Gilmore Girls Cast Celebrates Show Milestones: Everything the Stars Are Doing Right Now
Few supporting cast evolutions rival the trajectory of Melissa McCarthy, who played Lorelai’s culinary-genius best friend, Sookie St. James. After breaking out globally in Bridesmaids (2011), McCarthy earned two Academy Award nominations, launched On the Day Productions with husband Ben Falcone, and established herself as one of the few bankable comedy leads of the modern studio era. Between studio blockbusters like Disney's live-action The Little Mermaid and dramatic limited series like Hulu's Nine Perfect Strangers, McCarthy maintains a packed production slate while frequently referencing her affection for Sookie's kitchen.
Milo Ventimiglia, who portrayed Stars Hollow’s misunderstood literary rebel Jess Mariano, achieved peak broadcast prominence as Jack Pearson across six emotional seasons of NBC’s This Is Us. That performance secured three Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. Ventimiglia subsequently executive-produced and starred in ABC’s The Company You Keep, directed episodic television, and expanded his work through Divide Pictures. In his personal life, Ventimiglia recently celebrated his marriage to model Jarah Mariano and the birth of their first child, keeping his career grounded in production management and directing.
