Julia Louis Dreyfus Returns to the Emmys Red Carpet After Cancer Battle in Glittery Gold Gown

Julia Louis-Dreyfus sparkled from every angle at the 2019 Emmys.

The Veep star, who’s nominated for her seventh Emmy for her role as Selina Meyer in the HBO hit series, walked the carpet in a custom Oscar de la Renta embellished high-shine gold gown featuring a plunging neckline and high slit. She teamed the look, styled by her stylist Cristina Ehrlich, with matching strappy gold Aquazurra sandals, Irene Neuwirth earrings and ring and her hair styled down, worn behind her ears.

While she’s no stranger to the event (she’s been nominated 19 times and won 11!) this is a particularly big night for Louis-Dreyfus, 58. She could potentially beat her own record if she picks up the win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. She set a record back in 2017 for most wins for a performance in the same role for the same series, when she won her sixth trophy, and tonight could be her seventh.

“I’m nervous. I don’t know why. I think I might be having a nervous breakdown,” she joked to E! News on the red carpet. “I’m kidding. But I am a little bit nervous, but excited. It’s an opportunity to be together with our whole cast again and we all really, truly love each other, even though the characters on the show don’t. So it’s a lovely thing to think about reuniting with everyone tonight.”

When asked how she felt that she may win more acting Emmys than anyone else, she joked, “It’s sort of an embarrassment of riches.”

“I can’t believe this has happened. But it hasn’t happened yet. I’m so happy to have won so many times in the past that I’m delighted with that,” she said on the red carpet. “If it happens, great. If it doesn’t, my mind will be blown. Somebody else deserving will get one. I’m cool with either scenario.”

Veep was not nominated in last year’s Emmy Awards ceremony because the show postponed production on the final season after Louis-Dreyfus was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017 — just days after the Emmy Awards, where she had taken home a trophy.

She announced the news through social media. “1 in 8 women get breast cancer. Today, I’m the one,” the actress wrote. “The good news is that I have the most glorious group of supportive and caring friends, and fantastic insurance through my union. The bad news is that not all women are so lucky, so let’s fight all cancers and make universal health care a reality.”

She is now in remission, and credits her hit show for lifting her spirits during her health battle.

“I’ve had a lot of personal challenges, losses, dear ones in my family, my own battle with cancer,” Louis-Dreyfus told Entertainment Tonight at the HBO For Your Consideration event in August. The actress added that she doesn’t know how she would have dealt with everything “had I not had this really close intimate relationship with all of these people.”

“We linked arms and we tried to do the most joyful funny thing possible as a team,” she continued. “It was like being on a sports team … and that was the most buoying thing, to constantly be coming back to. It really helped me.”

“It gave me something to laser focus on during my illness, and I needed to laser focus [on something] beyond my illness, so it was a lifesaver,” she shared.

• Tune in to People and Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: 2019 Emmy Awards on Sunday at 6 p.m. ET on PeopleTV, PEOPLE.com and EW.com.

In April, she opened up about her battle with PEOPLE and the role her series played in her recovery. “During my illness, we had a bunch of table reads and stuff, so we were sort of always together. But first day on set, God, we got into it right away,” she said. “It was pretty packed with a lot of language and stuff like that, and … I would say it was lovely. It was like getting back up on a horse. ‘Oh, yeah. I remember how to ride this thing.’ “

The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards are airing live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles starting at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Fox.