By Kiesly Jameson
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus (/ˌluːi ˈdraɪfəs/ LOO-ee DRY-fəs; born January 13, 1961) is an American actress and comedian. Often described as one of the greatest performers in television history, she is widely known for her roles as various characters on Saturday Night Live (1982–1985), Elaine Benes on Seinfeld (1990–1998), Christine Campbell on The New Adventures of Old Christine (2006–2010), and Selina Meyer on Veep (2012–2019). Her list of accolades makes her one of the most award-winning actresses in American television history, and she has received more Primetime Emmy Awards and more Screen Actors Guild Awards than any other performer.
Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City, the daughter of the French billionaire Gérard Louis-Dreyfus, and entered comedy as a performer with the Practical Theatre Company in Chicago. This led to her being cast in the sketch show Saturday Night Live. Her breakthrough came in 1990 with her debut at the start of a nine-season run on Seinfeld, which became one of the most critically and commercially successful sitcoms. In addition to leading roles on The New Adventures of Old Christine and Veep, she has made guest appearances on shows such as Arrested Development, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and 30 Rock. On film, Louis-Dreyfus has had supporting film roles in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989), Deconstructing Harry (1997), and You People (2023), and leading film roles in Enough Said (2013), Downhill (2020), You Hurt My Feelings (2023), and Tuesday (2023). Her voice acting work includes A Bug’s Life (1998), Planes (2013), and Onward (2020). Since 2021, she has played Valentina Allegra de Fontaine in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in three films and one Disney+ miniseries.
Louis-Dreyfus has received 11 Primetime Emmy Awards (eight for acting and three for producing) in addition to nine Screen Actors Guild Awards and one Golden Globe Award. She received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 2014. She was named as one of Time magazine‘s 100 most influential people in the world in 2016. She has also received numerous honors including the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2018 and the National Medal of Arts in 2021.
Julia Scarlett Elizabeth Louis-Dreyfus was born in New York City on January 13, 1961. Her mother, Judith (née LeFever), is an American writer and special needs educator. Her father, Gérard Louis-Dreyfus (1932–2016), was a French billionaire who served as chairman of the Louis Dreyfus Company. Her paternal grandfather, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus (1908–2011), was president of the Louis Dreyfus Group commodities and shipping conglomerate. He was a member of a Jewish family from Alsace, and served as a cavalry officer and member of the French Resistance during World War II. Louis-Dreyfus is the great-great-granddaughter of French businessman Léopold Louis-Dreyfus (1833–1915), founder of the Louis Dreyfus Group, which members of her family still control. She is the fifth cousin four times removed of Alfred Dreyfus (1859–1935) of the infamous Dreyfus affair. Robert Louis-Dreyfus (1946–2009), her father’s second cousin, was the CEO of Adidas and owner of the soccer team Olympique de Marseille. Julia’s paternal grandmother was the daughter of a Brazilian-Jewish father (whose family was Dutch, English, and Polish).
TODAY’S ALMANAC
The first Monday after Epiphany was the day for the menfolk to return to work after the holidays — although no work was actually done on this day. Dressed in clean white smocks decorated with ribbons, the men dragged a plow (plough) through the village and collected money for the “plow light” that was kept burning in the church all year. Often men from several farms joined together to pull the plow through all their villages. They sang and danced their way from village to village to the accompaniment of music. In the evening, each farmer provided a Plough Monday supper for his workers, with plentiful beef and ale for all.
In 2023, the full Moon rises on January 6. Traditionally, this full Moon was called the “Wolf Moon,” appearing when wolves howled outside the villages in hunger. The January Moon has also been called the Old Moon. To some Native American tribes, this was the Snow Moon, but most applied that name to the next full Moon, in February. See our Full Moon for January Guide.
In Sweden, January 13 is the traditional day to discard the Christmas tree and end the season’s festivities.
A children’s party is the favored way to strip the tree of its decorations, after which the children are free to plunder the edible treats and small gifts placed on the tree especially for the occasion.
This Christmas tree plundering is often accompanied by smashing up the gingerbread houses and eating them while discarding of the decorations.
Finally, everyone “dances” the tree out the door. Singing special songs, they pick up the tree and toss it out into the snow.
Question of the Day
Can you recommend some baits for my Havahart mousetrap? (No cheese, please!)
Mice may pause at a trap for cheese, but they often prefer a less expensive lure or a food that lasts longer. Try tempting them with gumdrops, peanut butter, flour, small nuts, or oatmeal.
Advice of the Day
Home Hint of the Day
Word of the Day
Puzzle of the Day
Died
- Maria Sibylla Merian (naturalist/artist) –
- Wyatt Earp (legendary marshal) –
- James Joyce (author) –
- Hubert Humphrey (vice president of the United States) –
- Charity Adams Earley (first African American officer in the Women’s Army Corps and commander of the only unit of African American women to serve overseas in WW II) –
- Patrick McGoohan (actor) –
- Teddy Pendergrass (R&B singer) –
- Blackie (thought to be the oldest male Nile hippopotamus recorded in North America at the time; he died at an estimated age 59) –
- Alfred K. Newman (U.S. Marine Corps specialist) –
Born
- Friedrich Muller (painter) –
- Horatio Alger (author) –
- Sophie Tucker (singer) –
- Kay Francis (actress) –
- Robert Stack (actor) –
- Gwen Verdon (actress) –
- Charles Nelson Reilly (actor) –
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus (actress) –
- Patrick Dempsey (actor) –
- Orlando Bloom (actor) –
- Connor McDavid (hockey player) –
Events
- American troops ordered into disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande River –
- A meeting took place in Washington, D.C., to organize the National Geographic Society –
- Opera was heard live for the first time on the radio –
- Mickey Mouse comic strip debuted in newspapers –
- The Wham-O Company developed the first frisbee –
- Brazil and the U.S. signed their first extradition treaty –
- Robert C. Weaver, the first African American ever nominated to the U.S. Cabinet, named Secretary of the new Department of Housing and Urban Development –
- U.S. Department of the Interior approved construction of the Alaskan pipeline –
- Hank Aaron was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame –
- Air Florida plane crashed into a bridge in Washington, D.C., killing 78 people –
- The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that public school officials can censor student newspapers –
- Figure skater Tonya Harding’s bodyguard, Shawn Eckardt, was arrested for his alleged role in the attack on skater Nancy Kerrigan –
- Existence of monkey clone Tetra announced –
Weather
- Nochian Flood of California created a vast sea in the Sacramento Valley –
- Sixty-five degrees below zero F at Fort Keogh near Miles City, Montana –
- Temperature rose 64 degrees in 14 hours at Radio City, South Dakota –
- Citrus crop froze in Florida; 8 degrees F, in Tallahasee –
- 13.5 inches of snow in San Antonio, Texas –
- Hallock, Minnesota, suffered a cold temperature of -38 degrees F –
COURTESY www.almanac.com
