Elaine Benes
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Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the US television sitcom Seinfeld (1989–1998), played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She was revealed to be the ex-girlfriend of Jerry, but remains close friends with him, George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer.
Elaine was the only character, of those mentioned above, missing from the pilot episode (episode one). She would make her first appearance in the second episode, "Male Unbonding." Her character was added because NBC executives felt the show was too male-centric, and demanded that creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David add a woman to the cast, or the show would not be renewed.
She is supposedly based on comedian Carol Leifer, Seinfeld's real-life ex-girlfriend, and Monica Yates, Larry David's real-life ex-girlfriend. It is thought that she is a composite of the two women.
Character
Elaine is mostly a victim of fate throughout the series. Her storylines see her caught up in the machinations of the other characters, or coming into conflict either with inadequate boyfriends or the arbitrary requirements of her eccentric employers. Many episodes end with Elaine ruining something for someone (Jerry's sitcom, the Soup Nazi's business etc.)Family
Unlike the families of Jerry and George, Elaine's relatives never had large parts on the show. Her father, gruff author Alton Benes (a character based on the novelist Richard Yates and played by Lawrence Tierney), was featured in the episode "The Jacket" and a cousin, Holly, was featured in "The Wink." In "The Wink," reference is made to Elaine's Grandma Mimma, from whom Holly inherited a fancy set of napkins."The Jacket" also revealed that Elaine has a sister in St. Louis (later called Gail in "The Pick"). In the same episode, Elaine's father asks how her mother is, suggesting her parents are divorced. In "The Secret Code," she reveals that she has an uncle who worked in the Texas School Book Depository with Lee Harvey Oswald. In "The Pick," Elaine mentions she has a nephew. She also makes reference to a brother-in-law in "The Phone Message," although it is unclear if this brother-in-law is married to the aforementioned Gail or another sister.
Orioles and education
Unlike the other characters, she was not a native of New York, having grown up in the upscale Baltimore suburb of Towson, Maryland. In "The Letter," she revealed herself to be a Baltimore Orioles fan, causing a disruption when she wore Orioles cap while seated in the owner's box at a New York Yankees game. Elaine has an IQ of 151 and completed her undergraduate education at Tufts University, which she claims was her safety school in "The Puerto Rican Day". For comparison, Jerry and George attended Queens College, and Kramer's highest level of education was revealed to be a "high school equivalency" in "The Barber."Employment
Elaine was one of the few characters who worked steady jobs throughout the show's entire run (the other being Jerry), Working mostly as a writer or editor. During the first five seasons, she worked at Pendant Publishing with her boss Mr. Lippman, where she served as a copy editor before losing her job at the end of the fifth season when the company went bankrupt, and a merger that would have saved the company was thwarted by a misunderstanding stemming from her own bumbling ("The Opposite"). She then became a personal assistant to the eccentric and demanding Justin Pitt, starting in "The Chaperone", but later got fired when Mr.Pitt thought she and Jerry were conspiring to kill him.She then met J. Peterman on the street ("The Understudy") and became an editor at his J. Peterman Catalog, where she would remain employed for the rest of the show's run. Starting in "The Foundation," she took charge of the catalog when Peterman suffered a nervous breakdown in Burma. But after a spending spree on the company account (she bought George an $8000 sable hat in "The Chicken Roaster"), she was later demoted back to her former position upon Peterman's return.
She was also fired twice by Peterman: first when her penchant for poppy seed muffins led her to fail a drug test in "The Shower Head" and then in "The English Patient" when she expressed her hatred for the movie The English Patient (although by agreeing to temporarily live in a remote cave in the desert she able to recover her job).
Romantic relationships
- Elaine and Jerry had once dated, and usually mention that things didn't work out. However, they twice slept together after breaking up: In "The Deal", they create a set of rules whereby they can sleep together but remain only friends. Their theory is ruined however when they starting squabbling too much (Elaine is furious when Jerry gives her $182 as a birthday gift). Then, in "The Mango", Jerry is so upset at learning that Elaine had faked her orgasms while they were together, that she agrees to give him another chance "to save the friendship". The only other hint that they may still have feelings for each other comes in "The Finale", when they think their plane is about to crash. Elaine says "Jerry, I gotta tell you something...I've always loved y-" (but before she can finish, the plane steadies itself).
- Elaine had a string of boyfriends, most appearing for only an episode or two. Like Jerry, Elaine's relationships usually ended over shallow, superficial reasons. Her longest relationship was with slow-witted, hockey-loving car salesman David Puddy (Patrick Warburton). The two broke-up and then made-up repeatedly during their relationship. For example in "The Butter Shave", they repeatedly end and renew their relationship during the course of their plane trip back from Norway.
- She dates baseball player (and Kramer and Newman nemesis) Keith Hernandez in "The Boyfriend, Part 1" and "The Boyfriend, Part 2".
- Over several episdes in season 4, she dates "Crazy" Joe Davola, who is simultaneously stalking Jerry.
- In "The Masseuse", she dates a man named Joel Rifkin, who shares the same name as a notorious serial killer.
- She dates NBC president Russell Dalrymple in The Pitch, and he wants to impress her so much that he joins Greenpeace.
- In "The Bizarro Jerry", she dates Kevin, a nicer, kinder version of Jerry whose friends Gene, Feldman and Vargus are nicer, politer "Bizarro World" versions of George, Kramer and Newman.
- In "The Stall", her good-looking but unintelligent boyfriend Tony, dubbed a "Mimbo" by Jerry, becomes George's new idol.
- In "The Wallet" she dates psychiatrist Dr. Reston who has such a control over her she calls him her svengali (but pronounces it "svenjolly").
- In "The Sponge," Elaine found herself short of her supply of favored contraceptive sponges (the sale of which had been halted by the government) and pondered whether certain men were "spongeworthy"—that is, worthy of sex at the cost of using one of her limited number of sponges.
- During a restauraunt dinner with a married couple in a 5th season episode, Elaine makes up an elaborate story that she once dated a romantic bull fighter from Spain named "Eduardo Corrochio", making his name up hesitantly on the spot. Trivia: In reality, there is a famous person by the name of "Eduardo Corrochio" - he was a Spainish tap dancer in the late 1800's.
- Newman has a long-running crush on Elaine over the course of the series.
- In "The Tape", George becomes attracted to Elaine after hearing a joke erotic message that she leaves on Jerry's answering machine.
Pet peeves
In an early episode, Elaine expresses disdain with the world's interest in the Kennedy family, but in Season Four's "The Contest", Elaine crosses paths with John F. Kennedy, Jr. at her gym and becomes so infatuated with him (and the fantasy of becoming the next Mrs. Kennedy) that she loses her self-control as well as the contest. Elaine is crushed to learn JFK Jr. is dating Jerry's ex, Marla "the virgin" (Jane Leeves).
- Elaine is also a very headstrong character with regards to her personal beliefs.In "The Couch," she broke up with her boyfriend after finding out that he was anti-abortion.
- In "The Stranded," she engages a girlfriend of George's in a heated argument regarding a fur coat (although in "The Reverse Peephole," she commented "Anti-fur: I mean, who has the energy anymore?").
Physicality
- Elaine's signature move was to express incredulity by frontally shoving people while yelling: "Get out!"
- She was also a notoriously poor dancer, as evidenced in the episode entitled "The Little Kicks" in which she dances at a J. Peterman company party. George described her dancing as "a full-bodied dry heave set to music."
Nicknames
- She is sometimes called "Lanie" by Jerry.
- In "The Susie," she develops an alter-ego named Susie after being called that by a coworker.
- In "The Pick", Elaine is nicknamed "Nip" by her colleagues after her Christmas card picture, taken by Kramer, accidentally reveals one of her nipples.
Enemies
Elaine's quick temper has made her several foes over the years.- She has a hatred for former schoolmate and candy-bar heiress Sue Ellen Mischke, whom she dubs "The Braless Wonder". Sue Ellen appears in several episodes, including "The Caddy" where her braless strut down the street causes Kramer to crash his car and in "The Betrayal", where Elaine is so angry that she receives an "unvitation" (a super-last-minute invitation) to Sue Ellen's wedding, she travels all the way to India just to show up.
- Her anti-abortion argument with restauranteur Poppie gets him so angry that he loses control of his bladder in "The Couch" and again in "The Doorman".
- In "The Understudy", after she thinks her Korean manicurists are making fun of her, she angers them by bringing in Frank Costanza to eavesdrop on them.
- In "The Fire", Elaine hates her energetic and always-happy colleague Toby. Things turn worse for Elaine when Toby loses her pinky toe in an accident (caused by Jerry) and an outpouring of office sympathy leads Toby to a major promotion instead of the more-qualified Elaine.
- In "The Visa" she and Jerry anger Pakistani immigrant Babu after she fails to notice Babu's visa application among Jerry's mail that she is picking up for him.
- In "The Engagement", she is so incensed by a neighbour's barking dog that she hires Newman and Kramer to kidnap it.
Inconsistencies
- Elaine hates the film The English Patient, preferring the comedy Sack Lunch. However, in the episode "The Comeback," she disparages the Weekend at Bernie's series, and professes to enjoy such "art-house" movies as The Pain and the Yearning.
- In "The Stranded", Elaine states that she is a pesco-vegetarian, yet in later episodes she doesn't seem to be the least amount animal friendly, outwordly expressing her love for duck and other meats.
External links
- [Elaine on Seinfeldonline.com]- Unofficial fan website.
| Seinfeld |
|---|
| Characters |
| Main Characters: Jerry Seinfeld (character)>Jerry Seinfeld | George Costanza | Elaine Benes | Cosmo Kramer |
| Related to Jerry: Helen Seinfeld > Morty Seinfeld | Uncle Leo | Kenny Bania | Sally Weaver | Dr. Tim Whatley |
| Related to George: Estelle Costanza > Frank Costanza | Susan Ross | Mr. Wilhelm | Mr. Kruger | Lloyd Braun |
| Related to Elaine: Jacopo Peterman>J. Peterman | David Puddy | Mr. Lippman | Justin Pitt | Sue Ellen Mischke |
| Related to Kramer: Newman (Seinfeld)>Newman | Mickey Abbott | Jackie Chiles | Bob Sacamano | Babs Kramer | Lomez |
| Other: Soup Nazi > "Crazy" Joe Davola | Minor characters in Seinfeld |
| Culture of the Seinfeld Universe |
| Festivus > Master of Your Domain | Regifting List of fictional films in Seinfeld | Coffee Table Book About Coffee Tables |
| Episodes |
| List of Seinfeld episodes > The Seinfeld Chronicles |
| Other |
| List of Seinfeld references to actual people > Running gags in Seinfeld |
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