'Gilmore Girls' 20th Anniversary: What are Alexis Bledel, Melissa McCarthy and rest of cult show cast up to?
The fictional town of Stars Hollow in Connecticut came to life 20 years ago, airing its pilot on October 5, 2000. For many, it was the 'happiest place on earth' — a town small enough to allow a community to grow. It also featured quaint, picture-perfect sets right from the gazebo at the center of the town square to Luke's Diner and Miss Patty's. The show centered around a mother-daughter duo who shared the closest bond and the cleverest banter seen on TV but also a cast of quirky characters who rounded out the family dramedy.
'Gilmore Girls' is known for the actors it showcased over seven seasons and a number of careers it launched because of its fan following. Here is the main cast of the series and what they are up to now:
Alexis Bledel
Alexis Bledel played Rory, the daughter of Lorelai Gilmore and the two are joined at the hip, having a more 'best friends' rapport than a traditional parent-child relationship. Just as fast-talking as her mother, Rory did fight with Lorelai on rare occasions but usually puts up a united front with her against Emily Gilmore, her snooty grandmother. 'Gilmore Girls', her television debut, launched Bledel's career. She went on to star in 'Sin City' and 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants', while on the show. Most recently, she has won critical and popular acclaim for her role as Ofglen in 'The Handmaid's Tale'. The role earned her the first Emmy Award nomination of her career and a win in the 2017 Creative Arts ceremony in the category of 'Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series'. She met her husband Vincent Kartheiser on the sets of 'Mad Men' and now is a mother herself.
Lauren Graham
Lauren Graham played Lorelai, the super-independent single mom who set #parentinggoals but also had us worried about her coffee intake. She had a less than ideal relationship with her own controlling mother, Emily, but their relationship improved because of Emily's interest in Rory. Graham received nominations for Screen Actors Guild, Golden Globe and Satellite Awards for her role in 'Gilmore Girls', but she was already a known TV face, having done small guest-star roles in hit shows like 'Caroline in the City' and 'Seinfeld'. But 'Gilmore Girls' turned her into a household name.
She cornered the 'quirky TV mom' market by following up with NBC's 'Parenthood'. She has now been cast in 'Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist' that debuted on NBC in January 2020. She is also a published author with three books: 'In Conclusion, Don't Worry About It', 'Talking as Fast as I Can', and 'Someday, Someday, Maybe'. Since 2010, Graham has been in a relationship with actor Peter Krause. The couple played brother and sister on 'Parenthood'.
Kelly Bishop
Kelly Bishop played the controlling matriarch, Emily Gilmore, who has a conflicted relationship with daughter Lorelai because she left home and her life choices as a single parent. However, she wants to be in Rory's life and 'bribes' the mother-daughter dup with financial aid to spend time with them, which shows that she cares. She and her husband Richard are responsible for paying for Rory's expensive education in a private school and later, Yale. In the revival show on Netflix's 2016 'Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life', she is dealing with the death of Richard — this was because Edward Herrmann who played Richard died of brain cancer in 2014. Before 'Gilmore Girls' iconic role, she was best known for playing Marjorie Houseman, the mother of Jennifer Grey's character Frances "Baby" Houseman in the film 'Dirty Dancing'. Post 'Gilmore Girls', she reunited with creator Amy Sherman-Palladino for the short-lived 'Bunheads'.
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy too was just starting out as an actress and comedienne when she was cast to play Sookie St James. Sookie is Lorelai's bubbly and brilliant chef friend who later also becomes her partner, co-owning the Dragonfly Inn. Since then McCarthy has reached stratospheric fame levels. She not only has two Primetime Emmy Awards for 'Mike & Molly' and as the host on 'Saturday Night Live', she has also been nominated twice for the Academy Awards for 'Bridesmaids' and 'Can You Ever Forgive Me?'
She has headlined a series of high profile projects like 'Identity Thief', 'The Heat', 'Spy', and the 'Ghostbusters' reboot besides frequent SNL cameos. McCarthy was named by Time as one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2016, and she has been featured multiple times in annual rankings of the highest-paid actresses in the world. She is currently slated to play Ursula in the upcoming live-action remake of 'The Little Mermaid', which will be directed by Rob Marshall.
Scott Patterson
Scott Patterson is Luke Danes, owner of Luke's Diner and a Stars Hollow's fixture. He inherited his dad's hardware store which became his diner that keeps Lorelai supplied with her caffeine and is also a hangout spot for Rory and her friends. Since Lorelai doesn't cook, Luke ends up feeding Lorelai and Rory most of the time. Luke's Diner is one of the staple locations used in many of the show's scenes. Luke also has a slow burn development from friendship to romance with Lorelai, which finally had them kiss for the first time in Season 4 and yes, it was worth the wait. Besides 'Gilmore Girls', he is also known for his role as Special Agent Peter Strahm in the 'Saw' films. He hasn't been active of late though, except reprise his role as Luke for the Netflix revival.
Jared Padelecki
Before 'Supernatural' brought Sam Winchester to our screens, there was Dean Forester. Jared Padelecki, then a fresh-faced twenty-something, played Rory's first boyfriend Dean with all the heartbreaks and lessons of first love. He also appeared in the Netflix revival of the show. Padelecki ends his 15 season stint on 'Supernatural' as the lead with co-star Jensen Ackles in November 2020. He is slated to play the titular role in the reboot of 'Walker, Texas Ranger' that has been titled 'Walker' on The CW.
Milo Ventimiglia
Milo Ventimiglia played Jess Mariano, Luke's nephew. Part of the Dean-Rory-Jess love triangle, he became Rory's second boyfriend and even in the 2016 revival (even though it has been four years since he last saw her), it is shown that he still has feelings for her. Milo Ventimiglia also briefly dated Alexis Bledel while on the show from 2003 to 2006. He is also known for playing Peter Petrelli on the NBC series 'Heroes' from 2006 to 2010. But his biggest hit is 'This Is Us', in which he currently stars as Jack Pearson. He has received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series' for the role. As part of the show's cast, he has also won the SAG Award for 'Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series' in 2018 and 2019.
Matt Czuchry
Matt Czuchry played Logan Huntzberger. The last of Rory's love interests on the show, Logan met her while attending Yale and worked on the college newspaper together. Logan's arc also had him propose to Rory only to be rejected. 'Gilmore Girls' was his launchpad to fame and is considered to be his breakthrough role. Soon after, he was cast as Cary Agos on 'The Good Wife'. Currently, he is the lead star in the Fox medical drama series 'The Resident' where he plays the lead character of Dr Conrad Hawkins.
Keiko Agena
Keiko Agena played Rory's best friend Lane Kim. The bond is one that starts when they are little and continues even after Rory moves to Yale. What made Agena unique among the cast was that her character was 16 at the start of the series when Agena was already 27. Lane's arc was also the most interesting among the Star Hollows' crowd, and was not entirely dependent on the trajectory defined by the 'Gilmore girls'. Outside the show, she has guest-starred on 'Private Practice' and 'Castle'. More recently, she played a high school teacher in the Netflix series '13 Reasons Why'. She currently plays NYPD medical examiner Dr Edrisa Tanaka on FOX's crime drama 'Prodigal Son'.
The CW will air Netflix’s 2016 four-part series ‘Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life’ starting November 23.