Julia Louis-Dreyfus Wins Mark Twain Award For American Humor
Image by Getty Images
Shockingly, there was apparently an award Julia Louis-Dreyfus hadn’t won yet.
Reassuringly, she has now won it.
Today the Kennedy Center announced that Julia Louis-Dreyfus will receive the 21st annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. The prize is awarded to “people who have had an impact on American society in ways similar to the distinguished 19th century novelist and essayist best known as Mark Twain.” Mark Twain, famous for being quoted — and misquoted — also wrote a number of humorous novels and essays.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus comes from a famous Jewish family, but found her place in comedy Talmud for her nine years as Elaine on “Seinfeld.” In secular politics, though, she is best known for her role as Selina Meyer on HBO’s “Veep.”
In an official statement, Louis-Dreyfus said “Merely to join the list of distinguished recipients of this award would be honor enough, but, as a student of both American history and literature, the fact that Mr. Twain himself will be presenting the award to me in person is particularly gratifying.” She will receive the award on Sunday, October 21, 2018.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus has been winning a lot lately: her awards and nominations are so extensive they have their own wikipedia page, and include her Best Actress Emmy for all six seasons of Veep.
If anyone deserves it, it’s Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She’s hilarious:
And, unlike her “Veep” character, she delivers a pretty incredible heartfelt speech. At the 2017 SAG awards she delivered a powerful message on immigration and spoke about how her Jewish father escaped Nazi-occupied France.
As Mark Twain definitely actually said, “Mazel Tov, Julia!”
Lisa Yelsey is the Schmooze intern. You can find her on Instagram @Lisa.H.Y
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
