Lauren Graham | |
|---|---|
 Graham at the 2014 Voice Awards | |
| Born | Lauren Helen Graham (1967-03-16)March 16, 1967 (age 58) |
| Education | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
| Known for | |
| Partner | Peter Krause (2010–2021) |
| Awards | Golden Globe (nomination) SAG Award (nomination) TCA Award (nomination) |
| Signature | |
 | |
Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967)[1] is an Americanactress andauthor.[2] She is best known for portrayingLorelai Gilmore onThe WB seriesGilmore Girls, for which she was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, and for playingSarah Braverman on theNBC drama seriesParenthood (2010–2015). She also appeared in the filmsSweet November (2001),Bad Santa (2003),The Pacifier (2005),Because I Said So (2007),Evan Almighty (2007), andMax (2015). In 2013, Graham published her debut novel withBallantine Books,Someday, Someday, Maybe. In 2016, Graham reprised her role on aGilmore GirlsNetflix revival miniseriesA Year in the Life and published a memoir,Talking as Fast as I Can.
Graham was born inHonolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Donna Grant, was a fashion buyer, and her father, Lawrence Graham, a candy industry lobbyist who was president of theNational Confectioners Association.[3][4] Graham was raised in her father'sCatholic faith (her maternal grandfather was a Baptist minister);[5] she is ofIrish descent.[6] When Graham's father worked for theUnited States Agency for International Development (USAID) inVietnam, Graham lived for a few years inJapan (her mother also grew up there, as the daughter of a missionary).[7]
Graham was five years old when her parents divorced, and she moved to the Virginia suburbs of theWashington, DC metropolitan area with her father, who became a congressional staffer. Her mother left to pursue a music career[8] and lived inLondon until her death in 2005, at the age of 61.[9][10] Graham was raised by her father, and they had a close relationship. She said, "I thought I kind of had it best. My dad has a very mellow way about him and I was a self-starter as a kid. I liked a certain amount of being on my own. It just worked great for me."[11] Graham also spent a few of her childhood years inSouthampton, New York.[12] Graham has a half-sister and a half-brother from her father's second marriage. Her British half-sister from her mother's second marriage, Shade Grant, works at a talent agency.[9][13]
As a girl, Graham rode horses competitively, but soon switched to acting,[14] honing her talent atLangley High School, where she took part in thedrill team and graduated in 1984.[15] She earned her actor'sEquity Card in 1988[16] after two years in summer stock at the Barn Theatre inAugusta, Michigan. Graham went toNew York University, then transferred toBarnard College. She graduated from Barnard in 1988 with aBachelor of Arts degree in English literature.[17][18] After moving to Texas in 1992, Graham earned aMaster of Fine Arts degree in Acting Performance fromSouthern Methodist University.[19]
After completing her education, Graham moved back toNew York City where she worked as a waitress and as a tutor teachingSAT test prep forThe Princeton Review.[9][17] While she aspired to become an actress, she made publicity appearances wearing the costume ofStriker, the dogmascot of the US-based1994 FIFA World Cup.[9] In 1995, she relocated toHollywood. She appeared in various commercials for products such as Cascadedishwasher detergent,[20]Dimetapp,AT&T andLean Cuisine and hostedfree preview weekends onThe Movie Channel.[21][22]
Between 1996 and 1997, Graham became a regular guest star on severalNBC shows. She played a graduate student who caught the eye of Dick on3rd Rock from the Sun; Richard's overly optimistic girlfriend onCaroline in the City; andJerry's speed-dial ranking girlfriend onSeinfeld. She played a Hollywood producer who had a love interest in DetectiveRey Curtis in a three-part episode ofLaw & Order, where she acted oppositeScott Cohen, who later played one of Graham's love interests (Max Medina) onGilmore Girls. She also portrayed an antagonizing but friendship-starvedefficiency expert onNewsRadio.
In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime-time television, Graham starred in four failed sitcoms,Townies (withMolly Ringwald andJenna Elfman);[23][24]Good Company;Conrad Bloom; andM.Y.O.B., which wasburned off by NBC in the summer before the premiere ofGilmore Girls.
In 2000, Graham landed her breakthrough role onGilmore Girls asLorelai Gilmore—a witty "thirty-something" raising her teenage daughter in small-townConnecticut. Graham said she felt "really connected to the material"[25] and the script for the series resonated with her due to its complexities: "To me, this was one of the first times that I looked at something and I was like, 'It's serious and it's funny! It's deep and it's light,' especially then, I had never seen before."[26] For her work she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the2002 Golden Globe Awards and nominations at the 2001 and 2002SAG Awards.
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Beginning with Season 7 episode "To Whom It May Concern" and continuing throughout the rest of the season, Graham served as a producer onGilmore Girls.TV Guide reported that she received the position in an attempt to persuade her to sign for an eighth season.[27][28] By the series' end, Graham wanted to move on. "I didn't feel we had anything without our creators," she said.[29]
Graham returned to her guest-starring roots when she portrayed herself in two episodes ofNBC'sStudio 60 on the Sunset Strip. She also appeared in the second season ofBravo'sCelebrity Poker Showdown, co-hosted byDave Foley ofNewsradio. After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another formerNewsradio star,Maura Tierney, in the championship game.[30]
Graham's film roles encompass severalNYU student films and multiple major studio releases, includingSweet November,Bad Santa,The Pacifier,Because I Said So, andEvan Almighty.
Graham has said that she enjoys playing in short films, and acting in theWilliamstown Theatre Festival.[31] She has performed in numerous short films, including the 15-minute-longGnome. In 2007, Graham signed a seven-figure development deal with NBC in one of the year's richest TV talent pacts.[32] Graham also worked as the voice-over announcer in national advertising forKellogg's variousSpecial K products in 2007, and forAmerican Express ads in 2008 introducing thePlum Card, which targets small and growing businesses.[33]
Graham made herBroadway debut as Miss Adelaide in therevival ofGuys and Dolls, which began preview performances at theNederlander Theatre on February 5, 2009, and opened on March 1, 2009. Reviews of the production were mixed. The production closed June 14, playing 121 shows and 28 previews.[34][35]
It was announced in January 2009 that Graham would star in the comedy pilotThe Bridget Show (previouslyLet It Go) forABC playing a talk show host and self-help guru who fails to follow her own advice during a breakup. The pilot was not given a series order.[36][37] In September 2009, Graham voiced the character Fran Lockwood, Flint's late mother, in theSony Pictures Animation filmCloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. In October 2009, it was announced that Graham would replaceMaura Tierney in the television seriesParenthood as single mother Sarah Braverman. Tierney left the show to seek treatment for cancer.[38] The series debuted on NBC the following year, and ran for a total of six seasons.[39]
In June 2010, it was confirmed that Graham would star inScream 4,[40] but she left the project on June 30, 2010.[41] In July 2012, Graham was a guest judge in the first episode of Season 10 of the reality television seriesProject Runway.
In 2015, Graham appeared in the adventure drama filmMax, playing the mother of an Americanmarine killed inAfghanistan who subsequently adopts hisMalinois dog.[42][43] She said she based her character on her grandparents who had different types of strength,[44] and that she felt connected to the film due to many in the film's choir having come from a church her grandfather attended.[45] Ignatiy Vishnevetsky[46] and Joe Neumaier[47] felt her role was too limited. The year also saw Graham beginning to appear recurrently inThe Odd Couple, playing Gaby, the former wife of the series' main protagonist Oscar,[48] and appear in an episode of the hidden camera comedyRepeat After Me.[49]
Graham's first film in 2016 was thecomedy dramaJoshy.[50][51] Jesse Hassenger[52] and Michael Arbeiter[53] noted her small role in the film. In October 2016, Graham appeared inMiddle School: The Worst Years of My Life, playing the mother ofGriffin Gluck's character. As a result of her own distaste for parts of her youth, Graham related to the title, sparking her initial interest in participating.[54] That year she also reprised her role as Lorelai Gilmore onNetflix's reunion series,Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life.[55] Graham said she first realizedGilmore Girls was still the subject of active interest when girls too young to have watched the series when it initially aired approached her during her Broadway debutGuys and Dolls,[56] and admitted to crying while reading the script as she believed "it was just beautiful and fitting and what I wanted it to be and hoped for."[57] She said the project had more support from the beginning than any other she had been involved with,[58] and she continuously teared up out of appreciation for those working on the series and being able to reprise her role.[59]
In October 2017, Graham appeared in three episodes of HBO's acclaimed comedyCurb Your Enthusiasm, which returned after a six-year hiatus.[60] She also voices the character Oxana Hauntley in theDisney Junior animated seriesVampirina.[61]
From 2020 to 2021, Graham was a featured actress on the NBC showZoey's Extraordinary Playlist. She played Zoey's (Jane Levy) boss, Joan. From 2021 to 2022, Graham starred as Alex Morrow inThe Mighty Ducks: Game Changers, aDisney+ television series based on the1992 film.
In 2024, Graham andAisling Franciosi were cast oppositeDylan O'Brien and James Sweeney in David Permut's movieTwinless.[62][63]
Graham has appeared on the cover of numerous magazines, includingHealth,More,[64]Self,Seventeen,[65]Entertainment Weekly,[66]Redbook,[67]Good Housekeeping,Ladies' Home Journal, andParade.[68]
Graham'sdebut novel,Someday, Someday, Maybe was released byBallantine Books (ofRandom House) on April 30, 2013. The comedicnovel is a fictionalization of her experiences trying to become an actress in 1990s New York.[69] In May 2013, the book entered theNew York Times best seller list.[70] Graham signed a deal withWarner Bros. Television andEllen DeGeneres's production companyA Very Good Production to adapt it into a TV series.[71] Graham wrote thescreenplay for a pilot episode but it was not picked up for filming.
In November 2016, Graham's second book was published: a collection of personal essays titledTalking as Fast as I Can: from Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between).[72] It was also aNew York Times best seller.[73] In November 2022, Graham published a second book of personal essays,Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don't Want to Forget to Remember.[74]
Graham has adapted the novelThe Royal We into a screenplay forCBS Films; she finished the script in mid-2017.[12] She has optioned the movie rights for the novel,Windfall, byJennifer E. Smith.[75] Graham'sDon't Worry About It focuses on "advice for graduates and reflections on staying true to yourself" and was her thirdNew York Times best seller.[76]
Graham was in a relationship with actorPeter Krause from 2010 to 2021.[77] They first met in 1995 when they both appeared in the sitcomCaroline in the City, then became a couple while co-starring onParenthood.[78][79] In June 2022, it was reported that the couple had ended their relationship after 11 years together.[80][81]
In the mid-1990s, Graham was roommates with actressConnie Britton.[82]
Graham owns a house inLos Angeles.[83]
Graham toldMore that she identified with Catholicism and attends church occasionally.[84]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Fear of Dogs | Short film | |
| 1997 | Nightwatch | Marie | |
| 1998 | Confessions of a Sexist Pig | Tracy | |
| One True Thing | Jules | ||
| 1999 | Dill Scallion | Kristie Sue | |
| 2001 | Sweet November | Angelica | |
| 2002 | The Third Wheel | Woman at Party | Uncredited[85] |
| 2003 | Bad Santa | Sue | |
| 2004 | Seeing Other People | Claire | |
| 2005 | Lucky 13 | Abbey | |
| Life Coach | Dr. Sue Pegasus | ||
| The Amateurs | Peggy | ||
| The Pacifier | Principal Claire Fletcher | ||
| Gnome | Amanda | Short film | |
| 2006 | Black Diamonds: Mountaintop Removal & The Fight for Coalfield Justice | Herself / narrator | Documentary |
| 2007 | Because I Said So | Dr. Maggie Wilder-Decker | |
| Evan Almighty | Joan Baxter | ||
| 2008 | Birds of America | Betty Tanager | |
| Flash of Genius | Phyllis Kearns | ||
| 2009 | The Answer Man | Elizabeth | |
| Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Fran Lockwood | Voice role | |
| 2010 | It's Kind of a Funny Story | Lynn Gilner | |
| 2014 | A Merry Friggin' Christmas | Luann Mitchler | |
| 2015 | Max | Pamela Wincott | |
| 2016 | Joshy | Katee | |
| Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life | Jules Khatchadorian | ||
| 2024 | The Best Christmas Pageant Ever | Adult Beth | |
| 2025 | Twinless | Lisa |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Loving | Student | Episode #1.2466; debut role |
| 1994 | All My Children | Fashion Stylist | Episode #1.6310 |
| Hardcore TV | Penny | Episode: "Rock'em Sock'em Lesbians" | |
| 1995–1996 | Caroline in the City | Shelly | 5 episodes |
| 1996 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Laurie Harris | Episode: "Dick's First Birthday" |
| Good Company | Liz Gibson | Main role: 6 episodes | |
| Townies | Denise Garibaldi Callahan | Main role | |
| 1997 | Law & Order | Lisa Lundquist | 3 episodes |
| Seinfeld | Valerie | Episode: "The Millennium" | |
| NewsRadio | Andrea | 4 episodes | |
| 1998 | Conrad Bloom | Molly Davenport | Main role |
| 2000 | M.Y.O.B. | Opal Marie Brown | 4 episodes |
| 2000–2007 | Gilmore Girls | Lorelai Gilmore | Main role; also producer (season 7) |
| 2001 | Chasing Destiny | Jessy James | TV movie |
| 2002 | Family Guy | Mother Maggie | Voice role; episode: "Road to Europe" |
| 2006 | Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip | Herself / host | Uncredited; episodes: "The Long Lead Story" & "The Wrap Party" |
| 2009 | The Bridget Show | Bridget O'Shea | Unsold TV pilot |
| 2010–2015 | Parenthood | Sarah Braverman | Main role |
| 2011 | The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson | Geoff Peterson | Voice role; episode: "#8.62" |
| 2012 | Go On | Amy | Episode: "Dinner Takes All" |
| Project Runway | Herself / Guest judge | Episode: "A Times Square Anniversary Party" | |
| 2014 | Web Therapy | Grace Tiverton | Episodes: "Smile Through the Pain", "In Angus We Trust" |
| Hollywood Game Night | Herself / Celebrity player | Episode: "The Pittsburgh Steal-ers!" | |
| 2015 | The Late Late Show | Herself / host | February 19 episode |
| The Odd Couple | Gaby Madison | Episode: "The Audit Couple" | |
| Repeat After Me | Herself | Episode #1.7 | |
| 2016 | Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life | Lorelai Gilmore | Main role |
| 2017 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Bridget | 3 episodes |
| Linda from HR | Linda Plugh | TV movie[86] | |
| 2017–2021 | Vampirina | Oxana Hauntley | Voice role |
| 2018 | The Peter Austin Noto Show | Santa's Helper #8 | Episode: "Santas Helpers" |
| 2020–2021 | Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist | Joan | Recurring role (season 1), guest (season 2) |
| 2021–2022 | The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers | Alex Morrow | Main role; directed 1 episode |
| 2025 | The Z-Suite | Monica Frazier | Main role; also producer |
| Year | Ceremony | Category | Series | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Family Television Awards | Actress | Gilmore Girls | Nominated |
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | |||
| 2002 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Drama | ||
| Satellite Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical | |||
| Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series | |||
| Television Critics Association Award | Individual Achievement in Drama | |||
| 2003 | Satellite Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical | ||
| 2004 | ||||
| 2005 | People's Choice Awards | Favorite Female Television Star | ||
| Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical | Gilmore Girls | ||
| Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Parental Units | Won | ||
| 2006 | ||||
| Television Critics Association Award | Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy | Nominated | ||
| 2010 | Teen Choice Awards | Choice TV Parental Unit | Parenthood | |
| 2012 | Prism Awards | Performance for a Drama Episode | ||
I'm Irish Catholic,...
Mom Pam (Lauren Graham) doesn't do much except cook and cry
Graham simply frets and frowns, and Haden Church dials down any charm to play a GOP dream demographic.
