Julia Louis-Dreyfus Recalls "Emotionally Devastating" Pregnancy Loss in Her 20s

Julia Louis-Dreyfus recently shared one of her most personal life experiences. While talking about food during an April 25 episode of her "Wiser Than Me" podcast from Lemonada Media, the 62-year-old actor spoke about experiencing pregnancy loss in her 20s. "When I was about 28, I got pregnant for the first time, and I was crazy happy," she said. "I got pregnant easily. I felt very fertile, very womanly. And then, quite late in the pregnancy, my husband Brad [Hall] and I discovered that this little fetus was not going to live."

After receiving the "emotionally devastating" news, Louis-Dreyfus developed an infection that required hospital care, saying the "whole thing was just a complete nightmare." Eventually, her mother flew out to be with her and help support her healing process.

"I finally got out of the hospital, and I came home to recuperate, but I wasn't allowed to get up out of bed yet," Louis-Dreyfus remembered. Though she couldn't eat solid foods, her mom cooked for her anyway, a memory Louis-Dreyfus still recalls in vivid detail. "She made this incredible, cozy chili in a cast-iron skillet with cornbread on top in the pan. She and my husband, Brad, set up a little card table at the foot of the bed. And the smell of that cornbread and the chili was so wonderful," she said. "It was the best meal ever, and I didn't even eat it. The making of it was so comforting, it was so embracing."

Louis-Dreyfus joins several other celebrities who have had candid conversations about their pregnancy losses, including Ashton Kutcher, who spoke about losing a pregnancy with Demi Moore, and Jennifer Lawrence, who shared her experience that took place in her early 20s. Ultimately, the hope is that public figures sharing their experiences more openly will help others facing their own losses see that they are not alone.