Who Are The Women Who Spared A Square Of Real-Life Inspiration For Seinfeld's Elaine?

From her iconic dance moves to her Marlon Brando impression, Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) is a comedic force to be reckoned with on "Seinfeld." When bringing this iconic character to life, Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David didn't create her from scratch. Rather, she was inspired by several women from their actual lives: Seinfeld's exes Carol Leifer and Susan McNabb, David's ex Monica Yates Shapiro, and comedian Elayne Booster. 

Leifer said in a Reddit AMA, "I think people make the connection because I dated Jerry many many years ago, and we have stayed friends since. And he has mentioned that I was a bit of an inspiration in coming up with the character when he and Larry were creating the characters..."

Not only did Leifer partially inspire the character of Elaine, but she also used her own real-life happenings to write several "Seinfeld" episodes, including Season 5, Episode 6 ("The Lip Reader"), which sees Elaine pretend to be deaf in order to avoid talking to her car service driver. Leifer told news.com.au, "These car service drivers would come at 6 a.m. to pick me up at my apartment and take me to the airport and they were like Chatty Cathy, they wouldn't shut up and it was so annoying to me."

Another inspiration for Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) was Monica Yates Shapiro, who dated Larry David for several months after meeting him at a Central Park softball game. On several occasions, when writing Elaine-centric plotlines for "Seinfeld," David drew from his experiences with Yates Shapiro, who he remained friends with after their split.

She told WCRZ, "That first season, several episodes came from sketches he was never able to get aired when he worked for 'SNL.' He told me they wanted a woman in the show and he thought of me and our friendship. He had written an episode about the time he met my father."

Of course, Yates Shapiro is referring to Season 2, Episode 3 ("The Jacket"), when Jerry Seinfeld and George Costanza (Jason Alexander) are forced to make small talk with Alton Benes (Lawrence Tierney), Elaine's unpleasant father, until she gets to the restaurant. Yates' father is the late fiction writer Richard Yates, known for "Revolutionary Road."

Additionally, it's been said in Jerry Oppenheimer's unauthorized biography "Seinfeld: The Making of an American Icon" that Seinfeld's ex Susan McNabb and comedian friend Elayne Booster also served as inspirations for the character.