Julia Louis-Dreyfus announces she has breast cancer

Julia Louis-Dreyfus poses in the press room with her awards for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series and outstanding comedy series for "Veep" at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus poses in the press room with her awards for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series and outstanding comedy series for “Veep” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
FILE – In this May 25, 2017, file photo, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, a cast member in the HBO series “Veep,” poses at an Emmy For Your Consideration event for the show at the Television Academy in Los Angeles. HBO says its much-honored political comedy “Veep” is coming to an end. The cable channel said Wednesday, Sept. 6, that “Veep” will air its seventh and final season in 2018. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
This image released by HBO shows Julia Louis-Dreyfus in “Veep.” Louis-Dreyfus was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series on Thursday, July 13, 2017. The Emmy Awards ceremony, airing Sept. 17 on CBS, will be hosted by Stephen Colbert. (Colleen Hayes/HBO via AP)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus winner of the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series and best comedy series for “Veep” poses in the press room at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 18, 2016, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
In this image released by HBO, Julia Louis-Dreyfus appears in a scene from the comedy series, “Veep.” “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” are among the top contenders for the 68th prime-time Emmy Award nominations. The shows claimed the top drama and comedy series prizes at last year’s Emmy ceremony. (Lacey Terrell/HBO via AP)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus arrives at the 2015 HBO Primetime Emmy Awards After Party at Pacific Design Center on Sunday, Sept. 20, 2015, in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her work on “Veep” at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her work on “Veep” at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
The cast of NBC's "Seinfeld," is shown in this undated handout photo. Pictured from left are;  Michael Richards as Kramer, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes and Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld. (AP Photo/Columbia/TriStar Television Distribution)
The cast of NBC’s “Seinfeld,” is shown in this undated handout photo. Pictured from left are; Michael Richards as Kramer, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes and Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld. (AP Photo/Columbia/TriStar Television Distribution)
FILE – In this Feb. 22, 1997 file photo, “Seinfeld” cast members, from left, Jason Alexander, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jerry Seinfeld and Michael Richards pose together backstage after they won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, in Los Angeles. Online network Hulu on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 announced it has landed exclusive subscription on-demand rights to “Seinfeld” and future AMC series. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)
AP: e18da214-be53-4c6d-b125-054cc4549b86
Julia Louis-Dreyfus from “Veep” arrives at the 64th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MAY 31:  (L-R) Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actor Matt Walsh and producer/writer Frank Rich attend the 5th Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on May 31, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Critics' Choice Television Awards)
BEVERLY HILLS, CA – MAY 31: (L-R) Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actor Matt Walsh and producer/writer Frank Rich attend the 5th Annual Critics’ Choice Television Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on May 31, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Critics’ Choice Television Awards) (Christopher Polk)
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Julia Louis-Dreyfus poses in the press room with her awards for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series and outstanding comedy series for "Veep" at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for her work on “Veep” at the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at the Nokia Theatre L.A. Live on Monday, Aug. 25, 2014, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)
The cast of NBC's "Seinfeld," is shown in this undated handout photo. Pictured from left are;  Michael Richards as Kramer, Jason Alexander as George Costanza, Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Elaine Benes and Jerry Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld. (AP Photo/Columbia/TriStar Television Distribution)
AP: e18da214-be53-4c6d-b125-054cc4549b86
BEVERLY HILLS, CA - MAY 31:  (L-R) Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus, actor Matt Walsh and producer/writer Frank Rich attend the 5th Annual Critics' Choice Television Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on May 31, 2015 in Beverly Hills, California.  (Photo by Christopher Polk/Getty Images for Critics' Choice Television Awards)

WASHINGTON — She made us laugh as Elaine on “Seinfeld” and Selina on “Veep.”

But on Thursday, Julia Louis-Dreyfus announced her most challenging role: cancer patient.

The TV actress posted on Instagram that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The actress just won her sixth straight Emmy at Selina Meyer on the HBO comedy “Veep,” breaking the record by Candice Bergen (“Murphy Brown”) for the most by one character.

When you add “Seinfeld” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” she has racked up eight acting Emmys, tying Cloris Leachman for the most ever by a single performer. If you add her behind-the-scenes role as a “Veep” producer, her total Emmy count climbs to 10.

Read the Instagram post below:

Just when you thought…

A post shared by Julia Louis-Dreyfus (@officialjld) on

Jason Fraley

Hailed by The Washington Post for “his savantlike ability to name every Best Picture winner in history," Jason Fraley began at WTOP as Morning Drive Writer in 2008, film critic in 2011 and Entertainment Editor in 2014, providing daily arts coverage on-air and online.

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