Elaine Marie Benes (/ˈbɛnɪs/) is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld, played by former SNL cast member Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Louis-Dreyfus received critical acclaim for her performance as Elaine, winning an Emmy, a Golden Globe and five SAG Awards.

Leifer, who wrote or co-wrote a number of episodes for the show, has said only some elements of the backstory of the character — that she and Seinfeld had dated and have remained good friends since the relationship ended — relate to her.

[1] Leifer has said some elements of the character of Elaine, especially her assertiveness, intelligence and sense of humor, are drawn from the off-screen personality of Julia Louis-Dreyfus herself.

[2][page needed] It has been reported that other actresses were in line to play the character, including Rosie O'Donnell, Megan Mullally, Jessica Lundy, Patricia Heaton, Mariska Hargitay, and Amy Yasbeck.

[3][4][5] On the DVD commentary for the season-1 episode, “The Stakeout”, Larry David says that Elaine was based on, “…every ex-girlfriend [Jerry] and I ever had.” Unlike George, Jerry and Kramer, Elaine is not a native of New York City, having grown up in the affluent Baltimore suburb of Towson, and is shown to be a fan of the Baltimore Orioles.

Furthermore, in "The Pick", Elaine is horrified when she realizes she sent a Christmas card which features her nipple to "Sister Mary Catherine" and "Father Chelios".

In "The Wink", her cousin Holly repeatedly mentions a "Grandma Mema" who apparently shared a mutual dislike with Elaine's side of the family.

Elaine's father, a gruff novelist named Alton Benes (Lawrence Tierney), was featured in "The Jacket".

In "The Wait Out", Elaine reveals to David Lookner that Alton left her and the rest of her family when she was nine years old.

In "The Secret Code", she mentions an uncle who worked in the Texas School Book Depository with Lee Harvey Oswald.

Starting in "The Foundation", she takes charge of the catalog when Peterman suffers a nervous breakdown and flees to Burma.

After a rock climbing accident mangles Tony's face, Elaine admits to Jerry that she cannot date somebody who is unattractive and wonders how long she is obligated to stay with him post-accident.

In "The Pen", Elaine shows her love for the movie when she becomes unintentionally high on muscle relaxers and repeatedly screams "Stella" at a fancy awards dinner for Morty Seinfeld in Florida.

Her performance at a J. Peterman company party, the central plot theme of "The Little Kicks", causes George to describe it as "a full-bodied dry heave set to music."

[8] In "The Andrea Doria", Elaine dates Alan, a "bad breaker-upper", who makes her feel insecure about having a big head.

The Rabbi proceeds to tell everybody in Elaine's apartment complex and later on his cable TV show about her insecurity.

In "The Chinese Woman", Jerry describes how Elaine's influence has had a destructive effect on her relationship with her friend Noreen.

In "The Non-Fat Yogurt", Elaine suggests to Lloyd Braun, an advisor to Mayor David Dinkins, that everybody in the city should wear name tags.

She returns later to accept his proposal, but Jerry has by that time settled to his usual stable emotional state and says "I don't see it happening."

During her interview on Inside the Actors Studio, Julia Louis-Dreyfus said she believed Jerry and Elaine were soul mates but would never end up together because they were both too "insane and messed up."

Elaine's longest relationship, besides that with Jerry, is with David Puddy (Patrick Warburton), an auto mechanic turned car salesman.

Elaine dates baseball player (and Kramer and Newman's nemesis) Keith Hernandez in "The Boyfriend".

In "The Sniffing Accountant" she dates Jake Jarmel, an up-and-coming writer and star client of Pendant Publishing.

In "The Cigar Store Indian", Elaine angers Frank Costanza by taking his TV Guide without asking and then spilling her gyro on it.

Elaine's abortion argument with restaurateur Poppie gets him so angry that he loses control of his bladder in "The Couch" and again in "The Doorman".

In "The Package", it is revealed that Elaine's medical charts characterize her as a "difficult" patient to such a degree that she cannot receive treatment for a rash because one doctor after another refuses to treat her.

In "The Betrayal", Elaine is so unhappy at receiving an "unvitation" (a deliberately last-minute invitation) to her frenemy Sue Ellen Mischke's wedding that she travels all the way to India just to attend.