Lauren Graham

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Lauren Graham
Born Lauren Helen Graham
March 16, 1967 (1967-03-16) (age 41)
Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupation Actress, producer
Years active 1995–present

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.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Graham, an Irish American,[1] was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Donna Grant, a fashion buyer, and Lawrence Graham (Lauren is named after him), a candy industry lobbyist[2] 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 1988 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.

[edit] Career

After completing her education, Graham moved to New York City where she became a cocktail waitress and aspiring actress, including her first paid work doing publicity appearances wearing the costume of Striker, the dog mascot of the US-based 1994 FIFA World Cup[3]. 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 interests, 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).

Graham as Lorelai Gilmore, with Scott Patterson as Luke Danes. Lorelai would become Graham's breakthrough character.
Graham as Lorelai Gilmore, with Scott Patterson as Luke Danes. Lorelai would become Graham's breakthrough character.

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.[4][5]

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.

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.[citation needed]

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.

[edit] 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
2000-2007 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 Joan Baxter
2008 Birds of America Betty Tanager awaiting release
Flash of Genius Phyllis Kearns awaiting release
2009 The Dream of the Romans Elizabeth filming

[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 Best Favorite 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] References

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:
  1. ^ GilmoreGirls.org : Recent News
  2. ^ Lauren Graham Biography (1967-)
  3. ^ http://www.gilmoregirls.org/news/19.html
  4. ^ Graham's Gilmore Role Expands!. TVGuide.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-29.
  5. ^ "Huzzah to 'Producer Lauren Graham'". Zap2it.com. Retrieved on 2007-01-30.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Graham, Lauren
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Graham, Lauren Helen
SHORT DESCRIPTION
DATE OF BIRTH March 16, 1967
PLACE OF BIRTH Honolulu, Hawaii
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH