Whatever Happened To Alexis Bledel?

In the mid-aughts, Alexis Bledel was on the screens and in the hearts of countless romcom fans. Born in 1981, Bledel is perhaps best known for portraying the beloved character Rory Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls," as well as her roles in classic 2000s teen movies, from "Tuck Everlasting" to "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants." Given her talented acting skills, it would be easy to assume Bledel was born a natural performer. However, she was shy from a young age and never imagined herself in front of a screen, which only made Bledel's stunning transformation from model to actor even more special.

"I never pictured myself as an actor," Bledel explained to East Bay Times back in 2009, at the height of her new stardom. "I always thought that I would be behind the scenes." When she was a child, Bledel's parents encouraged her to try community theater as a way to help overcome her shyness.Despite her natural inclination to shy away from the spotlight, Bledel has continued her successful acting career through adulthood. And, like the rest of the cast of "Gilmore Girls" today, she has stayed busy. Bledel has starred in a number of shows and movies since her early acting days, from crime thrillers to award winning dramas. She decidedly keeps her personal life private, a fact that is unsurprising given her more shy nature. So, whatever happened to Bledel? The actor has had multiple career achievements and revealed some major details about her private life since her days as a teen actor.

When it comes to chemistry between actors, sometimes it comes even more naturally than expected. Such is the case with Alexis Bledel, as Bledel previously dated two of her costars on "Gilmore Girls." Ironically, her character's on-screen love interests ended up becoming her love interests off screen as well. Neither of those relationships lasted long term, but years later, on the set of a different show, the actor fell for another one of her costars.

In 2012, Bledel guest-starred as Beth Dawes on season 5 of the hit show "Mad Men." Her character had an affair with Pete Campbell, played by Vincent Kartheiser. While filming the show, the actors kept it strictly professional. "We were completely professional. We never saw each other out," he said during an interview with Vulture. "It was just work."

The pair soon struck up a romance later that year, just two months after Bledel's time on "Mad Men" ended. The show's creator, Matthew Weiner, sensed the chemistry between Bledel and Kartheiser from the very beginning, before the two even started dating. "I told Vinnie that they would be great together," Weiner told Vulture. "I was like, 'Don't blow it!'" He further commented on the pair's chemistry, saying, "Honestly, they're a really good match. They're both very down to earth ... And they've been acting since before they can remember, which makes for a very special personality."

After "Mad Men," Alexis Bledel and her former costar Vincent Kartheiser fell madly for each other. Bledel and Kartheiser walked down the aisle two years after meeting on the set of the show. The pair wed in an intimate ceremony in the summer of 2014, and like the majority of the actors' private lives, they kept the details of their wedding out of the public spotlight.

"It's something I realized about the most important things in my life," Kartheiser told Vulture, referring to his reasoning for keeping his relationship private. "If I share them with the world and I open that door to their fuming anger that they need to get out or their adoration that they want to flaunt, it lessens it," the actor said. "It cheapens it," he continued. "It weakens it."

Although they kept their romance under wraps, Bledel and Kartheiser's marriage eventually came to an end. After 10 years together as a couple, and eight years as husband and wife, Bledel and Kartheiser made the reportedly mutual decision to divorce. Kartheiser filed for divorce in New York on August 10, 2022. The couple valued privacy throughout their relationship, so it makes sense that they remained guarded around the details of their divorce. They chose to not discuss their relationship and subsequent divorce in the press, and they never gave an explicit reason for their decision to split.

While Alexis Bledel and Vincent Kartheiser's romantic relationship was not meant to be, the pair are now in a new relationship with each other, as co-parents. In 2015, shortly after the duo married, the "Gilmore Girls" actor welcomed a son with her then-husband. Like her romantic relationships, Bledel kept her pregnancy and the subsequent birth of her child a secret from the media.

Both Bledel and Kartheiser continue to shield their son from the public, again showing their commitment to keeping their lives and that of their son private. In fact, it was Bledel's "Gilmore Girls" revival costar Scott Patterson who broke the news about Bledel's latest role as a mother of one.

"She's blossomed as a woman, and now she's a proud new mother and married and happy," Patterson told Glamour in 2016. The fact that Bledel became a mother around the same time that Patterson had a son, shortly before filming the show's revival, was a bonding point for the actors. "We're comparing notes because my son is about a year and a half older than her young son," said Patterson, whose son was born in July 2014. "I'm showing her photos and videos and what to expect. We're just really enjoying each other's company."

Alexis Bledel may keep the majority of details about her life off screen hidden, but she has previously shared some surprising facts, including an affinity for one big hobby.

In 2015, when Bledel was asked about her plans for that summer, the actor revealed that she planned to spend the summer doing something that is a far cry from typical acting gigs or lavish vacations. When she is not working on a set of shows or films, Bledel can be found hard at work renovating different properties. "It's fun for me, because it's creative and I can kind of control it," said Bledel to Nylon Magazine of her passion for renovating houses. "My job is very out of my control a lot of the time, because I don't want to get into, like, producing movies." The independent nature of renovations and her ability to control working on her own timeline drew the actor to the hobby.

What's more, Bledel's passion for renovating is personal; she previously renovated her own home. She renovated her duplex co-op in Brooklyn Heights, New York, and the building where she previously lived with her now ex-husband, Vincent Kartheiser, was originally built in the 1880s. The former couple sold their newly renovated penthouse for $1.32 million in 2016.

In 2016, longtime fans of "Gilmore Girls" finally got what they were hoping for: a reunion in Stars Hollow. Over a decade and a half since the series originally aired in 2000, Netflix released a four-episode miniseries sequel to the hit show. The sequel, "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life," is set almost 10 years after the last episode of the original show, which went off air in 2007.

Alexis Bledel discussed how the show's revival came about. "Amy [Sherman-Palladino] kind of talked about a few different ideas and we thought maybe, you know, around the time of the Austin Television Festival reunion, it might be interesting to see if there was any interest out there at that time," Bledel told The Hollywood Reporter, referring to the "Gilmore Girls" creator decision to revive the series. Clearly, there was plenty of interest from fans. "Coming back was an incredible opportunity to approach our work with intention," Bledel said of her experience returning to such a defining role in her career. "Rather than being sort of reactionary to everything around me, I could just focus on the scenes ... It's almost like getting a do-over."

Bledel also spoke of the cast reunion for the mini-series during her interview with Nylon: "It's almost like a college reunion, because I was like college-age up to the time when I was working on the show, so I certainly learned a lot there." Before filming the sequel, she had not seen some of her fellow castmates in years. Original cast members Lauren Graham and Scott Patterson also took part in the beloved series' revival.

The character of Rory Gilmore in the original "Gilmore Girls" may have been Alexis Bledel's first major acting role, but it was certainly not her last. In 2017, the actor was cast in a recurring role in the television adaptation of Margaret Atwood's novel, "The Handmaid's Tale." From 2017 until 2021, Bledel portrayed the character of Emily Malek, also known as Ofglen and later Ofsteven, in the show.

Although she played a significant role in the dystopian drama's first four seasons as one of the women in Gilead, she was not a part of the final season of "The Handmaid's Tale." After the series' fourth season, Bledel made the decision to leave the show. "After much thought, I felt I had to step away from 'The Handmaid's Tale' at this time," she told Variety in May of 2022. The actor did not elaborate on why she chose to leave, but she thanked the people and networks that made the show possible. "I am forever grateful to Bruce Miller for writing such truthful and resonant scenes for Emily, and to Hulu, MGM, the cast and crew for their support," Bledel said.

Bruce Miller, the creator and showrunner, confirmed that it was Bledel's own choice to leave the show. "[Alexis] made that decision completely on her own; it was a complicated time and she let me know," Miller told The Hollywood Reporter. He went on to say of her character's departure, "I think story-wise, it made sense for her."

Alexis Bledel may have given up her role in Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" but not before earning a major career achievement. During her time on the show, Bledel earned four Emmy nominations and one win for her portrayal of Emily Malek, or Ofglen, in the series. In 2017, the actor received the prestigious award for outstanding guest actress in a drama series. She earned the title for her work in the show's very first season, and her portrayal of the rebellious and pained woman snagged her the win. Bledel was previously known for her more innocent and lighthearted acting roles, but it was her moving performance as Emily that showcased the wide range of her acting skills.

"I'm surprised and really excited [and] a little emotional," the Emmy award winner said to Entertainment Tonight about receiving the accolade. "I'm so fortunate to be a part of such an incredible company of actors and to get to tell this story now is just such an honor," Bledel shared. "People have had such strong reactions to it, and it's been so interesting to talk about everything it brings up for people. To continue doing the work, to get to go back and keep doing the work is just so exciting." She also expressed admiration for her character, sharing. "I'm, again, so fortunate to get to play this character, who's just incredibly strong and I love the way her mind works."

The cast of "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" today are beloved worldwide by fans of the movies, so much so that many people, Alexis Bledel included, still have hope for a third movie installment in the franchise. "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" premiered in 2005, and the movie's sequel, "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2" was released in 2008. Over a decade since the movie first came out, Bledel revealed her hopes for the franchise and her character, Lena Kaligaris', future.

Bledel spoke of a possible third movie during an interview with Jimmy Fallon on "The Tonight Show" in 2018. When Fallon asked if there could be another movie, the "Post Grad" actor replied, "I really hope so. I would love it! It would be the best thing." She then revealed that she and her former costars — America Ferrera, Blake Lively, and Amber Tamblyn — had pitched a third movie, and she hoped it would come together.

Unfortunately, there have been no further updates or details about a third film, despite the IMDb page listing it as "in development." The truth is that "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 3" remains unconfirmed, but if Bledel's fellow costars are as enthusiastic about the prospect as she is, there may still be hope in years to come.

Alexis Bledel has many different acting roles under her belt. She has played an ambitious teenager in "Gilmore Girls," a devoted friend in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," and a tortured woman living under a totalitarian state in "The Handmaid's Tale." While Bledel does not act as consistently as she did during her teenage years, she has appeared in a number of other movies after her time on "Gilmore Girls." In 2019, for instance, Bledel had the opportunity to further showcase her acting skills in a financial thriller about the dangers of cryptocurrency.

Bledel had a part in the crime movie "Crypto" alongside Luke Hemsworth, in which she played the character of Katie, an art gallerist who helps to uncover a money laundering scheme and mob involvement at her workplace. The movie was not met with much commercial success and has a 17% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film afforded Bledel an opportunity to play a character unlike any she had played before. 

Alexis Bledel's portrayal as Emily Malek, also known as Ofglen, in "The Handmaid's Tale" earned her nominations at multiple prestigious award ceremonies. In total, the actor has won 12 awards that span her decades-long career, along with 29 nominations. What's more, after Bledel's big Emmy win in 2017, her role as Emily gained her further recognition at the highly respected Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, which she attended in 2020.

For her work in "The Handmaid's Tale," Bledel and her series costars — Elisabeth Moss, Madeline Brewer, Joseph Fiennes, and more — were nominated for a SAG award three years in a row. The cast received nominations in the outstanding ensemble cast in a drama series category. Although Bledel did not win a SAG award, she enjoyed her night out with her costars. Previously, Bledel attended the SAG Awards with her then-husband, "Mad Men" star Vincent Kartheiser. She went from being a plus one at the event in support of her partner back in 2016 to being nominated herself only four years later. 

Acclaimed actor Alexis Bledel has rarely been seen on red carpet events since her departure from "The Handmaid's Tale." The star's IMDb page doesn't list any credits after she left the show, so it's likely that she took some time off from acting to focus on herself and her family. This aligns with her separation from Vincent Kartheiser in 2022 and showrunner Bruce Miller's comment about her departure, which acknowledged that the actor was going through a "complicated time" (via The Hollywood Reporter). However, she appears to make exceptions to her policy of avoiding the spotlight when it comes to supporting her close friends.

For instance, in 2024, Bledel attended Elton John's AIDS Foundation Oscars viewing party in California. The prestigious event was Bledel's first public appearance since the 2020 Screen Actors Guild Awards. The "Gilmore Girls" star attended the party in support of America Ferrera, her former "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" costar. Ferrera was nominated in the best performance by an actress in a supporting role category for her role in the hit blockbuster "Barbie," which premiered in 2023. Bledel was not the only "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" star to show their support. Blake Lively and Amber Tamblyn also showed up for Ferrera, proving just how close their sisterhood remains into adulthood.