Lauren Graham

Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and producer. She is best known for playing Lorelai Gilmore on the WB Network dramedy series Gilmore Girls and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood.

Early life

Graham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Donna Grant, a fashion buyer, and Lawrence Graham, a candy industry lobbyist who is the current president for National Confectioners Association. She is of Irish descent and was raised Catholic. Graham's parents divorced when she was five, and Graham moved to Washington, D.C., where her father became a congressional staffer. She traveled extensively with her father while growing up. While she was close with her dad, she recalls, “I think he thought I was an oddball, because I was very driven and ambitious.”

At a young age, Graham rode horses competitively, but soon switched to acting. Graham discovered acting while in elementary school and further honed her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team.Graham quickly took to acting in community theatre and other small productions. She earned her actor's equity card in 1988 after two years in summer stock at the Barn Theatre in Augusta, Michigan. Graham graduated from Barnard College in 1988 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English. After moving to Texas in 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.

Career

After completing her education, Graham moved back to New York City where she became a waitress and aspiring actress, including her first paid work doing publicity appearances wearing the costume of Striker, the dog mascot of the US-based 1994 FIFA World Cup. In 1995, she relocated to Hollywood, California. She appeared in various commercials for products such as Dimetapp and Lean Cuisine and hosted free preview weekends on The Movie Channel.

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 3rd 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 who had a love interest in Rey Curtis in a three-part episode of Law & Order, where she acted opposite Scott Cohen, who would later play one of Graham's love interests, Max Medina, on Gilmore Girls. She also portrayed a villainous efficiency expert on Newsradio.

In 2000, Graham landed her breakthrough role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. 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 throughout 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 Newsradio. 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's film roles encompass several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including Sweet November, Bad Santa, The Pacifier, Because I Said So, and Evan Almighty.

Graham has said that she enjoys playing in short films, and acting in the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has performed in numerous short films, including the 15-minute long Gnome, viewable on YouTube and the iTunes Store. In 2007, Graham signed a seven-figure development deal with NBC in one of the year's richest TV talent pacts.

Graham has also worked as the voiceover announcer in national advertising for Kellogg's various Special K products, and in American Express ads introducing the Plum Card, which is targeted towards small and growing businesses.

Graham made her Broadway debut as Miss Adelaide in the revival of Guys and Dolls, which began preview performances at the Nederlander Theatre on February 5, 2009 and opened on March 1, 2009. Initial reviews for this performance have been mixed, but generally regard her fresh take on the character as a success. The production closed June 14, playing 113 shows and 28 previews.

It was announced in January 2009 that Graham would star in the comedy pilot, The Bridget Show (previously Let It Go) for ABC playing a talk show host and self-help guru who fails to follow her own advice during a breakup. However, the pilot was not given a series order.

On October 9, 2009, it was announced that Graham would replace Maura Tierney in the television series Parenthood as single mother Sarah Braverman. Tierney left the show to seek treatment for cancer. The series debuted on NBC the following year, and was later renewed for a second season.

In June 2010, it was confirmed that Graham would star in the upcoming Scream 4, but she left the project on June 30, 2010.

Personal life

Graham is currently in a relationship with her Parenthood costar, Peter Krause. She and Krause play brother and sister on the show.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995-96	Caroline in the City	Shelly	5 episodes
1996	3rd Rock from the Sun	Laurie Harris	Episode: "Dick's First Birthday"
1996	Good Company	Liz Gibson	TV series
1996	Townies	Denise Garibaldi Callahan	15 episodes
1997	Nightwatch	Marie
1997	Law & Order	Lisa Lundquist	3 episodes
1997	Seinfeld	Valerie	Episode: "The Millennium"
1997	NewsRadio	Andrea	4 episodes
1998	Confessions of a Sexist Pig	Tracy
1998	One True Thing	Jules
1998	Conrad Bloom	Molly Davenport	7 episodes
1999	Dill Scallion	Kristie Sue
2000	M.Y.O.B.	Opal Marie Brown	Episode: "Bad Seed" Episode: "Boys in the Band"
2000–2007	Gilmore Girls	Lorelai Gilmore	154 episodes
2001	Sweet November	Angelica
2001	Chasing Destiny	Jessy James	TV movie
2002	Family Guy	Mother Maggie (voice)	Episode: "Road to Europe"
2002	The Third Wheel	Woman at Party (uncredited)
2003	Bad Santa	Sue
2004	Seeing Other People	Claire
2005	Lucky 13	Abbey
2005	The Life Coach	Dr. Sue Pegasus
2005	The Amateurs	Peggy
2005	The Pacifier	Principal Claire Fletcher
2005	Gnome	Amanda	Short film
2006	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Studio 60 Host (Self) (uncredited)	Episode: "The Long Lead Story" Episode: "The Wrap Party"
2007	Because I Said So	Maggie
2007	Evan Almighty	Joan Baxter
2008	Birds of America	Betty Tanager
2008	Flash of Genius	Phyllis Kearns
2009	The Bridget Show	Bridget O'Shea	ABC Pilot - not picked up
2009	The Answer Man	Elizabeth
2009	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs	Fran Lockwood (voice)
2010	It's Kind of a Funny Story	Lynn
2010–present	Parenthood	Sarah Braverman	26+ episodes
2012	Most Wanted	TBA	Pre-production

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Result	Category	Series
2001	Family Television Awards	Won	Actress	Gilmore Girls (Tied with Jane Kaczmarek for Malcolm in the Middle)
2002	Golden Globe Award	Nominated	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama	Gilmore Girls
2005	People's Choice Awards	Nominated	Favorite Female Television Star	-
2002	Satellite Award	Nominated	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Gilmore Girls
2003		Nominated		Gilmore Girls
2004		Nominated		Gilmore Girls
2005		Nominated	Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Gilmore Girls
			Outstanding Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Nominated	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Gilmore Girls
2002		Nominated	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Gilmore Girls
2005	Teen Choice Award	Won	Choice TV Parental Units	Gilmore Girls
2006		Won	Choice TV Parental Units	Gilmore Girls
2010		Nominated	Choice TV Parental Units	Parenthood
2002	Television Critics Association Award	Nominated	Individual Achievement in Drama	Gilmore Girls
2006		Nominated	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy	Gilmore Girls

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