Rory Gilmore
 | This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. (September 2007) |
| This article describes a work or element of fiction in a primarily in-universe style. |
| Lorelai Leigh Gilmore | |||||||
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| Portrayed by | Alexis Bledel Steffani Brass (young Rory) | ||||||
| First appearance | "Pilot" | ||||||
| Last appearance | "Bon Voyage" | ||||||
| Created by | Amy Sherman-Palladino | ||||||
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Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, better known as Rory, is a fictional character from the CW television series Gilmore Girls played by Alexis Bledel.
Character history
Rory is the only daughter of Lorelai Gilmore, and the first-born daughter of Christopher Hayden. She was born October 8 1984 in Hartford, Connecticut, at 4:03am. Every year at that exact time, Lorelai wakes Rory up to tell her the story of her birth. Because Lorelai became pregnant with Rory when she was only sixteen, the two are more like friends than mother and daughter. Rory shares her mother's taste in junk food, coffee, movies, and much more. She spent her childhood in the Independence Inn in Stars Hollow where her mother worked originally as a maid. The two lived in the potting shed behind the inn where Jackson's cousin Rune lived in later seasons. Eventually, Lorelai was able to buy a house where Rory spent her adolescent years. Rory did not have much contact with her grandparents until she started to attend Chilton which Lorelai prefered.
Rory attended the prestigious and fictional Chilton Academy for her sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. To pay tuition, Lorelai had to ask for the money from her estranged parents, Richard and Emily. They agreed to pay for Rory's education but there was one string attached to the deal: Lorelai and Rory would have to come to their house every Friday night for dinner. This tradition continued after graduation as the elder Gilmores went on to pay her college tuition as well.
Before leaving Stars Hollow High School, Rory met a fellow school mate, Dean Forester. Rory almost convinced herself not to go to Chilton because of not wanting to leave Dean but after learning of the huge sacrifices her mother made, she decides to go to Chilton. Rory and Dean dated, only breaking up once because Dean told Rory he loved her on their 3 month anniversary, and Rory said that she would have to think about it. This hurt Dean's feelings, but they eventually worked everything out and got back together. Rory and Dean dated for two seasons before Dean broke up with her because of the obvious attraction to 'bad boy' Jess Mariano (nephew of Luke Danes, owner of the local diner where Rory and Lorelai eat every day).
Rory and Jess decide to date but Jess' problems made their relationship difficult. Jess was skipping school to go to work at Walmart, causing him not to be able to graduate or to take Rory to Prom. When Jess's estranged father showed up out of no where then left again, Jess decided to leave to go to California to see his dad. Jess didn't tell Rory he was leaving, but would later call Rory and not say anything on the phone, until Rory caught on that it was him and revealed that she might have loved him but would just have to get over it. Later that year, still upset, Jess returned and told Rory that he loved her and then leaves again.
Later, Jess shows up at Yale to see Rory unexpectedly, and asks her to run away with him, but she says no. Meanwhile, Dean, jealous, went on to get married to Lindsay (a fellow school mate), straight after high school, but it was soon clear that he had impulsively done it as a rebound from Rory. He ultimately had an affair with Rory (during which Rory lost her virginity) leading to a quick divorce.
After graduating Chilton as valedictorian, Rory went on to attend Yale University, although her entire life she had wanted to go to Harvard, after making a Pro/Con list with Lorelai, they decided Yale was best. Rory shared a dorm room with Tana, Janet, and fellow Chilton alumna Paris Geller. Rory majored in English.
While at Yale, Rory started dating the heir to the Huntzberger Publishing Company, Logan Huntzberger. Although their relationship started out casually with "no strings attached" because Logan didn't want a serious relationship. Rory soon realized that she was a "girlfriend kind of girl" and instead of casually dating Logan, she thought it was better to be just friends. However, Logan did not want to lose her and tried being a serious boyfriend for her. Logan took Rory to a family dinner at his house and introduced her as his girlfriend. This did not go over well with the Huntzberger family, who thought Rory wasn't good enough for Logan. Logan's father, Mitchum Huntzberger felt bad about what happened, and gave Rory an internship at one of his newspapers. At the end of the internship, Mitchum told Rory that she "just didn't have it" to make it as a journalist. This upset Rory so much that she misappropriated a yacht with Logan to go joyriding. She got caught and had to do community service. Rory also rethought her lifelong ambition to become a journalist, and temporarily quit Yale. This was very much against Lorelai's wishes and caused a rift between the two of them, not speaking to each other for months. Rory temporarily moved into her grandparents' poolhouse and accepted a job with the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Rory's ex-boyfriend Jess showed up when Logan was out of town. He told Rory that he had published a book and wanted to thank Rory for inspiring him to do more. They made plans to get together the next night, but when Logan came home early and caught them leaving together, he became jealous and had them all go out together. Logan behaved very jealously and mocked Jess for publishing a book, upon which Jess left. Rory went after him, and Jess told her that "this wasn't her", and that she should go back to college because that's what she loved. After returning to Logan, they got in a fight and Logan left while Rory stayed at the restaurant. Logan thought that they had broke up, while Rory thought they were just taking a break.
During their time apart, Logan went back to his playboy ways, but Logan realized that he couldn't be without Rory and wanted to win her back. He eventually did, and everything was great until they went to Logan's sister's wedding where the bridesmaids blurted out that they had slept with Logan during their "break." After talking about it, Rory decided to stay with Logan, but she didn't fully forgive him until he got in an accident and was sent to the hospital. In the meantime she kissed Jess. It was then that she realized no matter what Logan did she loved him. Around a year later, while her grandparents were hosting a graduation party from college for her, Logan proposed. After her graduation ceremony from Yale, she declines because she feels that she is too young and has too many opportunities to tie herself down already. As of the final episode Rory had taken a job covering the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign for an online magazine. Luke throws a surprise graduation party for Rory, which closes out the series.
Appearance
Rory's attitude and her appearance have changed considerably during the tenure of the show. Formerly known to sport a grunge look, particularly in the show's infancy, Rory's fashion tastes have evolved, often showcasing her at the height of fashion in later episodes. She has also grown accustomed to life among the elite during her time at Yale, her relationship with Logan, and under the influence of her grandmother Emily's DAR Club, socialite set. Despite all this, she remains level headed and rarely regresses in to snobbery as many of the wealthier characters on the show are shown to do. Rory is considered to be the bridge between Stars Hollow and Hartford by many fans.