‘Gilmore Girls’ Family Tree Explained ij2
The Big Picture 6o4c27
- The of the Gilmore family on
Gilmore Girls
are loyal and devoted to one another, despite their differences. - Lorelai and Emily Gilmore have a complicated relationship, but deep down they love each other for who they are.
- The various of the Gilmore family each have their own flaws and complexities, leading to constant drama.
The Gilmore family from the hit series Gilmore Girls is packed full of hilarity, sarcasm, narcissism, and frivolity. Despite the many differences between the various Gilmore family , they all share a sense of loyalty and devotion to one another. Lorelai Gilmore (Lauren Graham) and her mother, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), for example, have a complicated relationship because they are very different people who value different things. However, despite Lorelai’s bitterness and Emily’s resentment, the two do love each other, and they try time and time again to connect. However, Lorelai and Emily’s tricky relationship just scratches the surface of the Gilmore family dynamic, because the varying mix of personalities means that there is always drama going on.

Gilmore Girls 412c6v
A dramedy centering around the relationship between a thirtysomething single mother and her teen daughter living in Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
- Release Date
- October 5, 2000
- Main Genre
- Comedy
- Seasons
- 7
- Studio
- The CW
Lorelai ‘Trix’ Gilmore 5w1v3x
Played by Marion Ross 5x4b6
The eldest member of the Gilmore family tree that we know of is Lorelai ‘Trix’ Gilmore (Marion Ross). She was a British woman with a bottomless pit of money and an intolerance for just about everything and everyone except her son, Richard (Edward Herrmann). Trix was very vocal about her judgments and prejudices — it was always her way or the highway. Trix was especially intolerant and rude to her daughter-in-law, Emily Gilmore (Kelly Bishop), whom Trix believed was never the right match for her son. Despite Trix’s savvy business skills and philanthropy, she was an incredibly entitled, old-fashioned, and insufferable woman. Her son, however, failed to recognize his mother’s unbearable nature. In Season 4 of Gilmore Girls, Trix es away and Richard is anguished.
Richard Gilmore 744
Played by Edward Herrmann i2q14
Richard Gilmore was a little like his mother in the way that he excelled in his career pursuits. He worked very hard his whole life, measuring his worth by his academic and professional achievements. Although Richard was a very successful man, he had a bad habit of judging others by their academic and career achievements as well. Richard often looked down on people who were not of his caliber – that is, people who were not wealthy or educated at an Ivy League school. This is particularly clear through his disdain for Rory’s first boyfriend, Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki). However, despite Richard’s superficiality, he was exceptionally fond of his family and very proud to be a Gilmore.

The ‘Gilmore Girls’ Storyline That Was Doomed From the Start 712m3k
We didn’t follow where the show led us during this storyline.
Richard and his wife Emily were a strong team. They were partners in life, creating many romantic memories together despite a few rough patches throughout Gilmore Girls. As for Richard and his daughter, Lorelai, they certainly had their differences. However, Richard’s love for Lorelai never wavered. Richard showed his love for his daughter in small but consecutive ways: he helped Lorelai insure her inn, and he gifted Lorelai her beloved childhood doll house. Arguably, the most beautiful moment between Richard and Lorelai occurred during the final episode of Season 7, when Richard tells Lorelai that she is a remarkable person. Furthermore, Richard and his granddaughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), share a very special bond. Richard always professed how proud he was of his granddaughter. The two would often bond over classic literature or discuss their respective experiences at Yale University. So, despite Richard’s tendency to be quite stubborn and pretentious, he was a respectable man who had a deep love for his family. In the Gilmore Girls sequel series titled – Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, we learn that Richard has ed away. This loss has a devastating effect on Emily, Lorelai, and Rory.
Emily Gilmore 585r1p
Played by Kelly Bishop 4f4657
Emily Gilmore is your average narcissist – manipulative, self-centered, snobby, and rude. She treats her maids very poorly, and she has a snarky attitude reserved for waiters, hospital staff, or anyone else whom she considers to be beneath her. Emily’s snarky attitude also extends towards her daughter, Lorelai. Emily and Lorelai’s problematic relationship began when Lorelai was young, because Lorelai did not want to be the perfect debutant that Emily envisioned. But truthfully, Emily’s meanness and childish outbursts stem from her deeper insecurities. Emily always knew that her mother-in-law disapproved of her, and so she often goes above and beyond in order to impress and be validated by others. Furthermore, Emily has always been disheartened by her fractured relationship with Lorelai. She desperately wants to connect with her daughter, but her pride often gets in the way of honest communication. Emily does have some terrible flaws, but she is still human and loves her daughter and granddaughter deeply. Emily’s most irable quality is her loyalty and devotion to her family.
Lorelai Gilmore 6jw2m
Played by Lauren Graham 6d5g48
Lorelai Gilmore is the only daughter of Richard and Emily on Gilmore Girls. Unlike her mother who is concerned with the finer and superficial things in life, Lorelai cares more for realness, and treats people with kindness and respect. Lorelai’s rebellion against her parent’s way of life led her to fall pregnant at sixteen, but even then, she didn’t want to be ed by her parents. During labor, she went to the hospital all by herself, and a few weeks after she gave birth, Lorelai ran away from her parent’s home to start her own life with her daughter. Lorelai has always been very strong and independent. Despite the roadblocks in her life, she always soldiers on. One of the best characters on Gilmore Girls, Lorelai is honest, fierce, and confident, and she knows who she is.
Christopher Hayden 1t3q1q
Played by David Sutcliffe 52749
Christopher Hayden (David Sutcliffe) was Lorelai’s high school boyfriend and is Rory’s father. When Lorelai got pregnant, Lorelai and Christopher’s parents arranged for Lorelai and Christopher to get married. Lorelai, however, knew that she and Christopher weren’t ready to get married at sixteen, so she raised Rory by herself. It takes a long time for Christopher to get his life together. He often disappoints Lorelai and Rory through failed career ventures and for never visiting them when he promises he will.
For a long time, Christopher was a very unreliable and unstable man, and despite her feelings for him, Lorelai knew she couldn’t trust him. Fortunately, Christopher eventually does get his act together, and he and Lorelai rekindle their relationship. Despite his and Lorelai’s romantic reunion being short-lived, Chris becomes a dependable and loving father to Rory, as well as a new father to his young daughter, Gigi, whom he has with girlfriend Sherry Tinsdale (Mädchen Amick) before he and Lorelai get together.
Lorelai ‘Rory’ Gilmore 6s5y6z
Played by Alexis Bledel 1j4f2k
Rory Gilmore is the daughter of Lorelai and Christopher. Rory’s birth name is actually Lorelai Gilmore, but she goes by Rory. Rory is extraordinarily intelligent. A total bookworm, Rory loves to read, write, and study. Perhaps not quite as individualistic as her mother, Rory is still heavily influenced by her mother’s tastes in everything from movies to music to books to political views. Rory and Lorelai are best friends. Like her mother, Rory has her fair share of roadblocks, and she also has her fair share of flaws. She can be selfish and oblivious at times, but Rory means well, and is a genuinely sweet and caring person.
Straub and Francine Hayden 3h2967
Played by Peter Michael Goetz and Cristine Rose 1w4m73
We don’t see much of Christopher’s parents, Straub and Francine (Peter Michael Goetz and Cristine Rose), in Gilmore Girls, which is probably a blessing because even in those rare times when they’d make an appearance, they were horrible. Straub blamed Lorelai for falling pregnant, convincing himself that Christopher was seduced into the act of conceiving. Straub also blamed Lorelai for Christopher’s failed career path. Simply put, Straub was a terrible man who was hated by everyone except his wife. Straub dies offscreen in the Season 5 episode « Women of Questionable Morals, » leaving Christopher distraught despite their strained relationship.
Francine is similarly terrible. During her marriage, Francine was a complacent and ive woman, and she went along with Straub’s problematic opinions and views. Francine loved her husband, but she was powerless in their relationship and didn’t seem to care about anything other than her family’s public image.
Georgia ‘Gigi’ Hayden 514r4f
Played by Nicolette Collier 4s2s9
Gigi Hayden (Nicolette Collier) is the daughter of Christopher Hayden and Sherry Tinsdale. In Season 2 of Gilmore Girls, Christopher and Sherry are in a relationship. But by the end of Season 2, they are having problems. Christopher plans to break up with Sherry, but then she announces to him that she’s pregnant, and he decides to stay with her. After Gigi is born, however, Sherry abandons Christopher and Gigi by moving to Paris, and Christopher is left to raise Gigi alone. Lorelai becomes Gigi’s stepmother when she and Christopher briefly marry in Season 7 and Gigi and Chris move into Lorelai’s house, but we do not see Gigi again after Christopher and Lorelai split a few episodes later.
Gilmore Girls is available to stream on Netflix in the U.S.