Celebrities You Didn’t Know Guest Starred On Gilmore Girls

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14. Alex Borstein

Comedian, producer, writer and voice actor, Alex Borstein can be spotted on Gilmore Girls hauling a harp around at the Independence Inn. Borstein was originally cast on the series to play the role of Sookie, but at the time she was appearing on MADtv, so Melissa McCarthy took over the role instead. She first appeared on the show as Drella, the resident harpist at the Inn. Later on in the series, she can be seen as Emily’s hairstylist, and again as the voice of Doris in season 3’s episode “Eight O’Clock at the Oasis.” Today, she is a well recognized actress. Some of her biggest accomplishments are voicing the character of Lois on Family Guy and starring in A Million Ways to Die in the West, writing, starring and co-producing Shameless and starring in Getting On. Fun fact: she’s married to Sookie’s husband on the show, Jackson Douglas.

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13. Nick Offerman

One of our favorite comedy actors, Nick Offerman, who is now one of the stars of Parks and Recreation, played Jackson’s older brother and Sookie’s brother-in-law, Beau Belleville for two episodes on Gilmore Girls in 2003 and 2005. Offerman appeared on the show right before he landed his breakout role as Ron Swanson on Parks and Recreation. He’s also well known for voicing a character on Axe Cop and voicing characters in big feature films like Hotel Transylvania, The Lego Movie, and Ice Age: Collision Course.

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12. Brandon Routh

Superman touched down in Stars Hollow! This future superhero made one of his first television debuts on Gilmore Girls as Jess, a hot guy who hit on Madeline and Louise at a Bangles concert in the first season, episode “Concert Interruptus.” He’s now best recognized as Superman in the film Superman Returns and for his roles in shows like Arrow and Legends of Tomorrow.

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11. Michael York

This British actor is known for so many things, but most notably the Austin Powers franchise. However, one his lesser known roles was as Paris’ love interest and Rory’s professor in college, Asher Fleming. He appeared in four episodes in season 4.

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10. Billy Burke

We now know Billy Burke as Bella’s beloved father, Charlie Swan in the Twilight series, but before he took on that role he appeared in three episodes of Gilmore Girls as one of Lorelai’s many suitors. He shows up in the series as Alex, a man Lorelai meets while taking a business class with Sookie. He is a man who owns his own coffee shop and she dates him for a little while, but he kind of just faded out of the show in a very loose ending kind of way.

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9. Krysten Ritter

Before Krysten Ritter went on to be the star of Netflix’s Jessica Jones, Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23, Gravity, or appear in popular shows like Breaking Bad as Jesse Pinkman’s girlfriend, she played the role of Lucy in the last season of Gilmore Girls. This role came at the heels of her Gia Goodman character on Veronica Mars. Lucy was one of Rory’s college friends at Yale. She appeared in several episodes!

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8. Mary Lynn Rajskub

Viewers can catch this well known 24 star Mary Lynn Rajskub briefly in an episode as the girlfriend in Kirk’s film doing some busking in Stars Hollow in 2006 on Gilmore Girls. She was very much a Phoebe from Friends character singing a weird jingle in the streets. Now she’s widely recognized as Chloe O’Brian on the Fox series 24.

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7. Danny Pudi

Before Danny Pudi got his career breakthrough role on Community as Abed Nadir, he was doing one episode appearances on shows like E.R. and The West Wing. During this time he took on a small part as Raj, a Yale Daily News writer for four episodes in season six and seven of Gilmore Girls.

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6. Jane Lynch

Funny gal and Glee star Jane Lynch played a overworked nurse who is harassed by Emily Gilmore when Richard Gilmore has a scare and gets sent to the hospital after suffering some heart trouble in season one, episode “Forgiveness and Stuff.” Her cameo was brief, and since then she’s moved on to become a well recognized face in Hollywood with starring roles in films like The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and A Mighty Wind. She also now hosts NBC’s Hollywood Game Night.

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5. Danny Strong

Buffy the Vampire Slayer actor and Empire creator Danny Strong holds a recurring role on Gilmore Girls as a Yale Daily News editor named Doyle McMaster. He was Paris’ first fling after the passing of professor Ashton. The two meet while working on a school newspaper and bond after going to a speed dating session that is supposed to help her get over Ashton. Word on the street is he will be reprising this role for the Netflix reboot! Before appearing in this role, Strong was best recognized as Jonathan Levinson on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and since Gilmore Girls he’s well credited for writing screenplays like The Butler, The Hunger Games, and co-creator, executive producer and writer for the hit series, Empire.

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4. Abigail Spencer

Abigail Spencer showed up in 2006 on season 6, episode “Bridesmaids Revisited” as Megan, one of the bridesmaids of Honor Huntzberger at Logan’s sister’s wedding. Today she’s a well recognized actress appearing on popular shows like True Detective, Rectify (a role that earned her a couple nominations), Mad Men, Suits and doing movies like Cowboys & Angels and Oz the Great and Powerful.

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3. Jon Hamm

Many people probably don’t remember Jon Hamm showing up on Gilmore Girls because it happened so early on in the series and was only a one-episode appearance. Hamm played the character of Peyton Sanders, a gentleman who caught the eye of Lorelai for about a hot minute. The two engaged in some mild flirtation at the hotel, but that was about it for the soon-to-be Don Draper. His character might also have been unforgettable because he wasn’t cast in his career changing role on Mad Men until about five years after this cameo, so he hadn’t fully peaked yet. If he showed up now, we’d definitely know who he was!

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2. Chad Michael Murray

Before Paris and Rory were best friends, they were frenemies, especially when they both fell for the same guy, Tristin DuGrey, played by Chad Michael Murray. Both girls thought they had feelings for Tristin, but eventually Rory smarted up and realized she loved Dean and all was good in the world of Stars Hollow again. After this Murray went on to become one of the stars of the widely popular series, One Tree Hill.

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1. Seth Macfarlane

How did we miss this one?! Set Macfarlane shows up in season 2’s episode “Lorelai’s Graduation Day” as business school student, Zach, who graduated alongside Lorelai. Some might not know this, but he’s also the voice of lawyer, Bob Merriam in season 3’s episode called “I Solemnly Swear.” Today, Seth Macfarlane is a well respected comedian, but mostly recognized as the mastermind behind Family Guy. This appearance was around the time Fox canceled his sitcom in 2002, but then brought it back in 2005. This was one of his first live action roles, but since then he’s gone on to create, produce and act in many other shows and films like American Dad, The Cleveland Show, Ted and A Million Ways to Die in the West.

Katherine G

Katherine is the Managing Editor for Health and Parenting, but she has a soft spot for entertainment. She loves binging shows on Netflix, reality TV is a guilty pleasure, and country music is her go-to playlist. When she's not writing, she's spending time outdoors, especially with her puppy Zoey!