Lauren Graham Biography
Summary
"Lauren Helen Graham" (born March 16, 1967) is a American actor best known for her starring role as Lorelai Gilmore on the long-running television series "Gilmore Girls".
Biography
Early life
Graham, an Irish American, was born in Honolulu, Hawaii to Donna Grant, a fashion buyer, and Lawrence Graham, a candy industry lobbyist who was the former President for the chocolate and confection industry association. Her parents divorced when she was five, prompting Graham and her father to move to the D.C. area, where he became a congressional staffer. Graham traveled extensively with her father while growing up.
Graham discovered acting while in elementary school and further honed her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team. Yet she excelled on the stage, and Graham quickly took to acting in community theatre and other small productions. Graham graduated from Barnard College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After moving to Texas in 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.
Career
After completing her education, Graham moved to New York City where she became a cocktail waitress and aspiring actress. In 1995, she relocated to Hollywood.
In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime-time television, Graham starred in three failed sitcoms, including "Townies" (with Molly Ringwald and Jenna Elfman) and the short-lived sitcom "Lush Life" (with Lori Petty and Karyn Parsons). Between 1996 and 1997 Graham became a regular guest star on several hit NBC shows. She played a graduate student who caught the eye of Dick on "Third Rock from the Sun," Richard's dim-witted girlfriend on "Caroline in the City," and Jerry's speed-dial ranking girlfriend on "Seinfeld." She played a Hollywood producer in a three-part episode of "Law & Order," where she acted opposite Scott Cohen, who would later play Graham's love interest on "Gilmore Girls." Her most notable guest performance was as a highly-inept efficiency expert on "Newsradio." The show's producers hoped to add her to the cast, but test audiences responded poorly to the new character (her attempts to be Lisa's friend at any and all costs wore thin after a while).
In 2000, Graham landed her breakthrough role as the comedic character Lorelai Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls," the program that would finally launch her to stardom. For her work she received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards. Beginning with Season 7 episode 'To Whom It May Concern' and continuing through out the rest of the season, Graham served as a producer on "Gilmore Girls." "TV Guide" reported that she received the position in an attempt to persuade her to sign for an eighth season.
Graham returned to her guest-starring roots when she portrayed herself in two episodes of NBC's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". Graham has also appeared on Bravo's "Celebrity Poker Showdown," co-hosted by Dave Foley of 'News Radio.' After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another former "Newsradio" star, Maura Tierney, in the championship game. On June 26 2002, Graham was the last guest interviewed by Rosie O'Donnell on her daytime talk show. Graham is also one of the most frequent guests on The Ellen Degeneres Show, having appeared a total of eight times to date.
Graham's motion picture roles encompass several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including "Bad Santa", "The Pacifier," "Sweet November," and "Because I Said So". She co-stars in the 2007 movie "Evan Almighty", playing the role of Evan's wife, Joan Baxter.
Lauren has said that she enjoys playing in short films, and acting in the Williamstown Theatre Festival. For short films, she has played in numerous, including "Gnome", a 15 minute short film, viewable on YouTube. In 2007 Lauren Graham signed a seven-figure development deal with NBC in one of the year's richest TV talent pacts.
Personal life
A resident of West Hollywood, Graham has previously dated such Hollywood notables as Matthew Perry, Tate Donovan, and Marc Blucas.
Prior to becoming a television star, Graham dated Robert Maschio during his senior year at Columbia University and helped persuade him to try acting as a career.
Awards
Family Television Awards
Golden Globes, USA
People's Choice Awards, USA
Satellite Awards
-Award: Satellite Award
-Award: Golden Satellite Award
Screen Actors Guild Awards
Teen Choice Awards
Television Critics Association Awards
External links
(Lauren Graham cast bio on The CW Official Site)
Credit
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article about Lauren Graham.
