‘Gilmore Girls’: Lauren Graham Was Just as Advanced a Student as Rory Gilmore
Fans speculate Lauren Graham’s educational background might have bled into the personality of her brilliant, on-screen daughter Rory Gilmore. In the hit series Gilmore Girls, Rory’s character is a shy, book-smart, Ivy League-bound teen.
It’s not just Graham’s advanced reading skills and college choices that closely resemble Rory’s. Her single-parent upbringing and steadfast goal-setting are also reflected in Alexis Bledel’s character, Rory.
Four-year-old Lauren Graham was so smart she skipped kindergarten
Throughout her childhood, it was rare to see Graham without a book in her hand. She calls herself a “really serious reader” and credits her dad’s storytelling skills with her ability to read so early. Her Kindergarten teacher quickly realized that Graham had some advanced skills when she caught Graham reading a story to the whole class.
In an interview with The 92nd Street Y (via YouTube) with Sam Pancake, Graham explains her teacher’s surprise when she discovered that Graham hadn’t memorized the book but was reading it. Her early reading ultimately caused her to be bumped ahead to first grade. Graham jokes that this is why she never properly learned to share.
A love for reading paved the way for Graham’s career goals
Graham has often told interviewers that she is a little bit like Rory in her steadfast desire to succeed in her career. Not unlike Rory’s determination to be a journalist, Graham pursued acting with her whole heart. A love of language and reading spurred this onward for both Rory’s character and Graham’s career.
According to The New York Times, Graham’s literary prowess got her the role of Lorelai, to begin with. Show producer, Sherman-Palladino, chose Graham for the part of Lorelai even though there were several more well-known actors in line for the job. The reason? “She’s the first actress that pronounced the name ‘Kerouac’ correctly,” Sherman-Palladino admitted after Graham read for the role.
Graham’s college experience parallelled her on-screen daughter Rory Gilmore
Though Graham is quite outspoken and gregarious, in stark contrast to the reserved Rory Gilmore, her childhood and educational experience mirror Rory’s in many ways. Aside from their single-parent upbringing, both Rory and Graham pursue advanced educational goals.
For instance, Rory leaves the public school in Stars Hollow to attend the more prestigious Chilton to get a leg up on her college application. Likewise, according to IMDb, Graham also changed schools frequently during her formative years. It was always on Rory’s to-do list to attend Harvard. It’s a major plot point throughout the coming-of-age storyline.
When Rory finally chooses where to attend, fans were shocked when she chose Yale instead. Graham’s story parallels Rory’s here as well. Ultimately, Graham graduated from the prestigious Barnard College with a degree in English and went on to receive her master’s degree in acting from Southern Methodist University.
Graham is a best-selling author
Aside from just being an avid reader, like her on-screen daughter, Graham is also a writer. She’s written both non-fiction and fiction books of her own which have been translated into multiple languages, and have sat on the top of the New York Times best-selling lists.
She released her first novel Someday, Someday, Maybe, in 2013, which was inspired by her own dreams as a young actor. Graham’s most book: Have I Told You This Already? , is a memoir that includes a series of essays detailing her early career as an actor, tongue-in-cheek advice, and her signature sense of humor.
While Rory Gilmore may not be exactly like the actor who plays her mother, the similarities indicate that Lauren Graham may be just as academically inclined as her on-screen daughter.
