open about her dispiriting spell at the sketch comedy show, told the Guardian last year:

“The most wretched experience of my life. But it was very challenging. I knew I couldn’t keep that going. And if this was what it meant to be in show business, I wanted nothing to do with it. I had this feeling: if I can’t find the fun again, I can walk away from this.”

While she was unhappy during her time on the show between 1982 and 1985, she did forge a friendship with Larry David, who later co-created Seinfeld with Jerry Seinfeld and signed her up to play Elaine.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus went on to become one of the 90s’ biggest television stars. She married American actor, comedian, and filmmaker Brad Hall in 1987, with whom she shares two sons, Charlie and Henry Hall, who were born during Seinfeld’s run.

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While talking with PEOPLE about her upcoming podcast, Wiser Than Me, launched on April 11, 2023, the actress gushed about her two sons following in her acting footsteps.

"I love it! It's a big surprise. My son Henry just finished shooting a series for Amazon, and Charlie's in all sorts of shows, Single Drunk Female, S*x Lives of College Girls, and so on."

In a 2016 interview with Rolling Stone, Henry Hall, who is also a musician, said his mom, Julia Louis Dreyfus, was extremely supportive of his career and attends every show.

Diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017, Louis Dreyfus shared a video her sons made after she went into remission in 2018.