What You Never Knew About Lauren Graham

Most of us know Lauren Graham as Lorelai Gilmore, the loveable, coffee-addicted, fast-talking young mom in "Gilmore Girls." The early 2000s show captured the hearts of millions and made Graham a household name. Since her days as Lorelai, she's gone on to appear in numerous other recognizable roles in movies like "Because I Said So" and "Evan Almighty" and in TV series like "Parenthood" and "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist." And, of course, in 2016, Graham returned to her career-defining role once again for the "Gilmore Girls" reboot (via IMDb).

As fans of Graham probably already know, the actress has a lot in common with her most famous on-screen counterpart. Like Lorelai, Graham is super bubbly and warm — in fact, many of her interviews have the same caffeine-fueled energy of her "Gilmore Girls" persona. Graham even once admitted to Republic World, "I don't think I can ever separate myself too much [from Lorelai], there's too much of me in there." But, of course, she is her own person. Want to learn more about the real Lauren Graham? Here are some things you never knew about the woman behind Lorelai Gilmore.

Before Lauren Graham found fame as an actress, she was just another hopeful young woman attending audition after audition in the big city. To pay her bills, Graham took on quite a few strange side jobs along the way. As she told Kelly Clarkson, "I had a million different jobs." In an interview with Mae Whitman — who, interestingly, is the BFF of Jane Levy, Graham's "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" co-star — Graham recalled that there was a time when she had worked three jobs: "I was waiting tables and I was tutoring, and I was doing all this stuff, and I was just thinking, 'Will I ever get out of this grind?'"

She went into more detail about her many odd jobs over the years in an interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show." Her other jobs apparently included being a hockey mascot, a hair salon receptionist, a fence painter, a bartender, a theater cleaner, and a school bus driver.

In a 2003 interview with Conan O'Brien, Graham explained that in her early days in New York City, she did get a few odd acting jobs between all of her side hustles. Her first acting job was actually a Planned Parenthood commercial in which she played a pregnant teen.

Lauren Graham has been linked to various actors over the years, including Matthew Perry, Marc Blucas, and Tate Donovan. However, the actress didn't find "the one" until she starred in the show "Parenthood" in 2010. It was there that she met her future husband, Peter Krause, who actually played her brother on the show. But, in fact, Krause almost missed his chance with her — the first time around, that is, when they both guest-starred on another sitcom called "Caroline in the City." Fortunately, they both found themselves on "Parenthood."

As Graham explained to Good Housekeeping, during her early time on the show, she hadn't been looking for love. In fact, she'd been avoiding romantic relationships with other actors. But her connection with her co-star was too strong to ignore. "We couldn't stop talking. Not about ourselves, but about the world and books and family." Soon, the pair began dating, and it was clear that it was meant to be. "Once we got together, there was no game play," she said. "It was like, 'You like me, and I like you,'" Graham said. As of 2021, the couple is still together and going strong!

As fans of Lauren Graham may already know, the actress is an avid reader. She's even written several best-selling fiction and non-fiction books of her own (more on that soon). However, you may be surprised by one of her favorite genres — it turns out, Lauren Graham loves reading cookbooks. "I love cookbooks just as reading material, not even when I'm using them for their intended purpose," she told The New York Times.

Of course, she also loves to use cookbooks for actual cooking. Apparently, one of her favorite cookbook recipes is a relish from the "Momofuku" cookbook. Her other favorite cookbooks include the "Donabe" cookbook by Naoko Takei Moore and cookbooks by Chrissy Teigen. In fact, she said of Teigen, "The last time I made her mac and cheese the boys in my house devoured it in about 10 seconds." It sounds like Graham loves to mix her two hobbies of reading and cooking!

It's hard to imagine anyone but Lauren Graham playing the loveable Lorelai Gilmore in "Gilmore Girls." While she was the perfect choice for the role and it definitely kick-started her career, it turns out there was a time when Graham wasn't so sure she'd take the part. As she told Rookie Mag, at that time, she had been doing a lot of pure comedy in her career. "I was looking for something that had more depth," she said.

"Gilmore Girls" seemed like the perfect option to Graham. However, as she was around 30, a lot of people advised her against taking the role. "All the advice was, 'Don't play a mom. That's not a smart thing,'" Graham recalled. Luckily, she ignored the advice and took the part. "It felt like what I had been looking for," she said. And of course, the rest is history — clearly, Graham has some pretty good instincts.

Lauren Graham, like many other Hollywood stars, lives in Los Angeles, surrounded by many other others in showbiz. So, it's no surprise that her neighbor is also pretty famous. As Graham told Jimmy Kimmel, he's none other than actor Dax Shepard — and, sometimes, he can be a little annoying to live next to. "Dax has been working on his new house ... but he basically took what others might consider to be the front lawn and turned it into a massive driveway for all his cars," she explained. Apparently, Shepard has a huge bus that looks like a "band tour bus." "They're never getting rid of it, Jimmy!" Graham exclaimed. It sounds like Shepard and his many vehicles aren't exactly the easiest neighbors — but, clearly, Graham is pretty good-humored about it. "You have to just love him," she said.

While the buses and cars may be a little annoying for Graham, it sounds like she still has a very good relationship with Shepard and his wife, actress Kristen Bell. As she told Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," living next to them is actually "amazing." Shepard even goes on hikes with Graham's boyfriend!

It's hard to imagine Lauren Graham getting intimidated by any role — but, as she explained to Female.com.au, there was one acting job that terrified her. In 2009, Graham made her Broadway debut as Adelaide in the musical "Guys and Dolls." Making the transition from screen to stage was what Graham called "hugely intimidating." "It was the most scary thing I've ever done," she went on.

Despite being terrified by the job, Graham ended up loving the experience. In fact, her only regret was her fear in the first place. "I wish that I hadn't spent one minute being scared and I don't think that I ever will again," she explained.

After all, as Graham went on to explain, even though she'd made a name for herself as a screen actress, her early life had been all about the theater. Before getting her role on "Gilmore Girls," she had even acted in a few professional plays outside of New York. "That was kind of the path I was on," she said. But, of course, Broadway is a much bigger playing field, so it's no wonder she was pretty nervous!

Lauren Graham is definitely full of surprises. In a 2021 interview on "The Kelly Clarkson Show," the actress opened up about her bizarre obsession with cults. When asked about whether she was into true crime, Graham explained, "I'm really fascinated by any show or any information about cults, because as the people who try to leave the cults always say, 'You don't start out trying to join a cult.'" For Graham, cults are pretty fascinating because she's curious about how normal people find themselves embroiled in a cult. "You start out being like, 'Oh, here's a fun group of people, I want to be part of that,' ... and then you wake up one day and you're in a cult," Graham explained. Wow, she definitely has a point!

Graham elaborated on her conversation with Clarkson in a tweet, clarifying. "Not cults themselves! Just TV shows about them, yikes!" I think it's safe to say no one would even imagine Lorelai Gilmore joining a cult, but we're glad Graham set the record straight!

Lauren Graham loves to travel. But, as she explained to Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," she isn't always the most responsible traveler. In fact, she once got lost in Vietnam while on a bike trip. As she told DeGeneres, "It's a country where they don't really speak English," so she found it pretty hard to figure out where she was.

She and a friend couldn't even remember where they were meant to be meeting the group. "All we could remember is that we were going to a monastery," she said. But, as Vietnam is a Buddhist country, Graham said, "monasteries are like 7/11s, there's, like, one on every corner!" So, she and her friend ended up miming praying while saying the word "monastery" to try and communicate with the locals — and no one ever understood them! She also texted her boyfriend back in Los Angeles, simply writing, "Lost in Vietnam." Eventually, Graham found her way to the monastery, but it's safe to say that she is not the person you'd want to get lost in a foreign country with!

In Lauren Graham's household growing up, it's safe to say that "The Sound of Music" was a pretty big deal. In a hilarious interview on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," she explained, "It's a big movie in our family." Apparently, some of her cousins even went on "The Sound of Music" tour in Austria. And, as for Graham, she celebrated her love of the movie another way — by attending "The Sound of Music" singalong! As Graham explained, it's an annual event in which fans of the movie watch it on a big screen and sing along to the songs with a live orchestra. As she joked to DeGeneres as she told her about the event, "You're acting like you don't think this is cool!"

Graham went on to describe "some of the things that are fun about it," which included the costume parade, where people show off their "Sound of Music" outfits. Sounds like Graham seriously loves "The Sound of Music" — and doesn't mind attending some seriously dorky events!

In 2013, Lauren Graham released her first book, the novel "Someday, Someday, Maybe," which tells the story of an aspiring young actress. As Graham explained to Mae Whitman in a live interview, she was inspired to write the book after a single epiphany in her trailer on the set of "Parenthood." "Finally all of the experiences I had caught up with me almost in a moment," she recalled.

One day, Graham started thinking about her past experiences. As a young woman, she had worked multiple jobs, and she'd sometimes question whether she would ever get to live out her dream of becoming an actress. And, then suddenly, in her trailer, she realized that she had done it. "That connection to who that person was who had the balls to have that dream — I just thought, 'What was I thinking, was I crazy?'" Graham said. Thinking about herself and her dreams as a young woman, Graham explained, gave her the inspiration to write her novel.

Let's face it — Lauren Graham is just as stunning now as she was when she starred in "Gilmore Girls." It's pretty clear that the actress is super fit and healthy. But, as she explained to Health.com, her focus has never been on her looks. Instead, she focuses on feeling good and accepting that there's no such thing as perfection. So, she tries not to think too much about food and aims for balance.

As for exercise, that's where she thinks she really excels. "I've always really liked being active. I do Spinning classes, I run, I have a trainer, I do Pilates with my sister Shade," she said (via CNN). In another interview with Self, Graham even wrote out a diary of a five-week training regimen that consisted of intensive 90-minute workouts. By the end, Graham said, "I think that's what getting in touch with your Inner Diva Warrior really means."

It's safe to say that "Gilmore Girls" remains one of Lauren Graham's most well-known projects to date. So, it came as no great surprise when a reboot was announced in 2016. However, it turns out, Graham almost chose not to return to play the beloved Lorelai.

As Graham explained to IndieWire, she actually always loved the uncertainty of the possibility of a future revival. As she put it, "Before we did the reunion, I was worried that I might miss having that question in the air," she said. "What if I missed people coming up to me in the airport and saying, 'When's the movie?'"

Another reason she was hesitant about returning to the show was that she simply felt she was done with the character — especially if the original creators weren't at the helm. "I was ready to move on because I didn't feel we had anything without our creators," she said. However, once she saw a new generation of fans embracing the show, she realized, "I was done, but other people weren't done."

By the sounds of things, Lauren Graham has always had a soft spot for her most famous role in "Gilmore Girls." In fact, as she explained in an interview on SiriusXM, she always kept the door open with a special clause in her contracts for a reboot in her subsequent roles. "I put that window into all my new jobs, just in case," she said. 

Even though she had no reason to believe that the show would return, she always wanted to have the option to jump back into Lorelai's shoes. "It's not for any concrete reason, except that I have a loyalty and an openness to working with ['Gilmore Girls' creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino], first of all. And because we could never have predicted that in the past," she said. Apparently, the clause was important because many TV contracts are pretty "restrictive." "So we're trying to just carve out some pockets, just in case," Graham explained.

It sounds like Graham would still be up for (and available for) yet another "Gilmore Girls" reboot if the team ever decides to get back together again in the future. We hope!

The COVID-19 pandemic changed our lives in many ways. For Lauren Graham, her life changed in a pretty unexpected way. As she told Ellen DeGeneres on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show," she spent five months away from her boyfriend, Peter Krause, during the pandemic. When she returned, things had changed. "When I came home, the house was a little different," she said. Apparently, Krause and his son had bonded during that time, and, when she returned, she felt like the outsider (though, not in a bad way, as she explains).

The other big change? Krause had created what Graham calls a "COVID corner," which was essentially a huge stockpile of household supplies in the living room. Graham explained, "He'd call it 'COVID corner,' as if that somehow made these piles of stuff fun or like a place to visit or like a place to show the guests." She explained that she simply let Krause keep his COVID corner. It sounds like Graham was pretty understanding when it comes to her boyfriend's COVID hoarding habits!