This is a list of characters for the comedy-drama television series Gilmore Girls.
Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, played by Lauren Graham, is the only daughter of Richard and Emily Gilmore. She is the mother of Lorelai "Rory" Leigh Gilmore. She became pregnant at the age of 16 but refused to marry Christopher Hayden, Rory's father, because she felt that a marriage at such a young age would not work out. Instead, she ran away to the town of Stars Hollow, which is half an hour away from Hartford.
In Stars Hollow, she meets Mia, the owner of the Independence Inn. She begs Mia to hire her though she has no experience of any kind. Mia gives Lorelai a job as a maid and allows Lorelai and Rory to live in a converted potting shed behind the inn, where they live for most of Rory's early childhood. Lorelai eventually becomes the executive manager of the inn, which is the position she holds when the first season of the show opens.
When Rory is unexpectedly accepted to Chilton Preparatory School (from a waiting list), Lorelai is unable to come up with the tuition due immediately, Lorelai turns to her parents for help. They agree to it, if only the girls will attend dinner every Friday night and allow them into their lives. Later, Lorelai and her best friend Sookie St. James find an old run-down inn called the Dragonfly Inn. When its owner dies, they decide to purchase it. However, the Independence Inn is in a point of crisis due to a recent fire, causing the pair to question the timing of their new endeavor. Furthermore, Rory, by this time, has been accepted to Yale, and has been denied financial aid due to Lorelai receiving a one-time investment payout given to her by her father (see below). Lorelai is ready to divert her money for the purchase and renovation costs to Rory's tuition, but Rory independently turns to her grandparents for help with the tuition, allowing Lorelai and Sookie to purchase The Dragonfly Inn.
Lorelai is very witty and full of pop culture references. She has a very specific taste in movies, music, and TV. She has said she is a fan of the bands U2, Weezer, Metallica, and The Bangles. On Karaoke Night in season seven, she sings the song "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton. Some of her favorite movies are The Way We Were, His Girl Friday, Funny Face, and Casablanca, which she claims has "no bad parts." She is also addicted to coffee, takeout food, and she loves to shop for clothes and shoes. When her father gives her a check for $75,000 because the government was building a road on a property that Richard bought under her name, she exclaims, "That's 150 pairs of Jimmy Choos!"