Lauren Graham

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Lauren Graham

Actress Lauren Graham attends the launch party for The CW Network, of which her show Gilmore Girls is expected to play a significant part.
Birth name Lauren Helen Graham
Born March 16, 1967 (age 40)
Flag of United States Honolulu, Hawaii, United States
Notable roles Lorelai Gilmore on
Gilmore Girls

Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress. She is probably best known for her starring role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Lauren Graham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Irish descent and when she was five, her parents divorced. while Lauren and her father, Lawrence, moved to the D.C. area where he became a congressional staffer. She traveled extensively with her father while growing up. He is currently a lobbyist for the chocolate and confection industry.

Graham discovered acting while in elementary school and further honed her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team; a mix of Dance and Cheerleading. But the stage was where she excelled and Lauren was soon found acting in community theatre and other small productions. Lauren graduated from Barnard College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and then moved to Texas where, in 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.

[edit] Career

After completing her education, Graham went to New York City where she worked as a cocktail waitress and aspiring actress. In 1995, she moved to Hollywood.

[edit] Television appearances

In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime time television, she had three starring roles on 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, including 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; Jerry's speed dial ranking girlfriend on Seinfeld; an episode of Law & Order, where she starred with Scott Cohen, who would later play Graham's love interest on Gilmore Girls; and her most notable performance as an efficiency expert on Newsradio. The show's producers hoped to add her to the cast, but test audiences responded poorly to the new character.

In 2000, Graham was cast in her breakthrough role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, the program that would finally launch her to stardom. She received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globe 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 appeared on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, co-hosted by former Newsradio costar Dave Foley. After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another fellow Newsradio costar, Maura Tierney, in the championship game.

She was also the last guest interviewed by Rosie O'Donnell on O'Donnell's daytime talk show on June 26, 2002, and is one of Ellen's most frequent guests on The Ellen Degeneres Show, having appeared a total of seven times to date.

[edit] Motion picture appearances

Her motion picture roles including several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including Bad Santa, The Pacifier, Sweet November, and Because I Said So. She is set to appear in the movie Evan Almighty, playing the role of Evan's wife.

[edit] Personal life

Graham lives in West Hollywood. She previously dated actors Tate Donovan, James Marsters, Marc Blucas and Matthew Perry.[citation needed] She dated Robert Maschio during his senior year at Columbia University and helped persuade him to try out acting as a career.[citation needed]

[edit] Selected filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1995-1996 Caroline in the City Shelly recurring
1996 Good Company Liz Gibson
Townies Denise Garibaldi Callahan
Lush Life Sandra "Sandy" Sanders recurring
1997 Nightwatch Marie
1997 Law & Order Lisa Lundquist recurring
NewsRadio Andrea
1998 Confessions of a Sexist Pig Tracy
One True Thing Jules
1998 Conrad Bloom Molly Davenport
1999 Dill Scallion Kristie Sue
2000 M.Y.O.B. Opal Marie Brown
2000-Present Gilmore Girls Lorelai Gilmore
2001 Sweet November Angelica
Chasing Destiny Jessy James
2003 Bad Santa Sue
2004 Seeing Other People Claire
2005 The Life Coach Dr. Sue Pegasus
Lucky 13 Abbey
The Moguls Peggy
The Pacifier Principal Claire Fletcher
Gnome Amanda
2007 Because I Said So Maggie
Evan Almighty Evan's wife, Joan post-production

[edit] Quotes

  • "Perspective is the most important thing to have in life". (During an interview with Craig Kilborn she claimed to be unsure of having said this quote and that it missed the context. She also seemed to dislike the quote.)[citation needed]
  • "Belly buttons are cool".
  • "I kept playing the bland friend, and my line was like Let's go get a sandwich!". (On her career prior to Gilmore Girls).
  • "These days I'm extra nice in stores. It never fails that, whenever I look as bad as I can possibly look or I am sort of cranky because the store is out of something, that is precisely the time when someone one will recognize me and say: 'I really like your show!'".
  • "I think my character has louder taste in clothes. Personally, all I ever want to wear are jeans." (on Lorelai Glimore).
  • "It can't be Christmas every day!" (on Christmas time).
  • "Nobody ever seems to want my advice on serious stuff. People are like: 'Who made that sweater?' or 'How did you get your hair all so straight?' They don't come to me for the relationship advice or deep stuff. In fact, my little sister actually always hides from me." (On serious stuff).

[edit] Salary

[edit] Awards

  • Family Television Awards
Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2001 Actress for: "Gilmore Girls"

Tied with Jane Kaczmarek for "Malcolm in the Middle"

 Won
Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2002 Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2005 BestFavorite Female Television Star Nominated

-Award: Satellite Award

Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2005 Outstanding Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated

-Award: Golden Satellite Award

Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2002 Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
2003 Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
2004 Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
2005 Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2001 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
2002 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2005 TV - Choice Parental Unit

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Won
2006 TV - Choice Parental Unit

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Won
Year Category/Recipient(s) Result
2002 Individual Achievement in Drama

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated
2006 Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy

for: "Gilmore Girls"

 Nominated

[edit] External links

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