Emily Gilmore
Emily Gilmore (born circa 1944) is a fictional character on the television series Gilmore Girls, played by Kelly Bishop.
Emily Gilmore is a Protestant, conservative member of New England society and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution and Junior League. She was raised by a strict social code and graduated with a degree in History from Smith College, one of the "Seven Sisters". After she married, she dedicated herself to furthering her husband Richard's career. As a result, she spends much of her time arranging charity events, and she is very concerned with propriety and appearances. She is difficult to please, and is incapable of keeping a maid very long no matter how well she pays them. They quit or are fired in rapid succession for reasons like singing or walking too heavily. Many people have judged her to be a snobbish, haughty and highly opinionated woman. There is a softer, more caring side to Emily, but it is often obscured by her aforementioned snobbish persona.
Emily is heavily involved in Hartford society. Besides being a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, she is also a member of the Symphony Fundraising Committee, the President of the Horticultural Society, and a Co-Chair of the Starlight Foundation. She is a board member on the Hartford Zoological Silent Auction, the Mark Twain House Restoration Fund Luncheon, and the Harriet Beecher Stowe Literacy Auction.
Richard Gilmore first took her on a date while he was a student at Yale University, to the Yale Center for British Art, after she attracted his attention at a fraternity party. Richard broke off his engagement to Pennilyn Lott (whom Emily considered unworthy of Richard) in order to marry Emily.
- Emily: Well, you couldn't marry Linny Lott. That woman needed directions to get to a point.
- —Season 3, Ep. 8 "Let the Games Begin"
In season 4 it was revealed that Richard had been having yearly lunches with Pennilyn Lott since his marriage to Emily, which upset her greatly. His mother, Lorelai "Trix" Gilmore, disapproved of the marriage and tried to talk her son out of going through with the wedding all the way up to the day before the ceremony. She harassed and intimidated Emily during all of her infrequent visits. After Trix dies, Emily discovers a letter Trix wrote to Richard on his wedding day asking him not to marry Emily, which causes her emotional distress. It further damages her marriage with Richard, almost leading to divorce.
Emily and Richard had one child, Lorelai, whom they tried to raise in a manner befitting people of their social position, but Lorelai was rebellious. She got pregnant at 16, right before her society debut, gave birth to Emily's sole grandchild Rory, and ran away from their home in Hartford, Connecticut a year later, which deeply saddened Emily (according to Richard, she couldn't get out of bed for a month after they found Lorelai was gone). Emily had very limited contact with her daughter for most of her adult life, and though they have gotten to know each other better as adults, they still have a somewhat strained relationship, but Emily clearly loves Lorelai and only wants what is best for her and Rory although Lorelai can't see this. While they share many fights and battles some rare tender scenes throughout the seasons show that Emily Gilmore clearly loves her daughter - and vice versa. One constant source of discord between them involves the matter of Christopher Hayden, Rory's father: despite Chris's shortcomings, Emily always pushed Lorelai to pursue a relationship with him in their adulthood, so that their family can finally be together, only to be frustrated as either Lorelai or Chris failed to take the necessary step to make it happen.
Emily sometimes meddles in Lorelai's life because, viewing Lorelai as living in a state of arrested development, judges that Lorelai is still unable to differentiate what is and is not best for herself, so Emily takes matters into her own hands to "correct" the situation, viewing it as simply an exercise in "tough love". Such an example of this is when she tried to break up Lorelai from Luke Danes, the gruff, burly diner owner, whom Emily felt was not good enough for Lorelai (being something of a classist and an elitist).
By Season six she more or less accepted Lorelai and Luke as a couple, even going so far as to offer to buy them a home for after they marry; when Lorelai announced that she had broken up with Luke, neither Emily nor Richard showed much of an interest, whether out of a disdain for Luke an attempt to be sensitive to Lorelai is unclear. Emily always dotes on Rory(She being their only Grandchild), however, and she and Richard made it financially possible for Rory to attend the exclusive Chilton Preparatory school as well as Yale University. They also gave her a 2003 Toyota Prius as her high school graduation gift.Emily often tries to bring Rory into the wealthy lifestyle to which she was born, which angers Lorelai.
Emily and Richard were separated during Season 5, and Emily even tried dating another man, Simon McLane (Larry Pine). Though the date went well, it primarily made Emily realize how much she missed Richard. They soon reconciled and renewed their vows.
- Emily: I'm just so nervous, I can't think.
- Lorelai: Why are you nervous?
- Emily: I'm getting married!
- Lorelai: For the second time. Mom, it's a pretend wedding. J.Lo has them all the time!
- —Season 5, Ep. 13 "Wedding Bell Blues"
In Season 6 Emily and Richard took Rory into their house after she had dropped out of Yale and had been arguing with Lorelai. When Rory moved out again, she got into a conflict with her grandparents, and her grandmother in particular, partly because Rory felt controlled by Emily, just like her mother had many years earlier. Emily was very upset and discribed it as being how she felt when Lorelai had left years earlier.
- Emily: You are becoming more like your mother with every passing day.
- Rory: And you are becoming more like my mother's mother with every passing day!
- Emily: That's it, that's it!
- Rory: What's it?
- Emily: You're grounded!
- Rory: Grounded?
- Emily: Yes!
- Rory: I'm twenty-one! You can't ground me.
- Emily: And no more sleepovers at Paris' house.
- Rory: Grandma, I go wherever I want, whenever I want! And I haven't been sleeping at Paris' house three nights a week! I've been at Logan's!
- Emily: When your father gets home, we're going to talk about the house rules and be on the same page once and for all!
- Rory: You mean my grandfather.
- Emily: You know what I meant!
- —Season 6, Ep. 08 "Let Me Hear Your Balalaikas Ringing Out"
Some of the issues that had to be worked out were somehow solved in episode 6.13 "Friday Night's Alright for Fighting", but things still are not completely all right between them.