Lauren Graham: 21st Century Icon

           The woman, the myth, the legend: Lauren Graham. Whether you know her as Lorelai Gilmore or Sarah Braverman she’s the mom you never had. Actress, producer, and NYT best-selling author, Graham, has had quite an interesting journey so far.

        Graham was introduced to her dream for acting when she first saw Annie. She began envisioning herself as the character and so the love story with becoming an actor took flight. Her father, a congressional staffer, raised her as a single parent–while her mother moved to London to follow her artistic soul. According to Graham, her mother was an “idealist” who didn’t live to see her dreams fulfilled. From this, she learned she’d have to take a distinctly opposite pathway towards her own success.
         Graham attended Barnard college where she studied English and then went on to earn a master’s degree in theater at Southern Methodist University. After graduating, Graham moved back to New York to pursue acting, while working on the side teaching test prep for the Princeton Review. During her time in NY, she landed some commercials and a part in a play, but eventually she moved to LA to establish her television career.  Despite the discouragement from fellow actors about the competitive atmosphere during pilot season, Graham ended up landing a pilot after two weeks.
The big break for Graham was ultimately the WB series Gilmore Girls, the story of an incredible bond between young mother Lorelai and her teen daughter Rory.  Her new role landed her a nomination at the 2001 Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Television Series (Drama). She also received a nomination at the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series.
             She began her career as a producer during the 12th episode of the seventh season of Gilmore Girls. She finished out the series as a producer for the show and then went on to establish her own production company, Good Game Entertainment.
Besides an actor, producer, and eventually, novelist you can add Broadway star to the list.  Graham, in 2009, landed the role of Miss Adelaide in the revival of Guys and Dolls.
Since the end of her Gilmore days, Graham has landed a few major motion picture roles but the most recent, her return to television, was her role as Sarah Braverman on NBC’s Parenthood. The show was based on a Steve Martin and Mary Steenburgen film of the same title that also follow the life and mishaps of an extended family.
             In 2013 Graham published her first novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe that of which earned her a spot on the NYT bestsellers list.
They say “it’s who you know,” in any business–clearly, Lauren Graham is the exception.  She went from the daughter of a dreamer and a congressional staffer to actor, producer, and novelist. Is there anything this woman can’t do?