Lauren Graham's Fame Audit - Graham is a geyser of charisma: she talks fast, she smiles big, and she always stands up nice and straight. And she's equally magnetic when she's not smiling. -yes it's the serious moments that really impress me, not just her more-appreciated comic ability- as last season and what we've seen of the new one have given her plenty of opportunities to get angry at her rich, heedless parents (Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann) for interfering in her relationship with Rory; truly, everyone involved in Rory's decision to drop out of Yale deserves a swift kick in the ass, and watching Lorelai deliver such kicks is always a treat. Plus, while she's always lovely to behold, she's especially pretty when she's mad.

And, just one more point about Lorelai Gilmore: she makes a hell of a role for a good actor. Her backstory gives the performer plenty to work with, in that she was a daughter of privilege who scandalized her parents by getting pregnant in her mid-teens, refusing to give up the baby or marry its father, skipping post-secondary education until later in her life, and virtually cutting her parents out of her and her daughter's lives in order to prove she could make it without their help. Having truced with them in order to finance Rory's education, their relationship is still rather shaky, and plagued by setbacks on both sides. And while Lorelai is smart, self-sufficient, funny, and a good and fun mom (though still strict, in her way yes good), she isn't perfect -- which is so often the problem with "strong" female characters, particularly on TV. huh. Lorelai also has a lot of flaws; she's impetuous, flighty, selfish to the point of childishness, and self-centred in the extreme. It's a rich part, and one that must be very rewarding to play, and one that would be a starmaker if Gilmore Girls didn't air on The WB. If a generally smart, well-written, character-driven dramedy aired on NBC, they'd be blanketing the press with Lauren Graham coverage.
Assets: • Very very very very pretty • Hell of a TV poker player, even beating Matthew Perry on Celebrity Poker Showdown, and he's a degenerate gambler! • Always comes off like an endearing goof on talk shows