Talking about Elaine Benes, the part Julia Louis-Dreyfus plays on Seinfeld and comparing to her in the real life is far from what she is. Louis-Dreysfus a picture of confident and charismatic woman.
Mother of two sons, Charles, 12, and Henry, 17, is tail a typical mom, in her busy work. She arrived late to the interview with Redbook since she’d forgotten to give her son permission slip. The 49 years old actress discusses about her work, marriage and family plus a long friendships which she feels “grateful to be here.”
Marriage with the writer Brad Hall, for 24 years old, she commend her husband as the man who helps her stay grounded. She shares tips for a long period married, it’s kind of basic, it’s to find the right man.
“You’ve got to find the right fellow. It is kind of basic, but very crucial. Brad and I certainly have similar goals and sensibilities; we’re on the same page in terms of how we want to raise our children and what we like to do. We’re always trying new things together — having adventures is a great way to be with your partner.”
And creating the new activity together, she adventures with her husband. “We travel a lot. A couple of years ago, we went river rafting in Chile. It was unbelievably exciting,” she said.
Having someone to rely on and to trust is the comfort for any woman. Louis-Dreyfus has found it and puts him on the primary of her life.
“My husband’s opinion is important to me. I want to know what he’s thinking about. He’s a real moral compass for me in so many ways. I’m never not interested in his point of view. So that’s a primary thing.”
And her favorite recent moment is last Christmas. She tells, “I can’t say that anything gigantic happened. It was very cozy. We went for a big family beach walk. But it was spectacularly calm and just sort of a profoundly happy day.”
And what does the motherhood for her especially with two boys? well surprise indeed, she explains,
“Well, I have four sisters. I went to an all-girls school. So I just assumed I’d have girls. It didn’t even occur to me that I might have a boy, let alone two.”
And the biggest challenging moment, she’s saying when “staying calm in the face of anything you perceive as a crisis.” She is still trying to do it, she says, “Let me get back to you in 10 years. Well, I don’t even know if I’ll be able to then.”
She opens about her quietly feelings when have to juggle between work on a hit show she has and raise kids.
“Yeah, the working-mom thing is definitely tricky. Guilt is a bitch. It’s so useless as an emotion, for me anyway. It clouds things. I’m not saying people shouldn’t feel guilty, but for me, it makes certain decision-making more difficult. And I have felt guilty. It’s one of the reasons I haven’t made a lot of movies. Network television is a full-time job, but it’s manageable. I also think it’s good for my kids to see me have artistic desires, work hard, and have success.”
And everything has gotten easier as they’ve gotten older.
But there’s a hope for her boys to learn the sensitive side of women, the sensitive part to other people and the softness side and the directness of the male sensibility is a good mix.
“I’m hoping that’s something I’ve been able to impart to our children. I’m not the sole imparter of that, of course. My husband is a sensitive guy too. But there is a softness and a sensitivity to other people that I hope my boys are learning. And I think they are.”
Her role as Christine on The New Adventures of Old Christine whom has to deal with some catty mom, she shares the way she handle parenting peer pressure.
“Not to the extent that Christine has, but there is an element of that. Many years ago, I went to [my child’s] school and ran into a mom who said, “Oh, Julia, I can’t believe I’m seeing you. We never see you anymore!” I was already consumed with guilt because I’d been working a lot. But I just put a huge smile on my face and said, “Oh, really? I guess you haven’t been here when I have.””
Get most of her time with girlfriends and feels so safe with them, she says, “I spend most of my social time with women. Obviously, I have friends who are men. But when it comes to lunch, or going hiking, or anything like that, I do it with one of my girlfriends. I’m also very, very close to one of my sisters who lives out here. These women are a safe haven for me.”
And seeing back to what she had been through and feels fabulous about it, she tells the younger a great advice.
“Wouldn’t we all love to be able to take what we know now and give it to ourselves 10, 15, 20 years ago? On the other hand, the journey of getting to where we are now is kind of fabulous, so… I guess really the bottom line is, “Trust your instincts.””
