Elaine Benes

Elaine Marie Benes, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus, is a fictional character on the US television sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998). She used to go out with Jerry Seinfeld, and their characters remained close friends. Her other main friends are George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer.

Elaine was the only character missing from the Pilot episode. She would make her first appearance in the second episode, titled "The Stakeout."

Unlike her other friends, Elaine's family has never had large parts on the show. Her father, gruff author Alton Benes, was featured in the episode "The Jacket," and a cousin of hers was featured in "The Wink".

Unlike the other characters she is not a native of New York, having grown up in Maryland. In "The Letter" we learn that she is a die-hard Baltimore Orioles fan; to the point that she insists on wearing an Orioles cap while seated in the owners box at a New York Yankees game, causing trouble for all involved.

Elaine's main job throughout the show has been in the writing field, the exception being when she was an assistant to Mr. Pitt. She worked at Pendent Publishing as a copy writer before meeting J. Peterman and becoming an editor at the J. Peterman Catalog. At one point she was in charge of the catalog when Peterman took a short retirement to Burma. He eventually returned and she was back at her old position after losing the company money. She was fired by J. Peterman for voicing her extreme hatred for the movie The English Patient. Only by agreeing to travel to, and live in, a remote cave in the Tunisian desert did she save her job.

She has had a string of boyfriends, most appearing for only an episode or two. One of the few that had a recurring appearance was David Puddy, her calm yet slow-witted steady boyfriend, played by Patrick Warburton.

In a running sight gag, Elaine has a different hair-do in almost every episode, but though she makes a lot of it, shaking it, touching it, modelling her hairdo from every angle, none of the men ever notice her hair or make the least comment about it.

In one episode, Elaine is short of her supply of usual contraceptive sponges, and begins to ponder whether certain men are "spongeworthy".

Like Cosmo Kramer, Elaine is very physical. Her signature is to push people and say "Get out!" when surprised. She is also a very poor dancer, as evidenced in the episode entitled "The Little Kicks" in which she dances at a J. Peterman company party.