Lauren Graham absolutely stole our hearts as Lorelai Gilmore . She’s crafted one of the great TV characters of our era and is a true Renaissance woman.
Below are 10+ interesting things about Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham that fans didn’t know. From her Polynesian ancestry to her Broadway debut, there’s a lot more to Lauren than you might think…
RELATED STORIES
1. Lauren lives in a very famous neighborhood.
While making an appearance on The Ellen Show , Lauren revealed that she’s actually neighbors with Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard!
Lauren went on to tell the tale of her incredibly awkward encounter with Dax.
Apparently, Lauren mistook Dax for Brad Pitt while he was out driving around the neighborhood!
I wish people would mistake me for Brad Pitt every now and again. Apparently Dax was equally as flattered. His response to Lauren’s confusion was:
“I love you . Forever.”
2. She’s actually Hawaiian!
Lauren was fortunate enough to be born in beautiful Honolulu !
I don’t know why anyone would ever leave Hawaii if they had the good fortune to be born there, but I digress.
3. Lauren has her master’s degree.
She began her studies at NYU and then transferred to Barnard College, where she studied English.
Lauren received her Master of Fine Arts from the Southern Methodist University in 1992.
4. Little Orphan Annie inspired her to become an actor.
“My dad and I went to see ‘Annie’ at the Kennedy Center , and I got an ‘Annie’ T-shirt,” Lauren stated during an interview.
“Somebody asked me in a store one day if I was in the cast of ‘Annie.’”
Lauren was taken aback by the question, so what did she do? She lied.
“I said yes, because I so wanted to be in the cast of ‘Annie.’ So my first role was ‘person who was in the cast of ‘Annie.””
5. She has ties to Japan as well.
After WWII, both of Lauren’s grandparents were sent to Japan for missionary work. Her mother spoke Japanese fluently and she also worked as a buyer for a Japanese department store.
Lauren herself spent time there as a baby!
Which explains her love of Sake!
Sake is a Japanese liquor that’s made from fermented rice. It can be served cold or warm and is considered to be a delicacy.
Lauren’s favorite brand isn’t the most expensive, but it does have tiny gold flakes!
6. Lauren still gets starstruck.
While answering Ellen DeGeneres’ “Burning Questions,” Lauren described a chance encounter with Daniel Craig…or “Bond. James Bond.”
Lauren and he were backstage at the Golden Globes and she made him laugh. “He was so cute and nice.”
7. She has a hard time understanding jeans.
When Lauren was asked if there was a particular fashion trend that she didn’t understand, her response was:
“I don’t understand so much of jeans that’s happening. Like they’re wide and they’re cropped and they’re high-waisted? That’s not helpful to anybody!”
8. Lauren’s been lying about her height her entire life.
“I am 5’9″, I’ve been 5’9” my whole life . The doctor said that I’m not 5’9″, I’m 5’8″! So I’ve been lying my whole life about being 5’9″, I just didn’t know.”
9. She’s a published author!
Lauren released a collection of essays called Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls (and Everything in Between) .
The book was a runaway success and made it as high as the third spot on the New York Times Best Sellers list.
10. Lauren appeared on Broadway.
Lauren grew up on musicals . She appeared in a revival presentation of Guys and Dolls , playing the part of Miss Adelaide.
Lauren took her preparation for the role incredibly seriously and, according to her, the play was life-changing.
She went on to explain her love of the theater began when she was just a young girl, going to plays with her father.
“I have such reverence for New York theatre. My dad began taking me when I was a kid, and it’s what I grew up dreaming about doing.”
11. Lauren has made appearances on tons of our favorite shows.
Before her big break on Gilmore Girls , Lauren made appearances on some pretty classic shows, like Seinfeld, NewsRadio, 3rd Rock From The Sun, Caroline In The City , and Law And Order .
She was also in a ton of movies!
One True Thing, Nightwatch, Chasing Destiny, and Confessions Of A Sexist Pig were all films that Lauren was in before the show, and afterwards she showed up in Evan Almighty , The Pacifier and Bad Santa .
12. She wasn’t always drinking coffee when Lorelai was.
Lauren actually revealed that despite her love of coffee, she couldn’t always keep up with Lorelai, saying, “I drink a lot of coffee. I would get to this place on-set [of Gilmore Girls] in real life where if I had any more, I was going to keel over dead. So sometimes there was water in there.”
13. Lauren’s favorite parts of the show were Lorelai’s least favorite.
Lauren revealed her favorite scenes to shoot were the dinners at the Gilmores, especially when Emily was angry with her. She did say they were grueling to shoot, “and the food was always terrible.”
14. Lauren based the Lorelai/Rory relationship on her own relationship with her father.
Lauren said that the relationship between the mother and daughter was inspired by her dad. “There were about 10 years before that when it was just me and my dad. It was a win. I remember thinking, ‘I am so lucky.’ We had a special kind of friendship: I came along to dinner and dates. He took me to concerts.”
“We’d go on road trips.”
“I didn’t have a strong idea of how to play a mom — my mom was in my life, but not on a daily basis. I came into it without an idea of how moms “should act” or how it “should be.” I came in thinking of my friendship with my dad — that was my model.”
15. Lauren was a total horse girl growing up.
Lauren has stated, “I didn’t have dolls, I had model horses. They were part of my imagination,” and that she used to ride competitively. Who knew!
16. Lauren knew she’d made it after she was turned into a collectible!
“Weird dreams come true. I’m also a bobble-head doll, from Gilmore Girls . You know, ‘dreams you didn’t know you had’…”
There’s so much to love about Lauren!
Whether it’s her charming hilarious self off-camera or her charming hilarious self on-camera, we can’t get enough!
What’s your favorite Lauren Graham moment? Leave a comment below and let us know!
