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Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress best known for her starring role as Lorelai Gilmore on the long-running television series Gilmore Girls. A little-known entity who bounced around from one canceled television series to another, actress Lauren Graham finally came to prominence with her breakout role as Lorelei Gilmore, the wisecracking young mother who shares a sisterly bond with her teenaged daughter (Alexis Bledel) on “Gilmore Girls” (WB, 2000-07). Prior to that surprisingly popular series, Graham languished as a guest star on established series and as an occasional regular on shows that never made it out of their first season. But ever since “The Gilmore Girls,” she used this leverage to make the jump from virtual unknown to a recognizable face and name, able to headline features alongside the likes of Diane Keaton and Steve Carell. Graham, an Irish American, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Donna Grant, a fashion buyer, and Lawrence Graham, a candy industry lobbyist who was the former President for the chocolate and confection industry association. Her parents divorced when she was five, prompting Graham and her father to move to the D.C. area, where he became a congressional staffer. Graham traveled extensively with her father while growing up. Graham discovered acting while in elementary school and further honed her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team. Yet she excelled on the stage, and Graham quickly took to acting in community theatre and other small productions. Graham graduated from Barnard College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After moving to Texas in 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University. After completing her education, Graham moved to New York City where she became a cocktail waitress and aspiring actress. In 1995, she relocated to Hollywood, California. She appeared in various commercials for products such as Dimetapp and Lean Cuisine and hosted free preview weekends on The Movie Channel. In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime-time television, Graham starred in three failed sitcoms, including Townies (with Molly Ringwald and Jenna Elfman) and the short-lived sitcom Lush Life (with Lori Petty and Karyn Parsons). Between 1996 and 1997 Graham became a regular guest star on several hit NBC shows. She played a graduate student who caught the eye of Dick on Third Rock from the Sun, Richard's dim-witted girlfriend on Caroline in the City, and Jerry's speed-dial ranking girlfriend on Seinfeld. She played a Hollywood producer in a three-part episode of Law & Order, where she acted opposite Scott Cohen, who would later play one of Graham's love interest, Max Medina, on Gilmore Girls. Her most notable guest performance was as a highly-inept efficiency expert on Newsradio. The show's producers hoped to add her to the cast, but test audiences responded poorly to the new character (her attempts to be Lisa's friend at any and all costs wore thin after a while). In 2000, Graham landed her breakthrough role as the comedic character Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, the program that would finally launch her to stardom. For her work she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards. Beginning with Season 7 episode "To Whom It May Concern" and continuing through out the rest of the season, Graham served as a producer on Gilmore Girls. TV Guide reported that she received the position in an attempt to persuade her to sign for an eighth season. When she found out that she had been hired for ''Gilmore Girls'' in 2000,Graham was headlining a short-lived NBC show called ''M.Y.O.B.'' as Opal Marie Brown, a high school administrator trying to keep the lid on a rebellious niece. She was hired in ''second position'' for ''Gilmore Girls'' – meaning the producers would have to recast if ''M.Y.O.B.,'' to which she was legally bound, was picked up for a full season. Luckily the sitcom bombed after only five airings. Free to move forward with "Gilmore Girls," Graham finally found the perfect star vehicle for all of her comedic strengths, as well as her inherent ability to relate. Playing the fast-talking but financially struggling 30-ish mom Lorelai, who has to turn to the wealthy, proper and hypercritical parents whom she has been estranged from for 16 years in order to fund her bright daughter's education, Graham and her young co-star Alexis Bledel struck a chord with viewers – the warm, family-friendly but never saccharine "Gilmore Girls" became one of the WB's most reliable ratings-grabbers. The role would also earn Graham a Family Television Award as Best Actress, as well as nominations from the Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards. Graham returned to her guest-starring roots when she portrayed herself in two episodes of NBC's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Graham has also appeared on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, co-hosted by Dave Foley of "News Radio." After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another former Newsradio star, Maura Tierney, in the championship game. On June 26, 2002, Graham was the last guest interviewed by Rosie O'Donnell on her daytime talk show. Graham is also one of the most frequent guests on The Ellen Degeneres Show, having appeared a total of eight times to date. Thanks to the success of "Gilmore Girls" Graham continued to land movie roles as her schedule allowed, appearing in the indie romantic comedy "Lucky 13" and as Keanu Reeves' girlfriend in "Sweet November" (2001). Throwing her TV image aside, she had a memorable turn romping with a seedy Billy Bob Thornton as the sex-crazed department store Santa groupie Sue in director Terry Zwigoff's gleefully cynical comedy, "Bad Santa" (2003). She also played a high school principal who clashes with Navy SEAL-turned-government babysitter Vin Diesel in the surprising hit Disney comedy, "The Pacifier" (2005). In 2007, after months of speculation in the media, “Gilmore Girls” was finally canceled when both Graham and Bledel felt it was time to move on. Meanwhile, Graham continued making a name for herself in high profile features like “Evan Almighty” (2007), playing the concerned wife of newly minted U.S. Congressman Evan Baxter (Steve Carell) who is anointed by God (Morgan Freeman) to build an ark to prepare for a coming flood, while learning a thing or two about the value of helping others. Graham's motion picture roles encompass several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including Bad Santa, The Pacifier, Sweet November, and Because I Said So. She co-stars in the 2007 movie Evan Almighty, playing the role of Evan's wife, Joan Baxter. Lauren has said that she enjoys playing in short films, and acting in the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has performed in numerous short films, including the 15-minute long Gnome, once viewable on YouTube, but removed for an undisclosed violation of their policy. The film has since been made available through the iTunes Store. In 2007 Lauren Graham signed a seven-figure development deal with NBC in one of the year's richest TV talent pacts. Currently Graham is the voiceover announcer in national advertising for Kellogg's various Special K products, and in American Express ads introducing the Plum Card, which is targeted towards small and growing businesses. |
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