What The Cast Of Gilmore Girls Are Doing Today

"Gilmore Girls" has been a staple on the small screen for over two decades. The fan-favorite mother and daughter duo — Lorelai and Rory Gilmore — first graced the screen in October 2000 on The WB. After six seasons, the comedy-drama moved to The CW for its seventh and final season. At that time, "Gilmore Girls" creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Dan Palladino stepped away from the show largely because of differences in contract negotiations, as they shared with Entertainment Weekly. As a result, Season 7 fell flat, and the co-creators didn't get to finish the story for their beloved characters. So, in 2016, they returned to the "Gilmore Girls" universe to create their reboot miniseries, "A Year in the Life," which gave the Stars Hollow locals the ending the writers had always envisioned.

In October 2021, "Gilmore Girls" celebrated its 21st anniversary of its first episode, while November marked five years since the release of "A Year in the Life." Fans just can't get enough! "It's way more popular" now thanks to Netflix, star Lauren Graham confessed on "Jimmy Kimmel Live." "It's crazy; people, new generations keep watching it ... it's fun because different groups of people are finding it."

Rumors of a second season of "A Year in the Life" have been floating since it premiered in 2016, but nothing has been confirmed yet. Now that it's been more than five years since these actors have all been on the screen together, let's find out what they're all doing today.

Lauren Graham played Lorelai Gilmore, the independent single mother to her teen (and then young adult) daughter, Rory. Known for her fast-talking witty repartee and insatiable coffee addiction, Lorelai traverses life without help from anyone — especially her rich parents. Until she needs help to pay for Rory's expensive private school, which is where the entertainment really begins.

Lauren Graham went on to big things after "Gilmore Girls," debuting on Broadway in "Guys and Dolls" and writing three New York Times bestsellers. The "Evan Almighty" star published her first memoir, "Talking As Fast As I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls," in 2016 when the cast reunited for "A Year in the Life." The book served as a companion piece to the "Gilmore Girls" revival and provided fans with behind-the-scenes details they've always wanted to know about the comedy-drama. "I thought that it was so kind of strange and wonderful to have played this character and then to get to play her again that I started writing about it," Graham explained on "The Ellen Show."

Since playing Lorelai, Graham has become something of "an iconic TV mother" (per Jimmy Kimmel), appearing in the series "Parenthood" and the film "Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life." Since March 2021, Graham has held a main role in "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers." She plays Alex Morrow, who coaches her son Evan (Brady Noon) in a new team, the Don't Bothers.

Alexis Bledel is best known for her role as bookworm Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore. "Gilmore Girls" follows Rory from adolescence to adulthood, focusing on her relationship with her mom as she navigates high school and then college. Bledel played Rory perfectly, but she didn't enjoy the six auditions it took to get the role, especially since she had the flu. Bledel admitted on "Late Night With Seth Meyers" that she "wasn't a very seasoned actor" at the time and "had a little attitude" about the multiple callbacks. Thankfully, "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino thought Bledel's attitude was "perfect" for Rory.

After seven seasons on "Gilmore Girls," Bledel continued her television career, appearing in "Mad Men" and "Us and Them." In 2016, she reprised her role as Rory for the "Gilmore Girls: A Year In the Life" miniseries but wasn't exactly pleased with where her character ended up. "I hoped Rory would end on a high note after all of her hard work," she said on a Deadline Emmys panel. "So [the pregnancy storyline] was a hard thing for me to digest." Here's hoping for a second season so Bledel (and fans) can get closure.

Not holding out hope for more "Gilmore Girls," the Emmy Award-winning actor has found herself settled in the middle of another TV universe in "The Handmaid's Tale." Since 2017, Bledel has sported a distinctive red outfit for the role, but now that Gilead has collapsed, her character Ofglen must learn to navigate a new world.

Kelly Bishop played the Gilmore family matriarch, Emily, who was the wife of Richard, played by the late Edward Herrmann. Emily was a distinctive and complex character who was often critical of her daughter Lorelai, but doted on her granddaughter Rory. Bishop said Emily's dual personality was one of the things she liked most about her character. "I liked her attitude. She was so difficult and demanding and hard to please," she told "Today."

Since "Gilmore Girls" ended, Kelly Bishop has had a pretty busy television career. The actor appeared in episodes of "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," "Mercy," and "The Good Wife." However, despite her success in other series, there's something Bishop really misses about her time on "Gilmore Girls." "What I really loved about that whole show was Amy Sherman-Palladino's writing ... it's probably the best material I've ever done," she explained to "Today."

Bishop got another taste of Sherman-Palladino's brilliant writing when she worked on the series "Bunheads" (portraying a dance instructor), and they reunited again for the Gilmores' Netflix revival. It clearly wasn't enough for the actor, who signed on to join the writer, director, and producer in the fourth season of "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." Bishop has apparently been manifesting a role for herself since 2019. "I would work with Amy under any circumstances," the actor previously said, admitting to People TV that she would love a part in the period comedy-drama.

Sookie St. James actor Melissa McCarthy is the biggest star to come out of Stars Hollow. She played the accident-prone chef for all seven seasons of "Gilmore Girls." Afterward, McCarthy quickly made a name for herself in comedy by starring in "Bridesmaids" and "Identity Thief."

Between 2015 and 2016 alone, McCarthy starred in four blockbuster comedies, including "Spy" and "Ghostbusters." In fact, her schedule was so jam-packed at the time that she could only appear in one episode of the "Gilmore Girls" revival. The actor didn't want to miss it, though. She felt very sentimental when everyone reunited on set, telling ET that she "saw the sets and saw everybody there — it kind of felt like we didn't skip a beat."

Following "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," McCarthy's career has continued to climb. These days, the actor can be found on the sets of Hollywood blockbusters like "Life of the Party" and "Thor: Love and Thunder." She's also started acting in genres other than comedy, such as the thriller-drama "Nine Perfect Strangers," which McCarthy also executive produced. This was a project which resonated with her on a personal level. "To me, I thought after the last year-and-a-half or so, people kind of owning that they need some help ... and I loved the thought of not only you can go get help, but you can get help from strangers," she shared on "Good Morning America."

Lorelai and Rory wouldn't function without Luke Danes, played by Scott Patterson, the man in the diner who gives them their coffee each morning (and afternoon and evening). He becomes much more than just the man with the coffee when he and Lorelai start dating in Season 4. Patterson told Decider that he instantly connected with the character of Luke. "I didn't have to do any research. I didn't have to prepare. I said, 'This is me. I got this.'"

After the series ended, Patterson swapped the small screen for big-screen features such as "Yellow Fever" and "Batman: Gotham by Gaslight." Patterson is evidently a man of many talents and explained to Decider that he often has a lot of projects going on. Along with acting, he's worked as a producer and indulged his passion for photography. He's in a band and writes his own music (per Glamour) — talk about busy!

However, despite his full schedule, Patterson hasn't been able to let go of "Gilmore Girls," even after returning for the reboot. So, his 2021 venture is a "Gilmore Girls" re-watching podcast titled "I Am All In With Scott Patterson." "It was really a good idea to engage the fans because they are hungry to talk about it and still sort of be in the deep end, if you will, of the Gilmore-sphere," Patterson told E News! He also admitted that he's watching most of the episodes for the first time.

Christine Keiko Agena, known professionally as Keiko Agena, played Rory's music-obsessed best friend, Lane Kim, in "Gilmore Girls." Lane had quite the character development in the show's seven seasons; going from the dutiful Korean daughter who hid her CDs under her floorboards, to band drummer (and family disappointment), to married mom of two. It all works out for Lane in the end, though. She reconciles with her mom later in the series, and the pair are even seen working together at Kim's Antiques in the revival.

After "Gilmore Girls," the Japanese-American star acted in a variety of films and TV shows. You may have spotted Agena in popular Netflix series "13 Reasons Why" and "Dirty John." In 2019, the actor joined the cast of "Prodigal Son" as Dr. Edrisa Tanaka. This was a character that really spoke to her. "I could tell that there was something that I could grab on to, that I could make something out of it," she explained to ET.

Alongside acting, Agena wrote a book called "No Mistakes," which she describes as a memoir-slash-workbook. As the actor told Bustle, it stems from the anxiety she experienced on "Gilmore Girls" and started out as "a form of therapy" for herself. Despite this anxiety, Agena refers to the show as a positive experience and is very involved with the series' fandom. In 2021, she hosted UPtv's "GilMORE the Merrier" event, alongside Todd Lowe, who played her on-screen husband.

"Gilmore Girls" fans know Jared Padalecki as Rory's first love, Dean Forester (the pair also dated secretly in real life). After a few temporary break-ups, Rory and Dean called it quits in Season 5, and Padalecki abruptly left "Gilmore Girls," never to be seen again — except when he returned briefly for "A Year in the Life." This is because the actor scored the role of Sam Winchester in the television series "Supernatural," which ran from 2005 to 2020.

However, "Gilmore Girls" almost cost him the part in "Supernatural" because the creator, Eric Kripke, was concerned that Padalecki couldn't pull off playing a super smart character like Sam (no offense, Dean!). "Eric's like, 'Uh, I've seen Gilmore Girls. We want Sam to be really smart.' And so my manager had to go, 'Uh, well, my client is a National Merit Scholar,'" the actor recalled to TV Guide. This was enough to get Padalecki the audition, and he quickly scored the part thanks to his manager, who told him to be "hyper-intelligent" and nothing else.

While Padalecki's 15-year stint on "Supernatural" has concluded, his career shows no signs of slowing down. As of 2021, he's been playing Cordell Walker in the action crime-drama "Walker," which he also executive produces. Developing his character for Walker took some time, and it was hard to put Sam aside because Padalecki considers that character a part of him now. "I used that time [during the pandemic] selfishly to really try and develop Cordell Walker," he explained, per The New York Times.

Michael Winters played Stars Hollow's uptight town selectman and local shop owner Taylor Doose in Amy Sherman-Palladino's hit comedy-drama. "Gilmore Girls" was undoubtedly the biggest role of Winter's television career, which largely ended when the series did. However, that's because Winters swapped the small screen for the stage — with the exception of the "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" reunion, which was his last television credit.

The theater is where Winter's passion lies these days. Plays are "just so immediate," he explained to Fox 13 Seattle, noting that audiences can instantly relate to the emotions in theater. What he loves most about working onstage is the change of pace from TV, especially "Gilmore Girls." There was far less rehearsal time on the set of the comedy-drama. 

You must "come in prepared and ready to go," he told Fox 13 Seattle, noting that Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel would constantly have their scripts in their hands "because they had so much material to learn." It's different in theater, where you get months and months to prepare, explained Winters. He seems to prefer this type of acting, having appeared in over twenty plays since "Gilmore Girls" ended. His most notable credits include "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and "The Tempest" at the Colorado Shakespeare Festival.

Rory's estranged father, Christopher Hayden, was played by "Cracked" star David Sutcliffe in the original "Gilmore Girls" series. "I feel grateful to be a part of a show that has become a multi-generational classic and lives on in the hearts of the fans," Sutcliffe said to The Post after he reprised his role for the "Fall" episode of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life."

Outside of "Gilmore Girls," Sutcliffe has had a busy television career, appearing in series including "Private Practice," "Proof," and "Mistresses." His last acting credit was in the 2018 American anthology drama "The Romanoffs," after which he decided to retire to focus on other projects. "I became obsessed with a form of psychotherapy called core energetics. I now lead workshops, helping people heal from trauma so they can live a full and meaningful life," he explained to The Post. "It's very rewarding and endlessly fascinating," he added.

Liza Weil played Paris Geller, Rory's nemesis-turned-best friend in "Gilmore Girls." She joined the show as a recurring character in Season 1 but was promoted to series regular for the following six seasons. When the show ended, Weil earned a main role in the legal thriller "How to Get Away with Murder," which ran from 2014 to 2020. Of course, she made time in her schedule to reprise the role of Paris for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." "It was a little daunting making that transition [back to playing Paris] ... but Amy [Sherman-Palladino] and Dan [Palladino] really are very good at capturing Paris in their writing," Weil explained to Access. "I didn't realize how much I had missed doing it," she added.

Weil had the opportunity to work with Sherman-Palladino again for a guest stint on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" as Carol Keen in 2019. She was under contract with ABC for "How to Get Away with Murder" at the time, but was granted time off for the three-episode arc, per TVLine.

Weil is now focused on independent cinema. In 2021, she appeared in "Women Is Losers" alongside Lorenza Izzo and Simu Liu. Weil played Minerva while Izzo played Celina, and it is the relationship between these two women that is at the forefront of the film. It shows "what a healthy relationship between women looks like," explained writer-director Lissette Feliciano in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter.

Jess Mariano was Rory's short (but sometimes sweet) love interest in "Gilmore Girls," and he was also Alexis Bledel's partner for four years off the screen. Fans love bad-boy Jess, but Milo Ventimiglia didn't expect to be playing such an important character in the series. "I was in the room with Amy Sherman-Palladino, and I thought it was just two episodes," he revealed to W magazine. "And then my agent at the time said, 'They want to make you a [series] regular.' And I went, 'Regular what? What does that mean?'"

And just like that, Ventimiglia became a series regular, appearing in 37 episodes of the comedy-drama. "Still to this day, you know, it blows me away — the impact of the Jess character, how much everyone was in love with him and wanted to find a guy like Jess. He was kind of trouble, you know," the actor joked to W.

"Gilmore Girls" was Ventimiglia's breakout role, but since appearing on the show, he's bagged notable roles in "Grown-Ups 2," "Gotham," and "Ultimate Spider-Man." Since 2016, Ventimiglia has been playing leading man Jack Pearson on the NBC drama "This Is Us," a role that he was immediately drawn to. The actor has enjoyed directing episodes of the series, too, telling Gold Derby: "I'm happy behind the camera. ... I just want to make sure everybody looks good, is equipped with what they need to completely live out these storylines, the experiences, the characters."

Yanic Truesdale played the (often grumpy) hotel concierge, Michel Gerard, who worked with Lorelai (Lauren Graham) and Sookie (Melissa McCarthy) at the Independence Inn, and then the Dragonfly Inn. He appeared in all seven seasons of the original series and reprised his role for the revival, which he discussed while appearing on the "Rachael Ray Show." "It was crazy for us to go back because, you have to remember that everything was destroyed, so ... they had to rebuild everything from scratch. So it was a surreal moment," he explained.

Since "Gilmore Girls" ended, the Montreal-born star has done some acting, but he's focused his career on other passions, like opening a spin studio in his hometown. "I've always loved exercising, so it felt natural to get involved in the industry," he told Her Campus. "It's something I never thought I would do, but the idea was just so crystal clear and it felt so right that I just went with it, and I made it happen in four months," he added. It's a perfect twist of fate for the actor to do something his health-conscious "Gilmore Girls" character would love. Now that Spin Énergie is thriving, Truesdale is set to return to the screen in 2022 for the Netflix workplace comedy series "God's Favorite Idiot," featuring his Stars Hollow pal Melissa McCarthy.

Elizabeth "Liz" Torres has had a busy career guest-starring on popular television shows since "Gilmore Girls" ended in 2007, though the comedy-drama is one of her favorite roles to date. "I loved the dialogue. I loved saying those lines: 'I'm so glad I had all that sex!' [It] was a joy for me," she said on "Today."

After playing the dance teacher Patricia "Miss Patty" LaCosta for seven seasons, Torres continued starring in comedies. Most notably, she's popped up in "Ugly Betty," "Desperate Housewives," and "Devious Maids." Torres has also branched out into other genres, appearing in the second season of the political thriller "Scandal," and was named one of the show's best guest stars by Entertainment Weekly.

In 2016, Torres stepped back into Miss Patty's dance shoes for the "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" revival, a move she said was "Totally natural! It's a second skin for me; it doesn't feel like I'm acting. ...I'm just Miss Patty," she dished to The TV Addict. In 2021, Torres got in front of the camera again to play Eleanor Roosevelt in a project titled "E. Roosevelt."

Jackson Douglas has done his best to stay out of the public eye since "Gilmore Girls" ended. "The Guilt Trip" star played the "produce guy," Jackson Bellville, who was also the love interest and eventual husband of Sookie St. James (Melissa McCarthy).

One of Douglas' most notable credits from the years since "Gilmore Girls" includes a voice role on the animated sitcom "Family Guy." Douglas lent his voice to multiple characters on the show, which also stars his ex-wife Alex Borstein. Though the couple divorced in 2017, Douglas appears to remain on good terms with Borstein, who now stars in the Amy Sherman-Palladino led series "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." "Congrats to Alex, Amy, and the whole damn Maisel family! Muy bien!" Douglas said on Twitter after the show won a Golden Globe in 2018.

Since appearing in the "Spring" episode of "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," Douglas hasn't been spotted on screen. It seems he's taken a break from acting and has instead been busy traveling the world with his children, Barnaby and Henrietta, whom he shares with Borstein. "Moved the family to Barcelona to experience a more global perspective on life and community. We are learning a new language and culture. It is very exciting!" his Twitter bio reads. On March 3, 2021, Douglas tweeted, "Time to move to Japan!" so it is not exactly clear where he and his family are currently living, but it definitely sounds like an adventure.

Sally Struthers was already a seasoned actor when she appeared on "Gilmore Girls" as Lorelai and Rory's excitable (and sometimes nosy) neighbor, Babette Dell. The "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" reunion in 2016 was particularly special for Struthers, who was thrilled to reunite with such a "brilliant" cast, as she shared on "Girls Nite Live." "It was like we were all brought back to summer camp again. We all got to play together again. It was fabulous," she gushed.

After her "Gilmore Girls" days, the "All in the Family" star appeared in the films "Still Waiting in the Wings," "You and Me," and "The Relationtrip." The Primetime Emmy winner also performs in Maine's Ogunquit Playhouse each year and has appeared in productions of "Chicago," "Legally Blonde" and "The Witches of Eastwick." "I've worked there every year for 18 years, sometimes twice a year," she told "Girls Nite Live." And although she has had to miss a couple of years because of the pandemic, it's definitely something she plans to keep doing in the future: "I will definitely be there the minute they are doing shows again."

Sean Gunn made his debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe after playing eccentric Stars Hollow resident Kirk Gleason in "Gilmore Girls." Gunn went on to guest-star in popular television shows like "Glee" and "Bunheads," before joining the cast of "The Guardians of the Galaxy," which was written and directed by his brother James Gunn, in 2014. He played Kraglin (the faithful sidekick of Michael Rooker's character Yondu) who, after a few miscommunications, became a faithful ally to Chris Pratt's character Star Lord and his intergalactic team.

Gunn also filled in as a body double for the character of Rocket Raccoon, who is voiced by Bradley Cooper. "My job is twofold. First of all, I'm there to work with the other actors ... then beyond that, the visual effects team will take my movements and use that as a draft when they start to animate the character," Gunn explained in a Comic Con interview with Tanner Zipchen.

In 2016, while filming "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," Gunn also reprised the role of Kirk for "A Year in the Life." Portraying two equally bizarre characters was a "trippy" experience for the actor, as he told Entertainment Weekly. "'Gilmore Girls' and the first 'Guardians' were the two most substantial jobs of my career. So, now, doing them both again simultaneously is very strange," Gunn admitted. Gunn signed on to reprise his role as Kraglin in the films "Thor: Love and Thunder" and "Guardians of the Galaxy 3."

Emily Kuroda played Lane's strict Korean mom, Mrs. Kim, on "Gilmore Girls." Despite her scrupulous beliefs often hindering Lane, viewers always knew her heart was in the right place, and she ultimately helped her daughter get married and raise her family. "She's a very warm, loving character that goes out of her way to be strict with Lane for Lane's own benefit," said Kuroda of her character when appearing for "Today."

Since the comedy-drama ended, Kuroda has been busy acting on television and appearing in stage productions. In 2010, she reunited with her "Gilmore Girls" daughter Keiko Agena for a production of "No-No Boy" at the Miles Memorial Playhouse in Santa Monica. When asked which medium she finds most difficult, Kuroda said it was TV and admitted that her most challenging gig was definitely "Gilmore Girls." "You look at a normal script, and it's like 100 pages, and then you look at a Gilmore script, and it's like 200 pages because people talk so fast," she explained to NBC News. "Although it was a lot of fun, it was hard. You don't really get to rehearse," she noted.

However, Kuroda obviously enjoys the challenge because she's since gone back to television, reprising her role of Mrs. Kim for "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," and then guest-starring in shows including "The Resident" and "The Good Doctor."

Logan Huntzberger was arguably Rory's most serious boyfriend on "Gilmore Girls." The pair dated for most of Rory's tenure at Yale, but they broke up in Season 7, just before the show ended. Since then, Czuchry swapped The CW for CBS to become a series regular on "The Good Wife" from 2009 to 2016.

"The Good Wife" ended just in time for Czuchry to reprise his role as Logan in "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." In the miniseries, he and Rory enjoyed a casual on-off relationship, which led to speculation that he could be the father of her baby. A secret he knows the answer to but hasn't spilled because he believes it's not his secret to tell. "Also, if we do come back, they may change their minds. So it could become somebody else. Those are the reasons why I've never said what they told me on set," he revealed to Us Magazine.

Since 2018, he's played Conrad Hawkins on Fox's medical drama "The Resident." Hawkins is a character Czuchry really admires as an actor. "I love his moxie. I love his strength. I love that he stands up for the little guy," he explained to Fox News. "And also the character felt very different for me than when I played Cary in 'The Good Wife' or Logan in 'Gilmore Girls,'" Czuchry added.

Vanessa Marano admitted she was "a huge fan of Gilmore Girls" before she joined the show as Luke's daughter (surprise!), April Nardini, in 2005. However, she was initially apprehensive about her character because she knew April was going to cause drama. "I was like, 'Oh, they're giving him a daughter, this is going to be horrible,'" she revealed to "Today." However, Marano came to love her quirky "Gilmore Girls" character. "I'm an April fan," she admitted. "Yes, she broke [Luke and Lorelai] up, but they got back together, so we should all get over it," joked Marano.

Starring in "Gilmore Girls" sent Marano's acting career into high gear. After the show, she starred in the long-running series "Switched At Birth" on ABC Family (now Freeform). She also reprised the role of April in the "Summer" episode of "A Year in the Life" and has appeared in "Grey's Anatomy," along with both of its spin-off shows, "Private Practice," and "Station 19."

One highlight of Marano's career to date is the feature film "Saving Zoë," which she co-starred in with her sister Laura Marano. The Marano sisters also made their debuts as producers with the film, which they bought the rights to in 2008. "This was a time in our lives where our careers were not in the best place," Marano recalled while speaking at BUILD Series. The idea to buy the film came from their mom, who thought they should have more control and security over their own careers — how impressive!