Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham has nothing but kind words to say about her beloved character, Lorelai Gilmore.
The actress, 58, gushed about the role she played in the dramedy during an exclusive interview with Life & Style at PaleyFest L.A. 2025’s Gilmore Girls, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Étoile: The Amy Sherman-Palladino Multiverse event held at Dolby Theater in West Hollywood on March 29.
“She’s funny and smart and fun and sees the fun in things,” Lauren said when asked about Lorelai’s best quality. The Parenthood alum was also asked to share Lorelai’s worst quality, but she replied, “There’s nothing bad about her.”
Lauren starred in The WB’s (later The CW’s) Gilmore Girls from 2000 to 2007. She played coffee-obsessed single mother Lorelai, who gave birth to daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) when she was just 16 years old and fled from her wealthy yet oppressive family, seeking refuge in the small, zany town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut. The series began with Lorelai reconnecting with her parents when she needed to ask for a loan for 15-year-old Rory to begin a new adventure at an elite private school.
Gilmore Girls, which was created by Amy, 59, received critical acclaim for its witty and fast-paced dialogue, pop culture references and cross-generational appeal. It remains popular to this day, thanks to streaming services like Netflix and Hulu, as new and returning audiences alike continue to watch the show over and over again.
In fact, the continued success of the original series led to a 2016 four-part revival on Netflix titled Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, as well as a December 2024 Walmart commercial in which Lauren reunited with former costars Sean Gunn (Kirk Gleason) and Scott Patterson (Luke Danes).
While reflecting on her time on Gilmore Girls, Lauren opened up to Life & Style about her favorite memories from filming the series.
“It is hard to remember because there were something like 160 or more episodes. I mean, I love all of them, and they don’t stick because they were all just wonderful conversations, and we were just acting or whatever,” she said. “So it’s just the lightness and the joy that those characters had together is my favorite.”
Additionally, Lauren was asked about the “magic of Amy,” who is also responsible for hit shows like Bunheads and The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Her newest series, ballet drama Étoile, premieres on Amazon Prime Video on April 24.
“The writing and the writing. So good and so funny and so smart, and it just is such a specific voice,” Lauren gushed. “It’s like, if you’re lucky to be in this situation, you know it’s how it was intended. You can hear it in your ear, and that’s the theater. That’s just really rare in TV.”
When questioned about the best advice she received from a fellow actor on the show or from Amy, she told Life & Style, “Faster. Do it faster.”
Days after her appearance at PaleyFest, Lauren appeared on Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy” podcast on Wednesday, April 2, where she dished about how she and Lorelai had many things in common — including their love of coffee.
“It was all there,” the Talking as Fast as I Can author said. “I mean, it’s in the first episode. Right? She goes and … demands more coffee, and [Scott’s Luke is] like, ‘You’ve had enough.’ That was one of the many kind of serendipitous aspects of that part and that time and that character. We just shared a lot of traits.”
