Alexis Bledel became an overnight sensation following the premiere of Gilmore Girls in October 2000.
The actress, now aged 44, was just 19 when she secured a starring role as precocious teen Rory Gilmore alongside Lauren Graham in the mother-daughter drama series.
The show ran for seven seasons, making the jump from the WB to the CW before ending in 2007 – and then returning for a four-episode miniseries on Netflix in 2016.
These days Bledel keeps a low profile, but on Saturday she attended the premiere of her new film Ponderosa at the 2026 Tribeca Festival in New York City.
She stepped out wearing a satin two-tone yellow and black knee-length dress and peep-toe black heels.
Bledel played 16-year-old Rory Gilmore in Gilmore Girls, a bookworm who was more best friend than daughter to her mom Lorelai (Graham).
Alexis Bledel became a hit with TV viewers as a teenager when her show Gilmore Girls premiered in October 2000; pictured with Lauren Graham
These days Bledel is rarely seen, but on Saturday she attended the premiere of her new film Ponderosa at the 2026 Tribeca Festival in New York City
Prior to being cast in the breakout role, most of her work had been in modeling.
But she quickly racked up movie credits, including one in 2002’s Tuck Everlasting and 2005’s The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.
She dated Gilmore Girls co-star Milo Ventimiglia, who played her on-screen love interest Jess Mariano, from 2002-2006.
The actress went on to marry Mad Men co-star Vincent Kartheiser in 2014, they welcomed a son in 2015, and split in 2022.
After heading back to work on the Gilmore Girls Netflix revival, she also appeared in Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, playing Emily Malek.
Her last public appearance before the Tribeca Film Festival was at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards last September.
At the time, she and Graham reunited on stage to commemorate the 25th anniversary of their hit show.
The 44-year-old actress was 19 when she first starred alongside Graham in the mother-daughter drama series
Her shoulder-grazing brunette locks were straight, and she sported wispy face-framing bangs
L-R Matthew Porterfield, Bledel, guest, Jack Dylan Grazer
Ponderosa is Bledel’s first movie role since the crime thriller Crypto, which came out in 2019.
The 90-minute comedy/drama/horror film was written and directed by Rob Rice.
A logline on the Tribeca Film Festival site reads: ‘When the buffet where Zeke’s (Jack Dylan Grazer) mom (Bledel) works closes down, he’s forced to entertain the wild advances of a rich regular (Bill Camp) who is weirdly and vehemently obsessed with becoming his father.’
One of the film’s producers, Matt Porterfield, wrote on Instagram in late May, ‘It’s a surreal and intoxicating critique of right wing ideology and suggests some positive ways to sabotage it (much needed in these times).’
He continued, ‘It’s a story about a mother and son and the love they share. It’s about fatherhood and what that means in a sort of existential sense.
‘It’s also about adolescence and the power young people have to shape the future. It’s about a lot of things. It’s politically prescient but an all around good time and I promise it will get you thinking.’
