Early life

Bishop was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Jane Lenore (née Wahtola) and Lawrence Boden Bishop. She grew up in Denver, Colorado, where she trained to be a ballet dancer, attending the American Ballet Theatre School and the San Jose Ballet School. At eighteen, she headed to New York City and landed her first job dancing in a year-round ballet company at Radio City Music Hall. Bishop continued to dance in Las Vegas, summer stock and on television until she was cast in 1967 in Golden Rainbow, her first Broadway role.

Career

Bishop's big break came when she was cast as the sexy, hard-edged Sheila in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Her performance earned her the 1976 Tony Award as "Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Musical)" as well as the 1976 Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Actress in a Musical". She also acted in the Broadway productions of Six Degrees of Separation, Neil Simon's Proposals, the Tony Award-winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Bus Stop. It wasn't long before she was cast opposite Jill Clayburgh in Paul Mazursky's big-screen drama An Unmarried Woman (1978). Bishop was initially cast in a much smaller part in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, but was called upon to play Mrs. Houseman when Lynne Lipton, the actress assigned the role, fell ill during the first week of shooting.

Bishop went on to play a "mom" to high-profile stars in features: Howard Stern's in the Betty Thomas-directed comedy Private Parts (1997), and Tobey Maguire's in Wonder Boys (2000). Additional feature credits include Ich und Er (USA: Me and Him, 1988), Queens Logic (1991), Café Society (1995), Miami Rhapsody (1995) and Blue Moon (2002). On television, Bishop starred in the Mike Nichols' The Thorns opposite Tony Roberts and Marilyn Cooper. She played Lisa Ann Walter's mother on My Wildest Dreams. She has guest-starred on Kate & Allie, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Murphy Brown.

From 2000 to 2007, Bishop starred in the CW Television Network series Gilmore Girls as wealthy New England matriarch Emily Gilmore, mother of Lorelai and grandmother of Rory.

Bishop was in Becky Shaw at the Second Stage Theatre in 2008. She then performed briefly in the 2011 revival of Anything Goes alongside Sutton Foster and Joel Grey. She replaced Jessica Walter in the role of Evangeline Harcourt.

Bishop co-starred as Fanny Flowers on the ABC Family program Amy Sherman-Palladino's Bunheads, in which she reunited with Sutton Foster. The show was canceled after one season.

Personal life

Bishop resides in South Orange, New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, TV talk show host Lee Leonard.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1966	Step Out of Your Mind	Missy Linden
1978	Unmarried Woman, AnAn Unmarried Woman	Elaine
1982	O'Hara's Wife	Beth Douglas
1986	Solarbabies	Tutor Nover
1987	Dirty Dancing	Marjorie Houseman
1988	Me and Him	Eleanor Aramis
1991	Queens Logic	Maria
1993	Six Degrees of Separation	Adele
1995	Miami Rhapsody	Zelda
1995	Cafe Society	Mrs. Jelke
1997	Private Parts	Ray Stern
1999	My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception	Sylvia Wienstein
2000	Blue Moon	Peggy's Mother
2000	Wonder Boys	Amanda Leer
2011	Friends with Kids	Marcy Fryman
2011	Novel Romance, AA Novel Romance	Lily Sparks

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Hawaii Five-0	Char	Episode: "Oldest Profession - Latest Price"
1981	Advice to the Lovelorn	Rita Borden	TV film
1983	New Odd Couple, TheThe New Odd Couple	Charity	Episode: "Murray's Hot Date"
1984	Kate & Allie	Paulette	Episode: "Baby"
1985	Recovery Room, TheThe Recovery Room	Kaye Brenner	TV film
1987	As the World Turns	Grace Wescott Andrews	TV series
1988	Thorns, TheThe Thorns	Ginger Thorn	Main role (12 episodes)
1989	One Life to Live	Serena Wyman	1 episode
1990	Baby-Sitters Club, TheThe Baby-Sitters Club	Flora	Episode: "Claudia and the Secret Passage"
1992	ABC Afterschool Special	Roxanne Holden	Episode: "Summer Stories: The Mall - Part 1"
1992	Law & Order	Marian Borland	Episode: "Intolerance"
1992	Murphy Brown	Connie Silverberg	Episode: "Me Thinks My Parents Doth Protest Too Much"
1995	All My Children	Freida Landau	TV series
1995	My Wildest Dreams	Gloria James	Recurring role (5 episodes)
1996	One Life to Live	Dr. Robbins	1 episode
2000	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Registrar	Episode: "Slaves"
2000-2007	Gilmore Girls	Emily Gilmore	Main role (154 episodes)
2008	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Julia Zimmer	Episode: "Persona"
2009	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Julia Zimmer	Episode: "Zebras"
2009	Army Wives	Jean Calhoun	Episode: "Operation: Tango"
2010	Mercy	Lauren Kempton	Episodes: "Wake Up, Bill", "Can We Talk About the Gigantic Elephant in the Ambulance?", "I Have a Date", "I'm Fine"
2010	Good Wife, TheThe Good Wife	Mrs. Kent	Episode: "VIP Treatment"
2012-2013	Bunheads	Fanny Flowers	Main role (15 episodes)
2015	Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll	Elizabeth	Guest role (season 1 episode 7)
2016	Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life	Emily Gilmore	Series Regular (4-part limited series)

Theater

Year	Show	Role	Notes
1968	Golden Rainbow	Cat-Girl/Dancer	Shubert Theatre
1968	Promises, Promises	Clancy's Lounge Patron/Company Nurse	Shubert Theatre
1968	Precious Sons	Bea (Standby)
1971	On the Town	Dance Ensemble	Imperial Theatre
1975	A Chorus Line	Sheila	Shubert Theatre Originated role Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical
1990	Six Degrees of Separation	Kitty/Ouisa	Vivian Beaumont Theater Replacement
1996	Bus Stop	Grace Hoylard	Short revival, 29 performances
1997	The Last Night of Ballyhoo	Boo Levy	Helen Hayes Theatre Replacement
1997	Proposals	Annie Robbins	Broadhurst Theatre
2011	Anything Goes	Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt	Stephen Sondheim Theatre August 9 2011 - January 15 2012

[ Source: Wikipedia ]