Julia Louis-Dreyfus' mom and husband helped her through 'emotionally devastating' miscarriage at 28

Julia Louis Dreyfus recently opened up about having a miscarriage when she was 28 and how difficult it was for her. In an episode of the podcast "Wiser Than Me," the actor talked about her pregnancy after getting married to her husband, Brad Hall, in 1987, reports Yahoo Entertainment.

The episode was a conversation about work, family and happiness with guest Ruth Reichl, a food writer and magazine editor. "When I was about 28, I got pregnant for the first time, and I was crazy happy," said Louis-Dreyfus while speaking with Reichl. "I got pregnant easily. I felt very fertile, very womanly. And then, quite late in the pregnancy, my husband Brad and I discovered that this little fetus was not going to live."

She said that it was "emotionally devasting," but the situation was also a "complete nightmare" after she had an infection for which she had to be hospitalized and was able to go home only "a couple of days" later. "I finally got out of the hospital and I came home to recuperate, but I wasn't allowed to get out of bed yet. I was, as they say, bedridden," she revealed.

The actor shared that her recovery process became smoother once her mom came to live with her and her husband. "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," recalled Louis-Dreyfus. 

Although she couldn't have the food since she was not allowed to eat solid foods, the star said that the experience was one of her "greatest memories." "It didn't matter. It was the best meal ever, and I didn't even eat it. The making of it was so comforting and so embracing," said Louis-Dreyfus.

“Food is central to the traditions of my family,” she said, reports TODAY. “I would think that to most families, that’s the case. I relate food, especially to my mom. She’s a great cook. This is one of my greatest memories around food, even though it has sort of an odd kicker.”

Louis-Dreyfus went on to have two sons, Henry Hall and Charlie Hall, in 1992 and 1997. Charlie is also an actor. In a chat with Jimmy Kimmel, she said that she had seen her son's racy scenes in "Sex Lives of College Girls." “I think he was really great,” Louis-Dreyfus said. “I mean, he was adorable. He was f------ some girl in the library and I thought it was dynamite!”

On the other hand, Henry is a musician and released his debut album "Neato" in 2020 and a five-song EP titled "Are You Kidding Me" in September 2022.

Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2017. She later said that it was her relationship with her family and friends that helped her to get through it. "You hear it all the time, but the people that I relied on the most, besides the very capable doctors and nurses who took care of me, were my family and my close friends," she told PEOPLE in April 2020.