Early life
Lauren Graham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii of Irish descent and when she was five, her parents divorced. Lauren and her father, Lawrence, moved to the D.C. area where he became a congressional staffer. She traveled extensively with her father while growing up. He is currently a lobbyist for the chocolate and confection industry.
Graham discovered acting while in elementary school and further honed her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team; a mix of Dance and Cheerleading. But the stage was where she excelled and Lauren was soon found acting in community theatre and other small productions. Lauren graduated from Barnard College in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and then moved to Texas where, in 1992, she earned a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.
Career
After completing her education, Graham went to New York City where she worked as a cocktail waitress and aspiring actress. In 1995, she moved to Hollywood.
Television appearances
In addition to her many guest starring and co-starring roles on prime time television, she had three starring roles on 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, including 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; Jerry's speed dial ranking girlfriend on Seinfeld; an episode of Law & Order, where she starred with Scott Cohen, who would later play Graham's love interest on Gilmore Girls; and her most notable performance as an efficiency expert on Newsradio. The show's producers hoped to add her to the cast, but test audiences responded poorly to the new character.
In 2000, Graham was cast in her breakthrough role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, the program that would finally launch her to stardom. She received a nomination for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama) at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards.
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 appeared on Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown, co-hosted by former Newsradio costar Dave Foley. After winning her preliminary match, she came in second to another fellow Newsradio costar, Maura Tierney, in the championship game.
She was also the last guest interviewed by Rosie O'Donnell on O'Donnell's daytime talk show on June 26, 2002, and is one of Ellen's most frequent guests on The Ellen Degeneres Show, having appeared a total of seven times to date.
Motion picture appearances
Her motion picture roles including several NYU student films and multiple major studio releases, including Bad Santa, The Pacifier, Sweet November, and Because I Said So. She is set to appear in the movie Evan Almighty, playing the role of Evan's wife.
Personal life
Graham lives in West Hollywood. She previously dated actors Tate Donovan, James Marsters, Marc Blucas and Matthew Perry.[citation needed] She dated Robert Maschio during his senior year at Columbia University and helped persuade him to try out acting as a career.[citation needed]Lauren Graham
