Elaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld (1989-1998), played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld, and she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer, although she does not have much respect for either of them (having called them a "loser" and a "doofus", respectively).

Unlike her three close friends, Elaine was missing from the pilot episode (episode one). She first appeared in the second episode, "The Stakeout." NBC executives felt the show was too male-centric, and demanded that creators Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David add a woman to the cast as a condition for commissioning the show, as revealed in the commentary on the Season 1 and 2 DVD. In addition to the first episode, Elaine did not appear in two other episodes: "The Trip, Part 1", "The Trip, Part 2". meaning she has made fewer appearances than the other main characters.

Elaine is supposedly a composite based on comedian Carol Leifer, Seinfeld's one-time real-life ex-girlfriend, and Monica Yates, Larry David's real-life ex-girlfriend.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus has received critical acclaim for her performance as Elaine, winning one Emmy, one Golden Globe and two SAGs.