Julia Louis-Dreyfus has revealed that she took inspiration from Princess Diana’s iconic wedding dress for her own nuptials more than three decades ago.
The Seinfeld alum appeared on Live with Kelly and Mark on 22 May, where she opened up about her nearly 36-year marriage to actor Brad Hall. “You and your husband have been married for 35 years,” Ripa said, as she showed a photo from their 1987 wedding ceremony.
The photo showed the newlywed couple smiling and walking down the aisle together. For the occasion, Louis-Dreyfus wore a white wedding dress with a flowing ball gown skirt and quintessential ’80s puff sleeves adorned with ruffles. She tied her hair back in a low bun and completed the look with a flower crown and a long white veil.
“Yes. Look at that wedding dress,” the comedian replied, laughing. “You’ll see I fashioned my dress after Princess Diana. It’s the times, I guess.”
Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s wedding gown wasn’t a far cry from the one worn by the late Princess of Wales on her wedding day to the then-Prince of Wales in July 1981. Since then, the voluminous bridal gown has become one of the most recognisable dresses of all time.
On 29 July 1981, an estimated 750 million people worldwide watched as Lady Diana Spencer became Princess Diana during a royal wedding ceremony at St Paul’s Cathedral in London. Her wedding dress was designed by former husband-and-wife duo David and Elizabeth Emanuel.
The silk-taffeta gown featured a fitted bodice overlaid with panels of antique Carrickmacross lace that originally belonged to Queen Mary. It also included a sequin-encrusted train measuring 25 feet that remains the longest in royal wedding history.
Much like Kate Middleton’s wedding dress in 2011, there was so much secrecy surrounding Princess Diana’s gown that the Emmanuels were required to create an alternate gown in case the dress was revealed preemptively to the public.
In 2021, Princess Diana’s wedding dress was displayed at Kensington Palace as part of a temporary exhibition exploring royal style. The gown – which is now privately owned by her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry – marked the first time it had gone on display in 25 years.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Hall will celebrate 36 years of marriage this June. Last year, the 62-year-old actor celebrated her wedding anniversary by sharing a sweet tribute to her husband on social media.
“Even though we’re surrounded by a lot of bad news, I’m celebrating some good news today – Been tied to this superb guy for 35 years!” she captioned the Instagram post, which featured their smiling wedding photo. “What in the living hell? How did that happen so quick?”
The couple – who share sons Henry, 28, and Charlie, 23 – first met as students at Northwestern University, when Louis-Dreyfus auditioned for Hall’s theater production in the early 1980s. They were married on 25 June 1987 in Santa Barbara, California.
