Alexis Bledel

Kimberly Alexis Bledel (born September 16, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Rory Gilmore in the television series Gilmore Girls and Lena Kaligaris in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.

Early life

Bledel was born Kimberly Alexis Bledel in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Nanette (née Dozier), who worked as a gift processor and flight attendant, and Martin Bledel. She has a younger brother, Eric. Her father was born and raised in Argentina.Her paternal grandfather, Enrique Einar Bledel Huus, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to parents who were of Danish descent; Enrique was Vice President of Coca-Cola Latin America and the Coca-Cola Inter-American Corporation. Alexis Bledel's paternal grandmother, Jean (Campbell), was originally from New York. Alexis' mother, Nanette, was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and had moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the age of eight; Nanette was raised there, and in Mexico City. Of her parents' upbringing in Latin America, Bledel has stated "It's the only culture my mom knows from life, and my father as well, and they made the decision to raise their children within the context they had been raised in". Bledel grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, and did not learn English until she began school; she considers herself Latino.
Bledel attended Catholic St. Agnes Academy in Houston, as well as Baptist and Lutheran schools. Her mother encouraged her to try community theater to overcome her shyness. As a child, Bledel appeared in local productions of Our Town and The Wizard of Oz.^{[citation needed]} She was scouted at a local shopping mall and given work as a fashion model. She went to Page Parkes Center for Modeling and Acting and attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts for one year.

Career

Bledel made her television debut co-starring in The WB series Gilmore Girls in 2000 to 2007. She portrayed Rory Gilmore, the daughter of single mother Lorelai Gilmore. Initially, Rory was a high school student at an exclusive private academy, living with her mother in a small town in Connecticut, but later moved on to college at Yale University, where she, among other things, worked as the editor of the Yale Daily News. Bledel made her film debut in Tuck Everlasting, released in 2002, though she had worked as an extra in the 1998 film Rushmore. In 2005, she starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants based on the book by Ann Brashares. She played Lena Kaligaris, an artist on a journey with three friends, linked over the summer by a pair of "magical" jeans.
In 2005, Bledel portrayed Becky, a prostitute, in the movie Sin City. "She's a very professional prostitute. She carries a gun and she kicks ass," said Bledel of Becky. In 2006, Bledel co-starred in I'm Reed Fish, in the role of Reed Fish's fiance. Bledel reprised her role of Lena Kaligaris from The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants in the film's sequel, released in August 2008. Bledel next appeared in Post Grad, which opened on August 21, 2009, alongside Jane Lynch, Michael Keaton, and Carol Burnett.

Bledel in June 2008

Bledel appeared opposite Scott Porter in the film The Good Guy, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival April 26, 2009. "The Good Guy" (Porter's role) is a Wall Street businessman whose life falls apart when he helps out a new salesman. Bledel played Beth, Porter's girlfriend. She was also a guest star on the two-hour series finale of ER, playing new intern Dr. Julia Wise.
In 2008, after the end of Gilmore Girls, she reprised her role Lena Kaligaris in the sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2.
In May 2009 Bledel signed a contract with the modeling division of
Bledel appeared in the historical drama The Conspirator directed by Robert Redford. She plays the girlfriend of Frederick Aiken (James McAvoy), the lawyer who defended Mary Surratt, the first woman to be hanged in the United States, played by Robin Wright. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on 15 April 2011.
Also in 2010, Bledel completed work as the lead actress in the independent Canadian film The Kate Logan Affair. The film was presented at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2010.
Bledel performed in a theatre production by the Manhattan Theatre Club called Regrets, staged at the New York City Center.

Personal life

Bledel dated her Gilmore Girls co-star Milo Ventimiglia from December 2002 to July 2006 and began a relationship with her Mad Men co-star Vincent Kartheiser in mid-2012.