Gilmore Girls Cast Then & Now: Who Has Changed the Most?
Dear Netflix, the collective squealing over the plans to bring back the hit WB series Gilmore Girls isn't going to stop until we actually see Stars Hollow's coolest people back on our TV screens. That's how much we love the show, 15 years after the first episode aired. While we wait to see whether Rory and Jess somehow get back together or Lorelai and Luke can make it work, here's a peek at what the show's cast has been up to since the series ended in 2007.
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Spoiler alert: Rory got married IRL, and a certain cast member is now a huge movie star. Want to see where everyone else landed? We've scoured the Internet to find our favorite family from Stars Hallow, and all their friends, including Sookie, Lane, and Dean. We can't bear it -- our excitement level is through the roof. Because let's get real, we 100 percent had a livejournal dedicated to our favorite TV show and we are darn proud of it! Want to see what the cast is up to IRL? We got the lowdown on where everyone is today.
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Read on to see where all our favorite characters ended up, after Rory graduated from Yale and went to work for President Obama, and Lorelei and Luke finally got together.
Alexis Bledel: Then
Alexis Bledel's first television role was one for the books: Smart and wise beyond her years, Rory Gilmore still had a fair amount of teen angst. So basically, a relatable chick. Though she had several significant romantic relationships throughout the show's run, her most important ties were forged with women: Her buddy Lane, friend and former rival Paris Geller, second mom Sookie, and of course, mom Lorelai, who was only 16 years her senior.
Alexis Bledel: Now
Rory Gilmore was Alexis Bledel's breakout role, and it no doubt boosted the success of the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants movie series. Other movies include Sin City, where she stepped out of good girl mode to play a prostitute. She guest starred on Mad Men in 2012, where she met husband Vincent Kartheiser. They married in 2014.
Lauren Graham: Then
Was there ever a more perfect casting choice than Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore, a former teen mom who carved out a life for her daughter and herself out of sheer will? Doubtful. Graham made it look so natural, balancing Lorelei's rapid-fire, pop culture–laced witticisms with the character's nurturing side. The ultimate cool mom.
Lauren Graham: Now
Her performance as Lorelai Gilmore earned actress Lauren Graham a Golden Globe nomination in 2001. She went on to star in NBC's Parenthood. Graham is also a published novelist whose book, Someday, Someday, Maybe made the New York Times bestseller list in 2013.
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Melissa McCarthy: Then
Long before hitting it big in movies, Melissa McCarthy charmed fans as Sookie St. James, the brilliant, if klutzy, chef at the Independence Inn. Sookie isn’t just Lorelai’s co-worker (and later, business partner). She’s also Lorelai’s best friend and a second mom to Rory. Show creator Amy Sherman-Palladino later said Sookie was supposed to be gay, "a non-starter" for network The WB. Instead, Sookie marries a veggie farmer and has three kids.
Melissa McCarthy: Now
By far the biggest success story among the cast, Melissa McCarthy went on to star in her own sitcom, Mike & Molly, for which she has won one Emmy, so far. In 2011, she had her breakthrough film role as the unforgettable Megan in Bridesmaids, which earned her an Oscar nod. McCarthy has since proved her box office prowess by carrying big hits such as Identity Thief, Tammy, and Spy.
Scott Patterson: Then
The owner of the Stars Hollow diner that Lorelai visited daily to fuel her coffee addiction was supposed to be female, but producers decided the show didn’t have “enough testosterone.” And so we got Luke, played by Scott Patterson. Luke and Lorelai's slow burn of a love story is the best on the show. Fans, who were angry that producers paired Lorelai with her baby daddy Christopher in season 6, agreed.
Scott Patterson: Now
After the end of Gilmore Girls in 2007, Scott Patterson joined several short-lived TV shows and starred as Agent Strahm in several of the popular and terrifying Saw movies.
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Keiko Agena: Then
As Rory's childhood pal Lane Kim, Agena became a fan favorite. The child of devout, vegan Christians who heavily censored her music and books, she was a secret badass who listened to rock music and played in a band. She remained close to Rory even after Rory left public school for prep school Chilton and left to Yale.
Keiko Agena: Now
Taking on mostly bit roles, Keiko Agena has made guest appearances on popular shows including Private Practice, Castle, and ER. Also, she got married in a helicopter in 2005.
Kelly Bishop: Now
Kelly Bishop reunited with Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino in 2012 for the ABC Family series Bunheads, but the show lasted just one season. She's guest-starred in several shows.
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Edward Herrmann: Then
An insurance executive, Richard Gilmore was an intellectual and an overachiever who wore a bow-tie to dinner and read religiously. And while he did some questionable things (like when he basically told Dean at dinner that he wasn’t good enough for Rory), Edward Herrman made him seemed mild-mannered when compared to his wife Emily.
Edward Herrmann: Now
Before he died of brain cancer in 2014 at the age of 71, actor Edward Hermann narrated the documentary Cancer: The Emperor of All Maladies and provided FDR's voice for the PBS series The Roosevelts: An Intimate History. He left behind a wife and three children.
Jared Padalecki: Then
Rory’s first love, Dean (Jared Padalecki) was sensitive and had gorgeous hair -- and the approval of the most important person in Rory’s life, Lorelai. But girls like a bad boy and Rory was no exception, so she moved on to Tristan (Chad Michael Murray) and Jess (Milo Ventimiglia). Poor Dean — all he wanted was a traditional gal who could put dinner on the table by 6 (remember the Donna Reed episode in season 1?).
Jared Padalecki: Now
Jared Padalecki is Sam Winchester on the long running series (11 seasons) Supernatural. The actor found love on the show's set, with guest star Genevieve Cortese, who played Ruby (a demon) in season four. The pair tied the knot in 2010 and have two sons.
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Liza Weil: Then
An overachieving, self-righteous, straight-A student with a chip on her shoulder. Yup, Paris Geller and Rory were either going to kill each other or be best friends. Liza Weil can play bitchy like nobody's business, but as Paris, she eventually gives Rory something that Lane can't: healthy competition that kept Rory on her academic toes.
Milo Ventimiglia: Now
Fans fell in love bad boy Milo Ventimglia in the hit series Gilmore Girls but it was the role of Peter Petrelli in NBC's Heroes that made him a star, during the show's four-year run ending in 2010. He's also made multi-episode appearances on shows including Gotham.
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Matt Czuchry: Then
Reformed rich party boy Loga, played by Matt Czuchry, was Rory's ultimate rollercoaster boyfriend: He slept around and tried to buy his way back into her heart before figuring out how to be an actual nice guy, but his offer of marriage Rory refuses at the end of the series. When asked where he thinks his character would be now, Czuchry recently quipped that he "would not be working." Next!
David Sutcliffe: Then
Wishy washy was pretty much the best way to sum up Christopher Hayden, Rory's dad and Loarelai's on and off guy who can't quite seem to get his life together. David Sutcliffe may be a good actor, but fans couldn't quite get into him. Not when there's a Luke around.
David Sutcliffe: Now
After landing a gig on the now cancelled Private Practice, David Sutcliffe also starred in the doomed TNT supernatural series Proof. An adept poker player, he's participated in several celeb poker tournaments.
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