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THEN AND NOW: The cast of ‘Gilmore Girls’ 24 years later

Lauren Graham starred on “Gilmore Girls.”

  • “Gilmore Girls” premiered 24 years ago and launched many of its leading cast members to fame. 
  • Stars Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Melissa McCarthy all went on to successful acting careers.
  • Milo Ventimiglia and Jared Padalecki have both found success on hit TV shows.

It’s officially fall, which, for “Gilmore Girls” fans, means it’s time for an annual rewatch of the beloved comfort show. 

The family drama aired on The WB in 2000, launching many of its leading players into fame.

Here’s what the stars, including Lauren Graham, Alexis Bledel, and Chad Michael Murray, have been up to since the series ended in 2007. 

Lauren Graham is still well-known for playing determined young mother Lorelai Gilmore.
Lauren Graham has gone on to more film and television roles.

Graham’s largest role after “Gilmore Girls” was playing Sarah Braverman on NBC’s “Parenthood.”

The actor also appeared as herself on shows like Bravo’s “Project Runway,” reprised her role as Lorelai for Netflix’s “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” miniseries, worked on Disney Junior’s “Vampirina,” and starred on NBC’s “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist.” 

For films, Graham went on to appear in “Evan Almighty” (2007) and “Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life” (2016). 

In addition to acting, Graham has written three books in the past decade: “In Conclusion, Don’t Worry About It,” “Talking as Fast as I Can,” and “Someday, Someday, Maybe.”

More recently, she starred on the Disney+ original series “The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.”

Alexis Bledel played Lorelai “Rory” Gilmore, a bright and ambitious teenager with a strong relationship with her young mother.
Alexis Bledel famously went on to star on “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

After “Gilmore Girls,” Bledel went on to star in movies like “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2” (2007), “Post Grad” (2009), “Violet and Daisy” (2011), and “Crypto” (2019).

The actor has also appeared on hit series, including Fox/Crackle’s “Us and Them,” Netflix’s “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” and Hulu’s “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Bledel’s work on “The Handmaid’s Tale” even earned her the 2017 Emmy for outstanding guest actress on a drama series.

Scott Patterson played Luke Danes, Star Hollow’s grouchy diner owner.
Scott Patterson is still acting.

Patterson has played several leading characters on shows and in movies since “Gilmore Girls” ended.

He went on to work on “Saw IV” (2007), “Saw V” (2008), and “Saw VI” (2009), as well as “Other People’s Children” (2015), “Batman: Gotham by Gaslight” (2018), and “Con Man” (2018). 

The actor has also continued to find success on TV shows like The CW’s “Aliens in America,” Fox’s “90210,” NBC’s “The Event,” and Netflix’s “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

Most recently, he appeared on CTV’s “Sullivan’s Crossing.”

In 2021, Patterson also started hosting a “Gilmore Girls” rewatch podcast, “I Am All In With Scott Patterson,” which is still running. 

Kelly Bishop portrayed Lorelai’s mother and Rory’s grandmother, Emily Gilmore.
Kelly Bishop has had a widely celebrated career.

After playing Emily Gilmore, Bishop reunited with “Gilmore Girls” showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino to star on ABC Family’s “Bunheads” and reprised her iconic role on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

The actor also continued her theater career, starring in the 2011 revival of “Anything Goes” alongside her future-“Bunheads” costar Sutton Foster. 

More recently, Bishop appeared in “The Salzburg Story” (2018) and “Art of Falling in Love” (2019). The actor also had a supporting role on Amazon Prime’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

Edward Herrmann played Richard Gilmore, Lorelai’s father and Rory’s grandfather.
Edward Herrmann died in 2014.

After “Gilmore Girls,” Herrmann continued to act in movies and on TV shows. 

He appeared on popular shows like ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,”  NBC’s “30 Rock,” CBS’  “How I Met Your Mother,” and CBS’ “The Good Wife.” He also had a small voice role in “The Wolf of Wall Street” (2013). 

In 2014, the actor died from brain cancer at the age of 71. 

Before Melissa McCarthy played Sookie St. James, she had minor credits on other television shows.
Melissa McCarthy has produced several of her most popular films.

After “Gilmore Girls,” McCarthy continued working on television, starring on ABC’s “Samantha Who?” and CBS’ “Mike and Molly.” She also returned to her role as Sookie on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

However, the comedic actor is better known for her work in films like “Bridesmaids” (2011), “Identity Thief” (2013), “The Heat” (2013), “Tammy” (2014), “Spy” (2015), “Ghostbusters” (2016), “Life of the Party” (2018), and “Thunder Force” (2021) — many of which she also produced. 

McCarthy has also stepped into dramatic roles in “Can You Ever Forgive Me?” (2018), in “The Kitchen” (2019), and on Hulu’s “Nine Perfect Strangers.”

More recently, she appeared in “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022), “The Little Mermaid” (2023), and “Unfrosted” (2024). The actor also starred on Netflix’s “God’s Favorite Idiot.”

Keiko Agena had only a handful of roles under her belt before starring as Rory’s best friend, Lane Kim.
Keiko Agena still acts on TV and in films.

After “Gilmore Girls,” Agena continued acting in various roles, including live-action and animated projects.

She voiced a character on Disney’s “Kim Possible,” appeared in “Transformers: Dark of the Moon” (2011), and had a small role on Showtime’s “Shameless” before reprising her role as Lane on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

Agena also acted on Netflix’s “13 Reasons Why,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” Fox’s “Prodigal Son,” and Apple TV+’s “Central Park.”

More recently, she appeared in “The Never List” (2020) and on Fox’s “Fantasy Island.”

Jared Padalecki played Rory’s first boyfriend, Dean Forester.
Jared Padalecki is well known for his role on “Supernatural.”

After “Gilmore Girls,” Padalecki landed one of the lead roles on The CW’s “Supernatural,” which ran for 15 years. The show aired its final episode in November 2020.

Padalecki also continued acting in films like “House of Wax” (2005) and “Friday the 13th” (2009), and he returned as Dean on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

More recently, he starred on The CW’s “Walker.”

Milo Ventimiglia portrayed Jess Mariano, Luke’s nephew and one of Rory’s boyfriends.
Milo Ventimiglia recently acted in “Land of Bad.”

Ventimiglia continued his successful acting career after playing Jess.

He’s had starring roles on NBC’s “Heroes,” ABC’s “The Whispers,” “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” and, most recently, NBC’s “This Is Us,” which has earned him three Emmy nominations.

He’s also appeared in “That’s My Boy” (2012), “Grown Ups 2” (2013), “Creed II” (2018), and “The Art of Dancing in the Rain” (2019). 

In more recent years, Ventimiglia joined Bishop on season four of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” starring on ABC’s “The Company You Keep,” and appeared in “Land of Bad” (2024).

Matt Czuchry played Logan Huntzberger, Rory’s love interest at Yale.
Matt Czuchry has had a successful TV career.

Czuchry reprised his role as Logan on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” but he also went on to other TV shows like NBC’s “Friday Night Lights,” CBS’s “The Good Wife,” and, most recently,  Fox’s “The Resident.”

On “The Resident,” Czuchry worked alongside Tanc Sade, who played Logan’s best friend Finn on “Gilmore Girls.”

Most recently, the actor joined the cast of FX’s “American Horror Story.”

Paris Geller, Rory’s academic rival and eventual friend, was played by Liza Weil.
Liza Weil went on to a successful acting career.

After “Gilmore Girls,” Weil guest-starred on major shows such as NBC’s “Law and Order” and ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy.” She was also one of the returning characters on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

But her largest roles since playing Paris were as Amanda Tanner on ABC’s “Scandal,” Milly Stone on ABC Family’s “Bunheads,” and Bonnie Winterbottom on ABC’s “How to Get Away With Murder.” 

Most recently, the actor appeared in “Women Is Losers” (2021), on Fox’s “The Cleaning Lady,” and in “The Passenger” (2023). 

Sean Gunn played series-regular Kirk Gleason.
Sean Gunn has appeared in several Marvel movies.

Following “Gilmore Girls,” Gunn has appeared on ABC’s “October Road,” Fox’s “Glee,” ABC Family’s “Bunheads,” and NBC’s “Superstore.” He also returned for the 2016 “Gilmore Girls” revival. 

He’s worked with his brother, director James Gunn, on “Guardians of the Galaxy” (2014), “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2” (2017), “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018), and “Avengers: Endgame” (2019), “The Suicide Squad” (2021), and “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” (2023).

The actor reprised his MCU roles in “Thor: Love and Thunder” (2022).

He also followed in his “Gilmore Girls” costars’ footsteps by appearing on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” 

Liz Torres played Miss Patty, the gossipy dance teacher.
Liz Torres has also acted on the stage.

Following her role on “Gilmore Girls,” Torres guest-starred on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives,” ABC’s “Scandal,” and Pop/Netflix’s “One Day at a Time.” Additionally, she returned for “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

The actor was also cast in the 2010 Off-Broadway play “It Must Be Him” and produced the 2012 original run of “Ghost the Musical.”

More recently, she appeared on NBC’s “Lopez vs. Lopez.”

Sally Struthers played Babette Dell, Lorelai’s neighbor and friend.
Sally Struthers is still active in Hollywood.

Struthers’ career after “Gilmore Girls” has included acting and voice work in the movies “The Relationtrip” (2017), “You and Me” (2018), and “Still Waiting in the Wings” (2018).

She also returned for the “Gilmore Girls” revival and appeared in “Christmas Harmony” (2018). 

Struther has continued her theatrical career in productions of “Steel Magnolias,” “Legally Blonde,” and “The Witches of Eastwick.”

More recently she appeared in “Very Frightening Tales” and voiced a character on Netflix’s “Not Quite Narwhal.”

Yanic Truesdale played Michel Gerard, the irritable concierge at Lorelai’s inn.
Yanic Truesdale owns a spin studio in Canada.

After playing Michel, Truesdale returned for “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.”

Most recently, he appeared in “My Salinger Year” (2020) and “Love by Accident” (2020) and on City TV’s “The Wedding Planners” and France 2’s “Les Mecs.”

He also appeared on Netflix’s “God’s Favorite Idiot.”

Outside acting, Truesdale is the founder of the spin studio Spin Energie in Montreal.

Emily Kuroda portrayed Mrs. Kim, Lane’s strict mother.
Emily Kuroda has mainly worked on TV.

Since “Gilmore Girls,” Kuroda has appeared on several popular TV shows, like ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” CBS’ “The Bold and the Beautiful,” Fox’s “The Resident,” and ABC’s “The Good Doctor.”

She also reprised her role on “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life” and acted in the TV movies “Scruples” (2012) and “Bloodline” (2013).

Kuroda recently worked on “Kimi” (2022) and “Strange World” (2022), and she appeared on Amazon Prime’s “The Power.”

Todd Lowe played Lane’s bandmate-turned-husband, Zack Van Gerbig.
Todd Lowe went on to star on “True Blood.”

After “Gilmore Girls,” Lowe went on to play Terry Bellefleur on several seasons of  HBO’s “True Blood.”

In addition to returning for “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” the actor has also appeared on CBS’ “NCIS,” ABC Family’s “Bunheads,” and USA’s “Shooter.”

This story was originally published on October 5, 2020, and most recently updated on October 15, 2024. 

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