Trivia: Born in Hawaii, actress Lauren Graham spent her childhood traveling with her single father. After earning her Bachelor's degree in English from Barnard College in New York City, she got her Master's in Acting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas. She then moved to California, where she began her professional acting career with appearances on Caroline in the City, Law & Order, and NewsRadio.Graham's big break came in 2000 with the lead role on the WB family drama Gilmore Girls. As Lorelai Gilmore, the 32-year-old single mother of a teenager (Alexis Bledel), Graham earned several awards and nominations on the massively popular series. While the show itself earned critical acclaim, Graham gained much media exposure for her strong and independent yet conventionally attractive portrayal of a single mom. She would stick with the show for its entire seven year run, becomming a fully fledged star in the process. Graham would also appear in movies like Evan Almighty, Bad Santa, and The Answer Man, in addition to other succsful TV projects, like the starring role of Sarah Braverman on the series Parenthood.

Trivia: With a distinctly natural and youthful earthy beauty that can alternate between ultra-glamour and wholesome field-frolicking nymph with the change of the breeze, former worldly model turned actress Alexis Bledel built a sturdy fan base with her role on television's Gilmore Girls before falling for a young immortal in 2002's Tuck Everlasting. A native of Houston, TX, whose native tongue was Spanish, Bledel's parents encouraged her to try community theater at the age of eight to overcome shyness. The aspiring actress would subsequently appear in local productions of Our Town and The Wizard of Oz before being scouted at a local mall and whisked into life on the catwalks. Traveling through Europe and Japan before graduating from Houston's Saint Agnes Academy, Bledel would also graduate from the Page Parkes Center for Modeling and Acting before enrolling as a film major at N.Y.U. Though it may come as no surprise to many that the ethereal young actress was voted one of People magazine's Hottest Stars Under 25 in 2002, the firmly grounded actress appeared to have a promising career in store for her whether it be on the pages of Vogue or under the bright lights of Tinseltown. Fans with a quick eye could also catch a brief glimpse of Bledel's film debut, as an uncredited extra, in Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998).In 2005, Bledel co-starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, a coming-of-age drama following four teenagers who find a very special pair of blue jeans (the actress reprised this role in 2008 for the film's sequel), as well as in director Robert Rodriguez' post-noir crime thriller Sin City. Bledel continued to work in film following the cancellation of The Gilmore Girls in 2007, appearing in the films including The Good Guy (2009), Post Grad (2009), and The Conspirator (2010). The actress played a young assassin in the 2011 action comedy Violet & Daisy, and continues to be active in film and television, including a recurring role as a suburban housewife in season 5 of AMC's Mad Men.

Trivia: An award-winning stage actress, Kelly Bishop occasionally dabbles in television and feature films. Bishop's accolades, a Tony and a Drama Desk award, came from her outstanding work in the original Broadway version of A Chorus Line. Her television work includes two stints on the television soap opera One Life to Live (she played Serena Wyman in 1989, Dr. Robbins in 1996) and guest-starring roles on Law & Order and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her film credits include Six Degrees of Separation ([1993] she also appeared in the original stage version), Miami Rhapsody (1995), and Private Parts (1997), in which Bishop played the mother of shock jock Howard Stern. At the beginning of the 21ast century she enjoyed long run as Emily Gilmore on the TV series Gilmore Girls, and five years after that show ended she returned to the big screen with a part in the comedy Friends With Kids.

Trivia: A reliable supporting player specializing in slightly gritty and rough-cut characterizations, Scott Patterson spent several years biding his time in forgettable cinematic ventures such as Intent to Kill (1992) and Little Big League (1994), before achieving fame in a recurring role as Luke Danes, the diner owner and eventual suitor of Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) on the popular comedy drama series Gilmore Girls. After that series eventually went off the air, he subsequently transitioning to feature roles, such as that of an agent in the gore-filled slasher outing Saw IV (2007). In 2007, Patterson also landed a regular role on the prime-time sitcom Aliens in America -- about a Midwestern family that unwittingly hosts a Pakistani Muslim exchange student in an attempt to find a friend for their unpopular son.

Trivia: Traveled around Great Britain with her parents' comedy troupe when she was 3 years old. First television role was in Pete & Pete alongside her mother. Made her film debut in Whatever, which premiered at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. Starred in the stage play Poof at Montgomery Theater during hiatus from Gilmore Girls in 2004.

Trivia: The youngest of six children. First professional acting job was in a commercial for the Illinois lottery. A co-creator of the web series James Gunn's PG Porn with brothers James and Brian. Nicknamed "The Judge," which originated from older Matt, who jokingly accused him of being judgmental. Has previously roomed with fellow actors Judy Greer and Gilmore Girls co-star John Cabrera. Appeared in the second episode of Gilmore Girls as Mick, before being brought back later in the season to play eccentric Stars Hollow resident Kirk; he eventually became a series regular.

Trivia: The daughter of a Portland doctor, Sally Ann Struthers left home at 18, determined to become a star. The 5' 1", frizzy-haired Ms. Struthers attended classes at the Pasadena Playhouse, then worked as a singer, dancer and commercial actress before the breaks began arriving in rapid succession in 1970. By the end of that year, she had been seen on TV as a comedy-ensemble player on The Smothers Brother Comedy Hour and a chorus girl (in fact, the only chorus girl) on The Tim Conway Comedy Hour; she'd played a small but attention-grabbing role in the Jack Nicholson film Five Easy Pieces; and she'd provided the voice for Pebbles Flintstone on the animated Pebbles and Bamm Bamm Show. Oh, before we forget: also in 1970, Struthers was cast as Gloria Bunker Stivic on the groundbreaking TV sitcom All in the Family. During her seven-season stint as Gloria, she shared a 1972 "Best Supporting Actress" Emmy with The Mary Tyler Moore Show's Valerie Harper. She also took time out to deliver an image-busting performance as the sluttish wife of kidnap victim Jack Dodson in Sam Peckinpah's The Getaway (1972), and to star in such made-for-TV films as Aloha Means Goodbye (1974), Hey, I'm Alive (1975) and The Great Houdinis (1976). In 1975, Struthers very nearly walked off All in the Family over a much-publicized salary dispute; she left the series when her contract ended in 1978, returning briefly to appear in an episode titled "California Here We Are"--and winning a second Emmy as a result. Though big things were predicted for Struthers, her post-Family years were rough. Her TV-movie appearances began playing to ever-diminishing ratings, while her highly touted 1981 Broadway debut in Wally's Café was a bust. It was a frightened, insecure Sally Struthers who returned to series television in 1982 as the star of Gloria, an All in the Family spin-off which recast the actress in the role that made her famous. Despite initially good ratings, Gloria tanked after a year. After another foredoomed Broadway appearance in a female version of Neil Simon's The Odd Couple, Sally accepted the role of klutzy divorcee Marsha McMurray Shrimpton in the 1986 syndicated sitcom 9 to 5. Around this same time, Struthers began showing up as the TV spokesperson for a charitable organization serving malnourished Third-World children. While none could doubt the actress' sincerity, her strident, lachrymose fund-raising appeals were treated with merciless derision by the many sketch-comedy TV series of the period. Though her career may never again reach the heights of her All in the Family days, Sally Struthers has kept busy in a variety of show-business ventures, including voiceover assignments on such series as Talespin and Dinosaurs, and a recent touring production of the musical Grease, in which she co-starred with another TV favorite of yore, The Monkees' Davy Jones.

Trivia: Grew up in Johnson City, TN. In 1998, he won the Mr. College of Charleston pageant. Captain of his college tennis team. Made his TV debut in a 2000 episode of Freaks and Geeks. Dated Kate Bosworth for two years. Appeared in People Magazine's 2011 Sexiest Man Alive issue. Says his last name is pronounced "Z-O-O-K-RIE."

Trivia: Starred as Lane Kim in Gilmore Girls during the entirety of the show's run between 2000 and 2007, returning in 2016 for the Netflix revival. Won the Best Performance in a TV Drama Series -- Supporting Young Artist Award at the Young Artist Awards for her role in Gilmore Girls. Nominated at the Teen Choice Awards three consecutive years, for the TV Choice Sidekick Award. Won the 2013 Asians on Film Festival Best Supporting Actress in a Short Award, for her role in Lil Tokyo Reporter. Launched the Drunk Monk Podcast in September 2015.

Trivia: Began acting during high school. Made his big-screen debut with a small role in 2000 drama Where the Heart Is. First series-regular role was musician Zack Van Gerbig on the WB drama Gilmore Girls. Originally auditioned for the role of Hoyt Fortenberry before being cast as Terry Bellefleur on HBO's True Blood. Is the singer and guitarist for country-rock band Pilbilly Knights.

Trivia: Studied at the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute in New York. Gilmore Girls was his English language acting debut.

Trivia: A classically trained British stage actress, Alex Kingston earned a following amongst American television audiences with her portrayal of the bold and outspoken Dr. Elizabeth Corday on NBC's E.R. The role was Kingston's best known since she portrayed the lusty title character of The Fortunes and Misfortunes of Moll Flanders (1996) on British television; her work on the often-steamy miniseries earned the curly haired actress both acclaim and a certain measure of notoriety in her native country, two things that virtually ensured her crossover to transatlantic engagements.The daughter of a butcher, Kingston was born in London on March 11, 1963. She first became interested in the theatre during a family trip to her mother's native Germany, where her uncle, an actor, was performing on the stage. After making her own stage debut at the age of five as the Angel Gabriel in a Nativity play, Kingston went on to appear in a number of school productions and got her first professional job at 15, when she had a stint as a school bully on the popular TV series Grange Hill. Following her schooling, she trained at London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she met and fell in love with fellow actor Ralph Fiennes, whom she would marry in 1993 and divorce four years later. After completing her training, Kingston performed in repertory theatre across England and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. While she portrayed numerous classical characters on the stage, Kingston took on more contemporary characters on television and made her film debut in Peter Greenaway's 1989 The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover. Following her 1996 casting on E.R., Kingston's fan base began to grow, as did her screen appearances. In 1999, she had a leading role as a South African gambler in Mike Hodges' acclaimed Croupier and that same year appeared as a flighty rich woman in the romantic comedy This Space Between Us. Over the next several years, Kingston would find ongoing success in TV, starring on Hope Springs, Marchlands, Upstairs Downstairs, and Doctor Who.

Trivia: Pop singer Paul Anka was a successful teenage heartthrob of the late '50s and early '60s. His life was chronicled in the 1962 documentary Lonely Boy (1962). Occasionally, Anka plays small roles in feature films.

Trivia: In the early 2000s, culinary maestro and Food Channel mainstay Rachael Ray shot to fame as the host of the U.S. cable series 30 Minute Meals (2003), becoming the nation's resident chef with the golden thumb -- a status she inherited from such predecessors as Graham Kerr, Julia Child, and Jeff Smith. Her growing fame led to subsequent programs, cookbooks, a magazine, a general-interest talk show, and omnipresence in the States, eventually rendering her as a kind of American pop-culture icon, well before the age of 40. Ray experienced a long and circuitous path to fame, however. She was born in August 25th,1968, in Cape Cod, MA, to parents who ran a series of restaurants in that region; many of her ancestors were preternatural chefs, including a grandfather who grew and prepared meals for a family of one dozen and many paternal ancestors who celebrated and explored the gustatory end of New Orleans through their own meal preparation. During Rachael's childhood, the Ray family sold off the majority of its businesses and moved to upstate New York, where she would spend much of her early life and reportedly felt most comfortable. As a young girl, Ray gained exposure to a staggering array of ethnic cuisines and worked in a vast number of capacities within the arena of food service. She extended this area of expertise into adulthood, when -- in her early twenties -- she moved to Manhattan and held such jobs as candy salesman and then gourmet food manager for Macy's department store, then as buyer/manager for Manhattan's famed culinary marketplace Agata & Valentina. In her mid-twenties, Ray tired of Big Apple life and returned to upstate New York, managing bars and restaurants at the Sagamore Resort on Lake George. Not long after that, the Cowan & Lobel market in Albany caught wind of Ray's skills and brought her on board as a chef and food buyer.During her stint at Cowan & Lobel, the energetic Ray devised the concept of hosting cooking classes for Albany residents at the marketplace, dubbed "30-Minute Mediterranean Meals," which spawned massive popularity among locals and prompted the local CBS station, WRGB-TV, to have her offer regular cooking lessons on the nightly news broadcasts. Ray simultaneously authored her first cookbook and sold over 10,000 copies.At this point, the then-burgeoning Food Network learned of Ray's success and offered her a contract as one of their resident, on-air chefs. From that position, she hosted such programs as Inside Dish, $40 a Day, 30 Minute Meals, and the resoundingly popular Tasty Travels. The acclaim and wide audience appeal of those programs (coupled with over a dozen additional cookbooks) not only inspired Ray to publish her own magazine, Every Day with Rachael Ray, but prompted Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions and King World to offer Ray her own general-interest talk show in the fall of 2006. The Rachael Ray Show featured Ray offering advice to viewers on how to take advantage of each day's opportunities and live ebulliently with a "can do" attitude.