ALEXIS BLEDEL
Date of Birth: September 16, 1981
Although Houston, Texas native Alexis Bledel spent hours in front of a camera prior to landing the starring role of Rory in the highly acclaimed television series Gilmore Girls, it was as a model, appearing before a still camera.
When she was eight years old, Bledel's parents encouraged her to try out for a local community theater, in the hope that performing on stage would help the little girl overcome her shyness. She spent the next few years appearing in productions such as Our Town, The Wizard of Oz and Aladdin.
Bledel then enrolled at a modeling and acting school in Houston, and soon began landing jobs that took her to the fashion capitals of the world, including Tokyo, Milan, New York and Los Angeles. When Bledel graduated from high school, she moved to New York and continued her modeling career while enrolling at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts as a film major.
Early in 2000, she hired a manager and flew to Los Angeles to audition for the upcoming television pilot season. Her talent and beauty were quickly noticed and even without any screen acting experience, she landed the coveted lead role as the teenage daughter on Gilmore Girls. In 2001, she won a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Drama Series - Leading Young Actress" for the series. She was also featured as one of Teen People magazine's "25 Hottest Stars under 25" in 2002. She stayed with the series until it folded in 2007.
Surprisingly enough, Bledel did not grow up speaking English. Her mother is from Mexico and her father is from Argentina, so the young girl grew up speaking Spanish and did not learn English until she started going to school. In her spare time, she enjoys reading and going to the movies.
Bledel made her feature film debut in the starring role of Winnie Foster in Tuck Everlasting (2002) and has starred in a number of major motion pictures since then.
Filmography:
The Good Guy (2009)