On the day before the 2024 Golden Globes, where Abby Elliott was nominated for her role as Natalie “Sugar” Berzatto, sage sister to Jeremy Allen White’s Carmy on The Bear, she couldn’t help but envision the worst-case scenario. Not losing, necessarily, but perhaps missing the moment entirely. “I will probably have to pump during the ceremony, so I’m paranoid that I’m going to be pumping in the bathroom when they call my category,” Elliott told Vanity Fair. “I have this fear that I’d have to run out with my pump still attached to me.” She can see the headlines now: “The Golden Globes Take On a Whole Different Meaning,” Elliott said with a laugh.

Adding to the nerves was the prospect of finally meeting Meryl Streep, a fellow nominee for Only Murders in the Building, who Elliott famously impersonated during her four-season tenure on Saturday Night Live. “I don’t know if she’s seen the impression or not. I know people have done [impressions] of her since,” said Elliott. “[Current SNL cast member] Chloe Fineman does a really funny one. So I’m sure she’s fine with it, she seems pretty cool.”

Alas, it was not Streep or Elliott but The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki who won the award for best performance by a female actor in a supporting role on television. Still, The Bear swept the TV comedy categories, winning the award for best series, while Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri received best-performance awards. When she learned of her own Golden Globe nomination—her first ever—from one of The Bear’s producers, Elliott’s “very confused” reaction could also be attributed to mom duty. “It was my turn to sleep in, because we have a six-month-old, so I was in my husband’s office kind of hiding from the babies,” Elliott remembered. “It was just the most exciting thing ever, and I feel so lucky. It truly was just a wonderful surprise.”

The Globes mark one of the first major events that Elliott has attended post Hollywood’s strikes—and after welcoming her second child (a son named Billy) with her husband, writer-producer Bill Kennedy. As such, the actor wanted to forgo many of the “kaftan-esque” ensembles she wore during her pregnancy for something “a little more sophisticated.” Working with a new stylist, Erica Cloud, the actor had one guiding principle: “I really just wanted to not feel pregnant anymore.”

Enter a sleek, black, off-the-shoulder dress by Kyha Studios that was paired with open-toe slingback Larroudé pumps, a matching Tyler Ellis clutch, and dainty Jennifer Meyer jewels. A bold red lip and tousled hair completed the look. “Being postpartum and trying to feel like myself again, we landed on something that fit the best and made me feel the most comfortable and was working with where my body’s at right now…. It was fun to finally get back into something that felt more like me,” Elliot said. 

Behind the scenes, Elliott expected her three-year-old daughter Edith to be on standby. “She loves the idea of getting dressed up. She loves her jewelry, she loves princess dresses. But I don’t think she knows what I do for a living,” Elliott said. “I try to show her things, and she’s like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s my mom on TV.’ But it’s really no different than seeing an iPhone photo.” The actor’s parents—including her father, Schitt’s Creek star Chris Elliott—would also be on-hand to babysit. “I really like having people around,” she explains. “I’m not one of those people that needs to be alone. I like that energy. It makes me feel more comfortable to have a big house full of people.”

The dysfunctional characters of The Bear, which returns for a third season in 2024, are also no strangers to a full house. Many of Elliott’s most memorable scenes were opposite Jamie Lee Curtis as Carmy and Natalie’s abrasive, alcoholic mother, Donna. “Natalie wants to fix this family dynamic always, and she wants everything to be wrapped up in a neat bow,” said Elliott. “Since the show came out, so many people have come up to me and said, ‘Oh my God, I’m so much like your character and my mom was so much like Donna. I totally relate to being the child of an alcoholic parent, and you portrayed that so well.’”

Elliott attributes much of her portrayal to Curtis, who would stay in character between takes. “She has a moment where she holds my face,” Elliott remembered. “She improvised that, and it was so shocking in the moment [that] I fully went somewhere else. Afterwards [creator and co-showrunner] Chris Storer was like, ‘Oh, that was incredible when she was holding your face.’ And I was like, ‘I blacked out.’ You were just in it with her. But hearing that it really resonated with people, it makes it feel so important that I was able to connect with people.”

As for The Bear’s hotly anticipated third helping, Elliott said: “We start shooting this year, pretty soon, but I’ve seen nothing. I know nothing.” All she can say is that the scripts are, in fact, coming—and typically all in a single serving. “It’s really fun to block out a chunk of time and just dive back into the story every year,” Elliott added. “I’m really looking forward to reading what they came up with.”

And if Natalie were to get a solo episode à la Richie’s (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) season two foray into fine dining, Elliott would want to explore new parenthood with Chris Witaske’s character, Pete. “I would love to go deeper into their marriage,” she said. “He is this jolly, funny, sweet guy. He’s her rock, but she also has these moments of rolling her eyes at him. She might be a little smarter than he is. So it’s interesting why she chose him as a partner after enduring years of her chaotic family.”