Emily Gilmore is a fictional character who appears in the American comedy drama television series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007) and its revival Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016) as the matriarch of the eponymous family. Portrayed by Kelly Bishop, the character was created by series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino in order to add a tragic element to the show's light-hearted nature. Emily has had a complicated relationship with her daughter Lorelai ever since the character ran away at sixteen to raise her newborn daughter Rory on her own. They remain distant for several years until Lorelai asks her parents to help pay for Rory's schooling, to which Emily agrees on the condition that her daughter and granddaughter visit them for dinner every Friday evening.
One of the show's central storylines, Emily's relationship with Lorelai remains strained for the majority of the series, improving incrementally over time. Bishop, who prefers portraying acerbic over nice women, based her performance on her own grandmother. In Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Emily, recently widowed after the death of Richard, continues to mourn his death from which she struggles to move on. The death of her co-star and close friend Edward Herrmann, who portrayed Richard, was written into the revival; Bishop used her character's storyline about adjusting to life without her husband to cope with her own grief over Herrmann's passing, as well as drawing upon inspiration from the death of her own mother. The actress nearly did not reprise her role in the revival due to her own husband's health at the time.
Bishop's performances in both the original series and its sequel have been positively received by television critics. Critics and audiences were initially divided over the character's personality, debating her unlikeability and whether or not she is a bad mother. However, their opinions towards Emily have softened in retrospect, growing to sympathize with the character and defend her as one of the show's most complex characters who truly cares for the well-being of her family members. Despite being accused of classism and racism in regards to the way in which she treats her maids, Emily's arc in Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, in which she takes on a more central role, has been widely acclaimed by critics and fans alike, becoming a fan favorite and experiencing renewed popularity. Critics and fans have since dubbed her the "third Gilmore girl", after Lorelai and Rory.
Role
Emily is the wealthy matriarch of the Gilmore family and lives with her husband Richard (Edward Herrmann), a successful insurance consultant, in a mansion in Hartford, Connecticut. She is a member of a bridge club, country club, the Society Matron's League, and serves as the president of local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. She goes through a succession of various cooks and maids in her home, as she often fires household staff due to her high standards. It is revealed that Emily attended Smith College, where she majored in History and was a member of the field hockey team. She met Richard at a party while she was at Smith and he was at Yale University.
Emily's only daughter Lorelai (Lauren Graham) had run away from home as a teenager to raise her daughter Rory (Alexis Bledel) on her own, forcing Emily to remain estranged from both her daughter and granddaughter for several years until Lorelai desperately asks her parents to help pay for Rory's admission into Chilton Preparatory School. partially to ensure that her granddaughter receives the opportunities her mother never did. Their arrangement continues when Rory graduates from Chilton and enrolls at Yale University, her grandfather's alma mater. Emily and Richard separate at one point during the series over a series of heated disagreements, but eventually reconcile in favor of renewing their vows. She is furious with Lorelai after she gives an unflattering speech during Richard's funeral, thus increasing the rift in their relationship. Emily tricks Lorelai into attending therapy with her in attempt to mend their relationship (where Emily reveals she is also upset over a malicious letter she insists Lorelai sent her several years ago, although she denies it), with mostly unfruitful results. Emily is only able to forgive Lorelai after she calls her mother to share with her the time Richard comforted her by taking her to a see a movie after she was humiliated in school. and starts working at a whaling museum as a docent.
Development
Gilmore Girls
Conception and writing
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino originally pitched Gilmore Girls to The WB as a series about Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, a young mother and daughter duo whose close relationship is more similar to that of a pair of best friends as opposed to family members, but the show's concept was not fully realized until Sherman-Palladino introduced the idea of a third, older generation of Gilmores to the storyline: Emily and Richard Gilmore, Lorelai's wealthy, conservative parents. The creator explained that "Lorelai is made because of her experience with her family, and Emily is Emily because Lorelai left", believing Emily's relationship with Lorelai "added a layer of conflict that allows you to do the comedy, but at the base of it, it’s almost a tragedy.” Secretly, the character is proud of her daughter's accomplishments but has continued to harbor resentment towards her ever since she gets pregnant at age 16, for which Emily has never quite forgiven her. Sherman-Palladino strongly felt that Gilmore Girls would be successful after watching the pilot for the first time, in which Emily, Lorelai and Rory experience their first of several Friday-night dinners. The Washington Post contributor Jenny Rogers believes Emily's was written in a way that "was supposed to drive [audiences] crazy", similar to the way in which Lorelai reacts. fans believe that Emily appears to grow "softer" towards the second and third seasons, when in fact the writers only "explained [her] a little better" by evolving the character into a "more complex" version of herself. Thus, they remain "firmly ... in their estranged battleground."
The tense relationship between Emily, "a wealthy mother of a certain generation and class," and Lorelai is one of the series' primary components. Although much of Emily's storyline is directly related to her relationship with Lorelai, the character has endured complex situations on her own during the show's run, particularly in regards to the fact that she is "a woman of a certain generation who had long tethered her future to little other than her husband." Much like Lorelai and Rory, Emily speaks "in machine-gun like bursts of dialogue".
Casting and portrayal
Emily is portrayed by American actress Kelly Bishop. Before being cast as both a mother and grandmother in Gilmore Girls, Bishop had played mothers in several successful films, namely Dirty Dancing (1987), Private Parts (1997) and Wonder Boys (2000). Prior to receiving the Gilmore Girls script, Bishop had turned down several sitcom pilots, few of which she found promising; the majority of them were Italian roles due to the popularity of The Sopranos at the time. Upon reading the Gilmore Girls script for the first time, Bishop immediately found its dialogue "deeply funny" and interesting,
Throughout her filmography, Bishop tends to play "acerbic" characters more than "nice" ones the latter of which she finds rather "dull." Although she enjoys playing the role, Bishop admitted that Emily is not the kind of person she would enjoy being friends with in real life because of how difficult she can be, her stubbornness and self-consciousness; she based her performance on women she has met in New York, Florida and Hollywood, However, Bishop described her character as "funny ... if you don’t have to live with her". Despite not liking Emily as a character, Bishop "understand[s] where she’s coming form (sic)" as a mother.
Bishop has always been confident in the material Sherman-Palladino writes for Emily, Sherman-Palladino would often write an expository piece for the character that Bishop had thought of herself years before, remarking, "well, we are so on the same page." Bishop considers the fourth season episode "The Reigning Lorelai", in which Emily learns that her late mother-in-law Trix tried to dissuade Richard from marrying her as her favorite episode because of how "bizarrely out there" and unlike Emily it was, claiming that she was "drunk in every scene". The actress also identified episodes in which Emily goes on outrageous shopping sprees with Lorelai and Rory among some of her other favorites. she identified the confection marzipan as the worst dish she ever had to eat during a scene. Bishop practiced taking small bites of her food because she could not envision her character talking with her mouth full as her co-stars tended to do. They would not meet again until nearly 25 years later when they posed for a family portrait that would hang in their characters' mansion for the series. and would often do crossword puzzles in the hair and make up room together. In addition to sharing the same trailer, On one occasion, Emily convinces Richard to promise that he not die before her, saying, "I demand to go first." Herrmann died in 2014. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life revolves around Emily, Lorelai and Rory as the characters encounter new life challenges. during which Emily's fears about living without Richard are realized. Bishop originally believed that her character would resume Friday-night dinners in the wake of her husband's death "because it's one of those schedule structures that she has in place". In Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, Emily experiences more dramatic changes than she had experience during her seven-year arc on Gilmore Girls, embarking " on the biggest journey" of the three main characters. With a progression that is of equal importance to that of her daughter and granddaughter, encountering widowhood and loneliness for the first time in her life. Bishop described her character as "a raw nerve" as a result of losing her husband, alternating between being "right on the edge of losing it" and "a little manic", she attempts such exercises as dividing her belongings into items that "bring her joy" and ones that do no, inspired by Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo's self-help book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, discarding a fancy dress while movers remove her dining room chairs. Emily also dresses differently than how she does throughout the original seven seasons of Gilmore Girls, She even attempts dating another man, only to end their relationship when she finds him disappointing. The death of her husband ultimately causes Emily to undergo the most change and development out of all the show's main characters, a gradual progression with which Bishop was "delighted", elaborating, "I liked her seeing her really evolve and grow and try to find herself and all of the different stages of grief between the pain and the loss and the rage and the confusion and trying to find what the next step is for her." Overall, Bishop believes her character channels her grief "pretty well." both positively and negatively. Richard once served as "the middle ground between" Emily and Lorelai, who was often "the most diplomatic of" Lorelai's parents. After Lorelai speaks poorly of her father at his funeral, Emily tricks Lorelai into finally attending therapy with her in an attempt to mend their relationship. Although the sessions do not appear to be very fruitful, it is the first time they mutually acknowledge that there is a problem in their relationship. Just recognizing that there is a problem is a great first step. Bishop agreed that Emily finds "serenity" by the end of the series, Bishop was thoroughly "delighted" with the new material that had been written for Emily, enjoying "seeing her really evolve and grow and try to find herself and all of the different stages of grief". Using Emily's storyline as a means of channeling her own grief at the loss of her co-star, At the same time, however, Herrmann – and Richard's – deaths allow Emily to develop in ways that might not have been possible otherwise, Bishop believes Emily "would have probably been on the same plane that we always were" had Herrmann not died, elaborating, "I sure miss Ed and he would have loved to have done it ... but it made for a really interesting journey for Emily." Despite being a complicated sequence that took particularly long to film, Emily enjoyed filming "the Marie Kondo scene" because "You see the first signs of Emily "going in a direction you couldn't have imagined before." Wardrobe designer, Brenda Maben, enjoyed costuming Emily during the revival, particularly during "Fall", "because of the things that happen with her character.” Maben explained that the character's change in attire mirrors people who "start to find themselves" after becoming widowed, elaborating that before they can move on from their deaths they "have to look inside yourself and make decisions and quite possibly make some changes and continue on without the person you are terribly in love with. And it could be going back to something you had earlier in your life before you had your spouse that maybe you might have wanted to do but you didn't do because of having children and living that particular life." Bishop said she "had great fun" wearing jeans as her character for the first time, Maben echoed that creating Emily's new wardrobe was fun because it "was something we had never seen before so that was quite fun for me", Kelly and Maben agreed that Emily should still wear her signature gold necklace and earrings atop her more casual attire, explaining, "when you’re DAR ... on top of old money, you don't change up your jewelry a lot ... She's still that same person—there are just a lot of changes that are coming along.” The T-shirt bears a faded Candie's logo. Known for being judgmental and sarcastic in nature, while Sarah Rodman of The Boston Globe called her "imperious and controlling". The Washington Post<nowiki/>'s Jenny Rogers described Emily as "A classist meddler with a mean streak"; However, Emily rarely loses her temper, Emily has a reputation of being "a resilient woman" due to her "tough exterior and tender heart".
CinemaBlend's Corey Chichizola identified Emily as one of Gilmore Girls<nowiki/>' "most layered and complex characters", writing, "While she appears to be superficial, privileged, and conniving ... Beneath it all is a woman who is desperately seeking love and attention from her family, but is unable to compromise her beliefs." Bustle<nowiki/>'s Emily Lackey observed that the character "is built on contradictions, always doing and saying the opposite of what she means". Erik Mink of the New York Daily News believes that Emily is just "as smart and assertive as" Lorelai and Rory, "and more clever than either of them"; she shares her daughter's sarcastic wit, such as scolding her for wearing a pair of sweatpants that read "Juicy". Paste<nowiki/>'s Kit Hamlen described Emily's wardrobe as "upper echelon, high class personified", seldom seen "without a blazer or matching pantsuit". Kerry Pieri, writing for Harper's Bazaar, described Emily's style as "expensive yet understated". Maben believes the character's original "buttoned up" style "really summed her up. It was all about how she looked from the outside and she had a certain image to relay to the world because of her status in society and I truly think that look served her very well." The New York Post journalist David K. Li credits Emily's "bickering" relationship with Lorelai with reminding viewers what a typical mother-daughter relationship looks like, in stark contrast to Lorelai's best friend relationship with Rory. who has at times compared her mother to politicians Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. Emily strongly believes that Lorelai's life would be better if she would only listened to her, but the two characters view Lorelai's life "in completely different terms." However, Emily is very protective of her family, as shown when she defends Lorelai from Francine Hayden, the mother of Lorelai's childhood boyfriend Christopher,
Usually depicted as "steely" and stuck up, preferring to prioritize business over pleasure and "cry when nobody’s looking" in order to maintain her pride. while becoming increasingly resentful towards his dismissiveness of her. Despite being involved in several organizations and clubs, Emily does not have many close friends outside of her relationship with Richard. Judy Berman of Flavorwire dubbed her "the quintessential WASP grandmother".
Reception
Critical response
Critical reception towards Bishop's performance has been positive since Gilmore Girls premiered in 2000. Graeme McMillan of Wired wrote that the actress "plays Emily to perfection", while The Hollywood Reporter commended Bishop for portraying her character "with great moxie". Us Weekly agreed that Bishop played the character "perfectly". Lauren Fries of Variety praised Bishop as a "talented" actress who "make[s] Graham’s work easier and lend[s] a good deal of authority and legitimacy to the show." CinemaBlend contributor Adrienne Jones wrote that the actress "helped her character display just the right amount of heart and saucy venom to engage in emotional verbal battles". Vox<nowiki/>'s Constance Grady believes that Bishop is "entitled" to an Emmy Award nomination for her performance, calling both her and Graham "extraordinarily gifted actresses who play beautifully against each other" and highlighting moments when Bishop "gets something to sink her teeth into". The critic also identified the season five episode "Emily Says Hello" during which her character sobs after returning home from a pleasant date as Bishop at her most "fantastic" and "extraordinary". Bishop's performance earned her two Golden Satellite Awards nominations for Best Actress in a Supporting Role – Musical or Comedy Series at the 7th and 8th Golden Satellite Awards in 2002 and 2004, respectively.
Reception towards Emily's characterization has varied greatly. In 2002, Zap2it contributor Amy Amatangelo named Emily one of television's "10 Best Characters", calling her relationship with Lorelai the show's "most gripping". Vanity Fair<nowiki/>'s Joanna Robinson felt that Emily was the only character whose personality was not harmed by the series' much-maligned seventh season. News.com.au's Gavin Fernando hailed Emily as "The Greatest Character Ever", describing her as "perfection" and criticizing the "painful" way in which she is depicted as a villain. Shari Nementzik of Cosmopolitan described the character's one-liners as "memorable", whose neurotic personality she eventually "learnt to love". David K. Li, writing for the New York Post, dubbed Emily quite possibly "the most unlikable mother on TV" but admitted she is the reason "the show feel[s] real." IndieWire ranked the character one of the least important Gilmore Girls characters at number 67, admitting "There are things about Emily that are nice. That are entertaining. That are admirable", but criticizing her for causing Lorelai and Luke to break up, among other reasons "why we have no patience with her behavior." Author Shannon Liz Miller also enjoyed watching Trix "dr[ive] Emily insane". Defending the character from some fans who "might not be so happy to see Emily make a return" in an article entitled "Why Emily Gilmore Is Better Than You Give Her Credit For", Bustle<nowiki/>'s Caitlin Flynn described her as "wonderful in a different way" from Lorelai and Rory, despite her flaws, commending her complexity and praising her one-liners. The author admitted that she did not appreciate Emily's character role until the show's fifth season, when she started watching to see what the character "would do next", crediting her complex nature with making her "such an amazing character" and her criticism of Shira Huntzberger with establishing her as "your favorite Gilmore girl of all time" before concluding "there really was no better reason to watch Gilmore Girls than Emily Gilmore herself." Emily's exchange with Shira is often identified as one of the character's finest moments. When the revival was announced, BuzzFeed's Krystie Lee Yandoli heralded the return of Emily "into our lives." Jenny Rogers, writing for The Washington Post, expected Emily to be "the only reason to watch the ‘Gilmore Girls’ revival", reevaluating her as a "great" character upon re-watching the original series while preferring her "biting" sense of humor over Lorelai and Rory’s. In a separate review, Bradley crowned Emily the "Real Star" of the revival and wrote that she "is back and better than ever", praising her development as "the only [character] who shows any semblance of personal growth". Refinery29<nowiki/>'s Anne Cohen echoed Bradley's sentiment, dubbing Emily "The Best Character In A Year In The Life" while highlighting her as "the only one who truly comes into her own." Praising her for excelling in both her characters "explosive" and quieter moments, the website joked, "If there’s an Emmy voter out there who doesn’t deem Bishop worthy of a long overdue nomination, we’d like to point you in the direction of Emily’s new favorite word: 'Bullshit.'"
TVLine's Michael Ausiello dubbed Bishop "a national treasure" for providing "the revival’s most crowd-pleasing moment." Shannon Vestal Robinson, writing for PopSugar, cited Emily among seven reasons Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life should be renewed for a second season, calling the character's role her "favorite character development for Emily ever". The jeans and T-shirt combination Emily wears in the revival has garnered significant attention from fans and the media since it was first seen in the trailer, with Mashable's Proma Khosla calling the outfit "legendary". Maben was surprised that the producers decided to include the scene in which Emily debuts the outfit in the trailer, at first assuming that they would have preferred to keep it as a surprise until the revival was released. Entertainment Weekly<nowiki/>'s Mandi Bierly wrote that fans remember Bishop "fondly" as Emily. Fans and the media have dubbed Emily "the third Gilmore girl". Bishop recalls being surprised when fans approach her to tell her how much the character reminds them of their own female relatives: "my mother, my aunt, my sister ... The only thing that makes me a little uncomfortable is when someone says you’re just like my wife." Grandparents.com included Emily among "The 22 Greatest TV Grandparents". Mental Floss compiled a list of the character's "Best Freak-Outs". Christopher Rosa of Glamour felt that "there isn't anything funny about a spoiled white person disposing of women working in her home like they aren't human beings." Amladi admitted that she struggles to determine if the writers intended for the running joke to be taken humorously or seriously. Ali of VH1 welcomed their relationship, believing that Berta "bring[s Emily] joy" after Richard's death.