Lauren Graham visits Lafayette

By: Madeline Marriott ’24

On April 2, Lauren Graham visited Lafayette College as the 2024 Senior Speaker. Graham is best known for her role as Lorelai Gilmore, the fast-talking, coffee-guzzling mother to Rory in Gilmore Girls. The show, which ran 2000-2007 and revived for an additional season in 2016, is now one of the most-streamed shows across major platforms. 

Graham is also a bestselling author of four books. Her debut novel, Someday, Someday, Maybe, came out in 2013, while her three books of essays, Talking as Fast as I Can: From Gilmore Girls to Gilmore Girls; In Conclusion, Don’t Worry About It; and Have I Told You This Already?: Stories I Don’t Want to Forget to Remember, came out in 2016, 2018, and 2022, respectively. 

The event was organized by the class year experience committee of the Lafayette Activities Forum (LAF). According to committee director Lily Snyder ’25, Graham’s wide-ranging experience, from actor to producer to writer, was a driving factor in the decision. 

“Through her talk, we hope the students, especially the seniors in the audience, have a little insight on what their next chapter could look like through learning more about her life experiences,” Snyder says. 

Graham spoke with women’s, gender, and sexuality studies professor Mary Armstrong in Colton Chapel and provided insight into her time on Gilmore Girls and her experience in the television and writing worlds. 

For Graham, the writing process comes down to routine. 

“Don’t leave your characters cold,” she says. “Sometimes, you have to be inspired—you can’t always just make it up. Go see things, read things, fill up on what other people are doing, because it’s amazing.” 

She hopes that graduating seniors transitioning into the working world will remember to slow down and explore their options. “You can just really enjoy your day,” she reminds the students. “It doesn’t have to be all about the next step.”