The Third Gilmore Girl

Kelly Bishop’s long, storied career has been defined by landmark achievements, including her Tony Award–winning performance in the original Broadway cast of A Chorus Line and her memorable appearance as Jennifer Grey’s mother in Dirty Dancing, but it is her iconic role as the matriarch Emily in the ever-popular, groundbreaking television series Gilmore Girls that may well have defined her legacy. Gilmore Girls continues to garner audiences to this day, the series and Bishop herself remaining well-covered in media outlets. Even now, Bishop still takes on parts working alongside famed showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino in such shows as Bunheads and the hit series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, the final season of which just debuted in spring 2023. Each role enabled Kelly to create some of the most three-dimensional female characters “of a certain age” in an industry that has historically relegated actresses to simply the ingenue or the mother.

Bishop’s revealing memoir THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL delves into her life on the stage and behind the screen, sharing some of her greatest stories and life lessons. She will recount her early transition from dance to acting, winning a Tony, the hardship of marrying young to a compulsive gambler, the career moments that changed her life, losses of dear friends and colleagues, enduring her second husband’s battle with cancer and death, and marching for women’s rights, among many other pivotal experiences. Unlike some show business memoirs, THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL is not a dry, name-dropping exercise in listing

Kelly’s credits but rather a rich exploration of her highs and lows. It is the memoir of a smart, fearless, versatile performer whose talent and spirit have earned her an enduring place in pop culture history. With no interest in retiring, Kelly looks back on the seventy-nine years she's lived so far and ahead to her future with remarkable insight, perspective, and humor, beautifully captured in THE THIRD GILMORE GIRL. Including a generous collection of personal and professional photographs, this is a warm, unapologetic, spirited book spotlighting the unique voice of a woman whose roles have left indelible impressions on her audiences for decades—and she isn't done yet.