Side By Side Pics Of Alexis Bledel & Lauren Graham Show How Much They've Changed

The pilot episode of "Gilmore Girls" premiered 25 years ago, and Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham made an appearance at the Emmys on September 14, 2025 to celebrate the milestone. The lives of the cast of '"Gilmore Girls" have changed a lot over the years, and fans loved seeing Graham and Bledel together again. The pair has reunited before, most notably on the Netflix revival series "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life" in 2016. Side-by-side photos of the duo from early in the original "Gilmore Girls" series and the Emmys in 2025 prove how much time has passed, but only if you look very closely and pay attention to details. 

Present-day Graham and Bledel have age lines on their faces. The smile lines around their mouths are particularly pronounced, indicative of lives well-lived and full of joy. Bledel's chin divot is less pronounced in the 2025 photo and might just be covered up with makeup. Her face has also lost the fullness it had in the early 2000s, which is a natural sign of aging. Graham is older than Bledel, so the signs of her age are more noticeable in side-by-side photos. She has visible wrinkles on her neck and around her eyes. Plus, her face has lost some firmness. These changes are inevitable for everyone, but it's refreshing to see both women letting them happen naturally, when so many women in Hollywood attempt to stall the process through cosmetic procedures.

Although Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel have reunited in Stars Hollow with many of their cast members for Netflix's "Gilmore Girls a Year in the Life" in 2016 (and Graham told Entertainment Tonight at the 2025 Emmys that she's open to a Christmas movie revival), both actors have moved on from the show to take on some other high-profile roles. Bledel won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series in 2017 for her role as Ofglen/Emily in "The Handmaid's Tale" and was nominated for the role three other times from 2018 to 2021. She also appeared on three episodes of the critically acclaimed series "Mad Men," where she met her ex-husband, Vincent Kartheiser. The pair was married for eight years before their 2022 divorce and they share a son together (per Us Weekly).  

Graham starred in "Evan Almighty" alongside Steve Carell and Morgan Freeman in 2007. In 2010, she landed the role of Sarah Braverman in another family drama, "Parenthood," where she starred alongside Dax Shepard, Monica Potter, Erika Christensen, Mae Whitman, and Peter Krause for five years. When they weren't playing siblings on screen, she and Krause were in a romantic relationship for nearly 12 years before it ended in 2021, per Today. Graham also starred in the buzzy musical drama "Zoey's Extraordinary Playlist" and Disney's TV reboot of "Mighty Ducks," called "Mighty Ducks: Game Changers." Next, she'll star in the film adaptation of Colleen Hoover's "Reminders of Him," set for a 2026 release.