It’s officially Gilmore Girls season! A look at the wild cast transformations 23 years on

The weird September heatwave we just had is finally coming to an end and Autumn is quickly approaching meaning only one thing: It’s Gilmore Girls season. Everyone’s favourite cosy girl autumn show is 23 years old this month and the cast has changed a whole lot since that pilot episode first aired.

We might have gotten the reboot on Netflix in 2016 and found out what the characters had been up to, but what do the cast look like now?

Here are all the wild Gilmore Girls cast transformations over the years:

Rory – Alexis Bledel

She might be the worst character in Gilmore Girls but Alexis Bledel seems really cool. Now in her 40s, Gilmore Girls was her first job which she started at the age of 19. She has since gone on to act in a number of different shows including The Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men.

She has an eight year old son with her ex-husband Vincent Kartheiser who she met on the set of Mad Men but they divorced in August last year.

Lorelai – Lauren Graham

Absolute icon Lorelai Gilmore carried the show. Now 56, she continued her acting career after Gilmore Girls and has been in films such as Even Almighty and, more recently, the Disney+ original series The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers.

She is also a published author and has written four books. Her most recent book “Have I told you this already?” is an essay collection about her years in the show. Kind of gagging to read!

Luke – Scott Patterson

Before he played Luke on the show, Scott Patterson was a professional baseball player. Now 65, he has continued acting and this year has starred in “Sullivan’s Crossing” with Chad Michael Murray. I wondered if they reminisce about the Gilmore Girls days on set!

In 2021, Scott Patterson started a Gilmore Girls themed podcast called “I Am All In With Scott Patterson”.

Sookie – Melissa McCarthy

Melissa McCarthy is obviously super famous and everyone now knows her from huge films like Bridesmaids, Identity Thief and Ghostbusters but real ones know she started on Gilmore Girls.

Now 53, she’s most recently been in the new live action remake of The Little Mermaid. She is married and has a 16-year-old daughter, Vivian Falcone who is also now an actress.

Jess – Milo Ventimiglia

The next of the Gilmore Girls cast transformations is Jess. Now 46, the actor who played everyone’s favourite pretentious bad boy has carried on acting after Gilmore Girls. He has been in quite a few big things including the Show This is Us which got him three Emmy nominations.

He also recently starred in the movie The Art of Racing in the Rain about the racing car dog that you’ve probably watched in 27 parts on TikTok.

Logan – Matt Czuchry

Probably Rory’s best boyfriend, Matt Czuchry who played Logan is also now 45. After Gilmore Girls, Matt went onto have a leading role in the TV show The Good Wife as well as The Resident. I have to say he has kinda aged like fine wine though.

Matt Czuchry doesn’t have social media and is very private but is understood to be currently single.

Dean – Jared Padalecki

Jared Padalecki, who played Rory’s high school boyfriend Dean, is now 41 and is married with three kids. He met his wife Genevieve Cortese on the set of Supernatural which he’s now more widely known for playing Sam Winchester for 15 seasons from 2005 to 2020.

Lane – Keiko Agena

I will never get over the fact that Keiko Agena was 27 when she first began playing 16-year-old Lane in Season One of Gilmore Girls. Now 49, Keiko has continued to act starring in 13 Reasons Why, Shameless and Dirty John amongst others.

She married her husband Shin Kawasaki in a literal helicopter over Las Vegas in 2005.

Emily – Kelly Bishop

The absolute icon Emily Gilmore is played by Kelly Bishop who is now 79. Before Gilmore Girls she starred in Dirty Dancing as well as The Chorus Line. Since the show she’s appeared in Friends With Kids, Law & Order and Bunheads. Her last acting role was in Netflix’s Halston and thriller, The Watchful Eye.

Edward Herrmann, her onscreen husband sadly died from brain cancer at the age of 71 in 2014.

Michel – Yanic Truesdale

Michel is easily one of the best characters in Gilmore Girls, but Yanic Truesdale, who plays him hasn’t done that much since the show ended. He’s now 53 and recently opened a spin studio in Montreal, Canada. Sounds like a very Michel thing to do to be honest.

Paris – Liza Weil

Liza Weil originally auditioned for the role of Rory in the show but made such an impression on the directors that they wrote Paris into the show just for her and I’m so glad that they did.

Now 46, Liza has done lots of acting since the show including in big dramas like Scandal, How to Get Away with Murder and Grey’s Anatomy. She now has a 13-year-old daughter and a very cute dog.

Kirk – Sean Gunn

And finally, arguably the best character in the show, Kirk. Kirk was played by Sean Gunn who is now 49.

His brother, James Gunn is actually a huge Hollywood film maker and studio executive so Sean has worked with him on massive films such as Guardians of the Galaxy, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame and The Suicide Squad. He is married to actress and director Natasha Halevi.

Featured image via Netflix and Ovidiu Hrubaru/Shutterstock. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• These are the top 10 most autumnal episodes of Gilmore Girls

• Ranked: Every single one of Rory Gilmore’s romantic interests

• Every single reason Rory is legitimately the worst character on Gilmore Girls