Lorelai Leigh "Rory" Gilmore is a fictional character from the WB/CW television series Gilmore Girls portrayed by Alexis Bledel. She first appeared in the pilot episode of the series on October 5, 2000 and appeared in every episode until the series finale on May 15, 2007. Bledel's performance throughout the series' run earned her a Young Artist Award, a Family Television Award and two Teen Choice Awards. She also received nominations for an ALMA Award, a Satellite Award, and a Saturn Award. Background 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 gave birth to 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, music, and much more. She spent her first months living with her mother at her grandparents' mansion until her mother ran away. The rest of her childhood she spent 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 nice house where Rory spent her adolescent years. Rory did not have much contact with her grandparents until she started to attend Chilton. Storylines Rory dreams of studying at Harvard University and gets accepted into the prestigious and fictional Chilton Academy, where she stays for her sophomore, junior, and senior years of high school. To pay tuition, Lorelai asks for money from her estranged wealthy parents, Richard and Emily. They agree to pay for Rory's education on the condition that the two come to their house every Friday night for dinner. Before leaving Stars Hollow High School, Rory meets Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki). 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 date for two seasons, only breaking up once when Dean told Rory he loved her on their 3-month anniversary, and she replied that she would have to think about it, but they eventually reconcile. Dean