By Neia Balao
3:00pm PDT, Sep 16, 2022
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Need an excuse to rewatch the series about a darling mother-daughter duo from the fictional town of Stars Hollow, Connecticut? It's "Gilmore Girls" star Alexis Bledel's 40th birthday on Sept. 16, 2022, so to celebrate her big day, Wonderwall.com is rewatching and taking a look at how the cast's lives have changed since they were on the popular television show. Let's start with the birthday girl… Alexis starred as studious and Ivy League-bound teen Rory Gilmore.
Keep reading to find out what Alexis and the rest of the cast are up to (and looks like) now…
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After landing "Gilmore Girls," Alexis Bledel appeared in movies like "Tuck Everlasting," "Sin City," the "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" film series and "Post Grad." She also popped up on television shows like "Mad Men" and "Us & Them" throughout the 2010s and reprised her role as Rory Gilmore on Netflix's 2016 reboot "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." In 2017, she began portraying Ofglen/Emily Malek on the dystopian drama "The Handmaid's Tale," which is based on the Margaret Atwood novel of the same name. Alexis's performance earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding guest actress in a drama series in 2017; she announced her departure in 2022 ahead of season 5. Next up, she'll reprise her role as Lena in "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 3." In August 2022, she and Vincent Kartheiser, whom she met on "Mad Men," divorced after eight years of marriage. They share one child, a son.
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Since debuting as Lorelai Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls," Lauren Graham has gone on to craft an impressive resume. She appeared in several films including "Sweet November," "Bad Santa," "Because I Said So," "Evan Almighty" and "It's Kind of a Funny Story." 2010 marked the year in which Lauren began portraying one of her most notable characters, Sarah Braverman on the NBC drama "Parenthood," where she remained until the show's conclusion in 2015. In addition to reprising her role as Lorelai for Netflix's 2016 reboot "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," Lauren has also appeared on shows like "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and has tried her hand at voice acting on "Vampirina." She starred on the short-lived NBC musical comedy-drama "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" from 2020 to 2021. Since 2021, she's starred on the Disney+ series "The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers." In 2021, Lauren and her longtime love, "Parenthood" co-star Peter Krause, called it quits after more than 10 years together.
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Liza Weil played Rory's foe-turned-friend Paris Geller.
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What has Liza Weil been up to since her days on "Gilmore Girls"? In addition to making appearances on shows like "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Grey's Anatomy" and "Private Practice," Liza had six-episode stints on "Scandal" in 2012 and "Bunheads" (from "Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino) in 2013. From 2014 to 2020, she had a main role on the acclaimed Shonda Rhimes legal drama "How to Get Away with Murder" and in 2016 reprised her role as Paris Geller on Netflix's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" reboot. In 2019, she appeared on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" — another one of Amy's series — for four episodes. Since 2022, she's appeared on the crime-drama series "The Cleaning Lady." In 2006, Liza married actor Paul Adelstein, with whom she shares a daughter; they split in 2016. In 2022, Liza's former "HTGAWM" co-star Charlie Weber, whom she dated from 2016 to 2019, confirmed they were back on.
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Melissa McCarthy played quirky chef Sookie St. James, who's Lorelai's best friend.
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While she'll always be Sookie St. James in our hearts, Melissa McCarthy's career blossomed after "Gilmore Girls." From 2007 to 2009, she starred on the ABC sitcom "Samantha Who?" and followed it up with a starring role on the CBS sitcom "Mike & Molly" from 2010 to 2016 — a performance that earned her an Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series. She's since appeared in several notable blockbusters including "Bridesmaids," "Identity Thief," "The Heat," "St. Vincent" and "Spy," which earned her a Golden Globe Award nod. For her starring performance as Lee Israel in 2018's "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Melissa received an Academy Award nomination for best actress. More recently, she starred in the 2021 Hulu miniseries "Nine Perfect Strangers," which is based on the Liane Moriarty novel of the same name. In 2022, she collaborated with her husband, actor-comedian Ben Falcone — with whom she has two daughters — on the apocalyptic Netflix series "God's Favorite Idiot." Melissa will next star as Ursula in the 2023 live-action adaptation of "The Little Mermaid."
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Scott Patterson played local diner owner Luke Danes, who has long harbored a secret crush on Lorelai.
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Since rising to fame as Luke Danes on "Gilmore Girls," Scott Patterson has continued to act. Most notably, he played the role of Agent Peter Strahm in the "Saw IV," "Saw V" and "Saw VI" films. In addition to reprising his role as Luke on "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" in 2016, Scott landing starring roles on shows like "Aliens in America" and "The Event" and recurring roles on "Justice League Unlimited" and "90210." Scott took a page out of his "Gilmore Girls" alter ego Luke Danes' book when he launched his very own coffee business, Scotty P's Big Mug Coffee, in 2017. In 2021, he launched the "Gilmore Girls" podcast "I Am All In." On an August 2022 episode, Scott recalled a day on set in which he felt objectified when his character's backside was continually discussed between Lauren Graham and Melissa McCarthy's characters. "It is infuriating to be treated that way — it is infuriating — because you're being treated like an object. It's disturbing, and it's disgusting, and I had to endure that through that entire scene and many takes," he said. "It was all about the butt, the butt, the butt, the butt. When we weren't filming, we were sitting down — people were still talking about the butt, the butt, the butt. It was the most disturbing time I have ever spent on that set, and I couldn't wait for that day to be over." In 2014, the same year they welcomed their first child, a son, Scott married Kristine Saryan.
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Kelly Bishop played prim and proper Gilmore matriarch Emily Gilmore.
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Kelly Bishop — who famously played Baby's mom in 1987's "Dirty Dancing" and earned a Tony Award for best performance by a featured actress in a musical for her work in "A Chorus Line" — has continued to accrue acting credits. She has since appeared on shows like "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Mercy" and "The Good Wife" and reprised her role as Emily Gilmore on Netflix's "Gilmore Girls" reboot in 2016. From 2012 to 2013, she starred on Amy Sherman-Palladino's short-lived comedy-drama "Bunheads" as Fanny Flowers before landing a recurring role on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" in 2022.
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Matt Czuchry played affluent and charming Yale student Logan Huntzberger, who romances Rory in the later seasons.
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After playing Logan Huntzberger on "Gilmore Girls" — a role he reprised on 2016's "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" — Matt Czuchry appeared on shows like "Veronica Mars" and "Friday Night Lights" before landing a starring role as Cary Agos on the TV drama "The Good Wife." Since 2018, he's portrayed Conrad Hawkins on the FOX medical drama "The Resident." While little is known about his dating life nowadays, he was previously linked to Kate Bosworth from 2000 to 2002.
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Milo Ventimiglia played bookish bad boy Jess Mariano, who falls for Rory.
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When Milo Ventimiglia departed "Gilmore Girls," millions of teenage girls' hearts broke — but thankfully, he briefly reprised his role on the 2016 Netflix reboot. After his time on the show, he went on to star as Peter Petrelli on NBC's "Heroes" from 2006 to 2010. He's appeared in several films including "Rocky Balboa," "Armored," "That's My Boy" and "Creed II" and earned leading roles in "Second Act" and "The Art of Racing in the Rain." From 2016 to 2022, Milo starred as patriarch Jack Pearson on the hit NBC drama "This Is Us," a performance that earned him multiple Emmy nominations. He's famously dated old co-stars including Alexis Bledel and Hayden Panettiere and in 2017 was romantically linked to Stella McCartney marketing coordinator Kelly Egarian. Next up, Milo will star on the ABC spy-drama series "The Company You Keep."
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Keiko Agena played rock 'n' roll aficionado Lane Kim, who's Rory's high school best friend.
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Following "Gilmore Girls," Keiko Agena landed roles in several short films and appeared on episodes of television shows including "Twisted," "Shameless," "Colony," "Better Call Saul" and "Dirty John." She also reprised her role as Lane Kim on the 2016 Netflix "Gilmore" reboot. Prior to landing a role as a series regular on Hulu's "The First," Keiko had a seven-episode stint on Netflix's teen drama "13 Reasons Why." From 2019 to 2021, she starred as Dr. Edrisa Tanaka on the FOX crime-drama series "Prodigal Son." In 2005, she married longtime love Shin Kawasaki.
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Jared Padalecki played Dean Forester, Rory's doting first boyfriend.
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Jared Padalecki reprised his role as Dean Forester on the 2016 "Gilmore Girls" reboot and has appear in films like "House of Wax," "Cry Wolf" and "House of Fears." Most notably, he starred as Sam Winchester on the horror series "Supernatural" from 2005 to 2020. In 2021, he made his debut as the titular character on the CW Western action series "Walker," which is inspired by the Chuck Norris-led '90s series "Walker, Texas Ranger." In 2010, Jared married actress Genevieve Cortese, whom he met filming "Supernatural." They share three children.
