Early life

Lauren Graham was born on March 16, 1967 in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her mother, Donna Grant, was a fashion buyer, and her father, Lawrence Graham, is a candy industry lobbyist who has been president of the National Confectioners Association. Graham was raised in her father's Catholic faith (her maternal grandfather was a Baptist minister); she is of Irish, English, Scottish ancestry. When Graham's father worked for the Agency for International Development in Vietnam, Lauren lived for a few years in Japan (her mother also grew up there, as the daughter of a missionary). Graham was five years old when her parents divorced and she moved to Alexandria, Virginia with her father, who became a congressional staffer, while her mother left to pursue an artistic career, and lived in London until her death at age 61. Graham has a half-sister and a half-brother from her father's second marriage and a British half-sister from her mother's second marriage, Shade Grant, who works at a talent agency.

As a girl, Graham rode horses competitively, but soon switched to acting, honing her talent at Langley High School, where she took part in the drill team and graduated in 1984. 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 Literature. After moving to Texas in 1992, Graham earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in Acting Performance from Southern Methodist University.

Career

1994-1999: Beginnings

After completing her education, Graham moved back to New York City where she earned her living as a waitress and tutor teaching SAT test prep for The Princeton Review. While she aspired to become an actress, she made publicity appearances wearing the costume of Striker, the dog mascot of the US-based 1994 FIFA World Cup. In 1995, she relocated to Hollywood. 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 four failed sitcoms, including Townies (with Molly Ringwald and Jenna Elfman), the short-lived sitcom Lush Life (with Lori Petty and Karyn Parsons), and M.Y.O.B, which was burned off by NBC in the summer months before the premiere of Gilmore Girls. 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 overly-optimistic 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 an antagonizing but friendship-starved efficiency expert on Newsradio.

2000-2008:Gilmore Girls and film roles

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 in the second season of 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.

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. 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 voice-over announcer in national advertising for Kellogg's various Special K products in 2007, and for American Express ads in 2008 introducing the Plum Card, which is targeted towards small and growing businesses.

2009-present: Broadway debut, Parenthood and book deal

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. In July 2012, Graham was a guest judge in the first episode of Season 10 of the reality television series Project Runway.

Graham's debut novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe: A Novel (2013), a work based on a fictionalization of her experiences in the New York acting scene in the mid-1990s, was released via hardcover, e-book and author-read audiobook formats on April 30, 2013 by the Ballantine Books imprint of Random House. In May 2013, the book entered the New York Times best seller list. Graham signed a deal with Warner Bros. Television and Ellen DeGeneres' production company A Very Good Production to adapt it into a TV series. She will write the script for The CW.

Personal life

Graham dated Matthew Perry, whom she met in 2002. She has been in a relationship with her Parenthood co-star Peter Krause since 2010. Graham owns an apartment in Manhattan and a house in Los Angeles. Graham is a Catholic and occasionally attends church.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Nightwatch	Marie
1998	Confessions of a Sexist Pig	Tracy
	One True Thing	Jules
1999	Dill Scallion	Kristie Sue
2001	Sweet November	Angelica
2002	Third Wheel, TheThe Third Wheel	Woman at Party (uncredited)
2003	Bad Santa	Sue
2004	Seeing Other People	Claire
2005	Lucky 13	Abbey
	Life Coach, TheThe Life Coach	Dr. Sue Pegasus
	Amateurs, TheThe Amateurs	Peggy
	Pacifier, TheThe Pacifier	Principal Claire Fletcher
	Gnome	Amanda	Short film
2007	Because I Said So	Maggie
	Evan Almighty	Joan Baxter
2008	Birds of America	Betty Tanager
	Flash of Genius	Phyllis Kearns
2009	Answer Man, TheThe Answer Man	Elizabeth
	Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs	Fran Lockwood (voice)
2010	It's Kind of a Funny Story	Lynn
2014	A Merry Friggin' Christmas	Luann Mitchler
2015	Max	Pamela Wincott
2016	Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life	Jules Khatchadorian	Filming
	Joshy	Katee

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995-1996	Caroline in the City	Shelly	5 episodes
1996	3rd Rock from the Sun	Laurie Harris	Episode: "Dick's First Birthday"
	Good Company	Liz Gibson	6 epiosodes
	Townies	Denise Garibaldi Callahan	15 episodes
1997	Law & Order	Lisa Lundquist	3 episodes
	Seinfeld	Valerie	Episode: "The Millennium"
	NewsRadio	Andrea	4 episodes
1998	Conrad Bloom	Molly Davenport	13 episodes
2000	M.Y.O.B.	Opal Marie Brown	4 episodes
2000-2007 2016	Gilmore Girls	Lorelai Gilmore	Lead role (153 episodes, Season 1-7), Also producer (season 7) Lead role (Four-part Netflix limited series)
2001	Chasing Destiny	Jessy James	TV movie
2002	Family Guy	Mother Maggie (voice)	Episode: "Road to Europe"
2006	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Studio 60 Host (uncredited)	Episode: "The Long Lead Story" Episode: "The Wrap Party"
2009	Bridget Show, TheThe Bridget Show	Bridget O'Shea	TV pilot
2010-2015	Parenthood	Sarah Braverman	Lead Role (101 Episodes, Season 1-6)
2011	Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson	Geoff Peterson (voice)	Episode: "8.62"
2012	Go On	Amy	Episode: "Dinner Takes All"
	Project Runway	Herself	Episode: "A Times Square Anniversary Party" Guest judge
2014	Web Therapy	Grace Tiverton	Episode: "Smile Through the Pain" Episode: "In Angus We Trust"
2015	The Late Late Show	Guest Host	February 19 episode as part of show's three-month guest host interregnum
	The Odd Couple	Gaby Madison	Recurring
	Repeat After Me	Herself	1 episode

Awards and nominations

Year	Ceremony	Category	Series	Result
2001	Family Television Awards	Actress	Gilmore Girls	Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
2002	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical		Nominated
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series		Nominated
	Television Critics Association Award	Individual Achievement in Drama		Nominated
2003	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical		Nominated
2004	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical		Nominated
2005	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Television Star		Nominated
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Gilmore Girls	Nominated
	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Parental Units		Won
2006	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Parental Units		Won
	Television Critics Association Award	Outstanding Individual Achievement in Comedy		Nominated
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Parental Units	Parenthood	Nominated
2013	Prism Awards	Performance for a Drama Episode		Nominated

Charities

Lauren Graham supports the following charitable causes: Breast Cancer, World Poverty & Hunger, Women's Issues, Cancer.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]