Bledel was born in Houston, Texas to Nanette (née Dozier), who worked as a gift processor and flight attendant, and Martin Bledel.[1][2] She has a younger brother, Eric.[3] Her father was born and raised in Argentina.[4][5] Her paternal grandfather, Enrique Einar Bledel Huus, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was of Danish and distant German descent; Enrique was Vice President of Coca-Cola Latin America and the Coca-Cola Inter-American Corporation. Bledel's paternal grandmother, Jean (née Campbell), was originally from New York, and had Scottish and English ancestry.[6][7][8] Bledel's mother, Nanette, was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and moved to Guadalajara, Mexico, at the age of eight; Nanette was raised there, and in Mexico City.[9][10] 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".[2][9] Bledel grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, and did not learn English until she began school; she considers herself a Latina.[2][11]
Bledel attended Catholic St. Agnes Academy in Houston, as well as Baptist and Lutheran schools.[12] Her mother encouraged her to try community theater to overcome her shyness.[13] As a child, Bledel appeared in local productions of Our Town and The Wizard of Oz.[14] 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 New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for one year.
Career
Bledel made her television debut opposite Lauren Graham in The WB comedy-drama Gilmore Girls, which ran for seven seasons from October 5, 2000 to May 15, 2007. She portrayed Rory Gilmore, the daughter of a single mother Lorelai Gilmore (Graham). 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 feature film debut opposite Jonathan Jackson in Tuck Everlasting, based on the novel of the same name by Natalie Babbitt released in 2002, though she had worked as an uncredited extra in the 1998 film Rushmore.[16] In 2005, she co-starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, opposite Amber Tamblyn, America Ferrera and Blake Lively and based on Ann Brashares' novel of the same name. She played Lena Kaligaris, an aspiring artist on a journey with her three best friends, linked over the summer by a pair of "magical" jeans.
Bledel in June 2008
In 2005, Bledel starred in the movie Sin City where she portrayed Becky, a prostitute. "She's a very professional prostitute. She carries a gun and she kicks ass," said Bledel of her character.[17] In 2006, Bledel co-starred in I'm Reed Fish, in the role of Reed Fish's fiance. After the end of Gilmore Girls, she reprised her role of Lena Kaligaris in the sequel The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, released in August 2008. The following year, Bledel starred in the comedy Post Grad, which was released on August 21, 2009.
Bledel co-starred opposite Scott Porter and Bryan Greenberg in the film The Good Guy, which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival April 26, 2009. The film centered around Porter's character Tommy, a Wall Street investment broker whose life falls apart when he helps out Greenberg's character Daniel, a new broker. Bledel played Beth, Tommy's girlfriend. In April 2009, Bledel guest-starred in the NBC medical drama ER in the two-hour series finale titled "And in the End...", playing Dr. Julia Wise, a new intern to the hospital.[18] In May 2009, Bledel signed a contract with the modeling division of IMG.[15]
Bledel co-starred opposite James McAvoy and Robin Wright in the historical drama The Conspirator directed by Robert Redford. She plays the girlfriend of McAvoy's character Frederick Aiken, the lawyer who defended Mary Surratt, the first woman to be hanged in the United States, played by Wright. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on April 15, 2011.[19] Also in 2010, Bledel completed work, starring in the leading role in the independent Canadian film The Kate Logan Affair. The film was presented at Montreal's Festival du Nouveau Cinéma 2010.[20][21]
Bledel performed in a theatre production by the Manhattan Theatre Club titled Regrets, staged at the New York City Center.[22] It was confirmed in early-March 2013 that Bledel will co-star opposite Jason Ritter in the FOX upcoming pilot Friends & Family, an adaptation of the British comedy Gavin & Stacey playing Stacey with Ritter playing Gavin.[23] The pilot was picked up for a series and was retitled Us & Them.[24] Fox eventually decided not to air the series
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