Broadway to Stars Hollow: Kelly Bishop Dishes on Her New Memoir, 'Gilmore Girls' and Her Incredible Story (EXCLUSIVE)

Acclaimed actress Kelly Bishop is known for her iconic roles in Broadway’s A Chorus Line, the hit movie Dirty Dancing, and the beloved TV series Gilmore Girls as Emily Gilmore, but she didn’t always plan to grace the silver screen. Bishop started her career in the entertainment industry as a dancer, working up to her Broadway debut in 1975. The Tony-award winning star went on to play memorable roles like Marjorie Houseman (Baby’s mom) in Dirty Dancing and the icy matriarch Emily Gilmore in Gilmore Girls for seven seasons. Now, Bishop, 80, reveals that fans and friends alike, including Gilmore Girls creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, had been encouraging her to write a memoir for years — and she finally did. Today marks the release of her long-awaited memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl. 

“Once Amy knew about the memoir, she sent me a text and said ‘If you want me to write a foreword to your book I’d be happy to,’” Bishop tells FIRST. “I was so delighted with how it turned out.” Bishop’s memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl, out today, chronicles her childhood, her inspiring life in show business, her marriage to Lee Leonard, her experience playing Emily Gilmore (including her favorite episodes!) and so much more. 

First for Women had the chance to sit down with Bishop ahead of her memoir’s release to ask questions about the book, the writing process — which she described as “a trip down memory lane that felt like a long diary entry of my life” — and what her very first impression of Lauren Graham was on the Gilmore Girls set. Keep reading to find out the answers!

First for Women: Thank you for taking the time to talk with FIRST! Before we dive into the book, I’d love to hear a little backstory about the memoir. What was the process like for you?

Kelly Bishop: Over the years, so many people have told me to write a memoir! I came to a place where I finally thought, “Maybe because I talk so much and this is everyone’s way to say ‘shut up and write a book.’” But really, I had a wonderful time working on it. I think anybody would. The whole process is a trip down memory lane — it feels like a long diary entry of your life. It was really a fascinating process. I enjoyed it so much.

FFW: I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes anecdotes from 'A Chorus Line' — which is based on your life! What was that experience like for you at the time? It must’ve been so exciting.

Kelly Bishop: Well, during this time in the ‘70s, I was in the process of trying to transition from being a dancer to an actor. This was partly because you can only dance so long, it’s like being an athlete. You're going to hit a point where you can't do it as well as you once did. I was in the process of trying to figure out how I could make that work around the same time the theater group got together to fiddle around with the idea of these workshop sessions, and then Michael Bennett got involved — that’s how A Chorus Line started. And I was like, ‘well, there it is, right there.’ That's what I was hoping for, and there it was. I had no idea if the show would be a hit, and frankly, I didn't care. For me, it was about honing my acting skills. Then, of course, it turned into the biggest hit in Broadway history, at that time — and it was just amazing. 

FFW: After 'A Chorus Line', what was the experience like heading from New York to Los Angeles? Was there a specific moment you knew you wanted to step off the stage and into Hollywood as an actor? 

Kelly Bishop: I had been out there before — I’d done a few guest spots and a couple of pilots over the years. And so it wasn't frightening, but very serendipitously, my agent in New York was trying to connect with an agent in Los Angeles. You really do need an agent. It's hard to have a successful career without one. And she found this agency, and they took me around. I was newly married. My husband was going out there to work for CNN a lot, so we were going out there for him, and in my mind, I’m telling myself ‘Okay, now here's my door.’ I got enough work to the point where I knew this was going to work out. 

FFW: You talk so fondly of your husband Lee and how you two supported one another in the book. Do you think that kind of support from a loved one helps when trying to achieve big goals?

Kelly Bishop: Definitely. The nice thing was that he always understood the weirdness of our schedules because he was in broadcasting. We were always there to support one another no matter what and we balanced each other out really nicely. 

FFW: In the book, you describe the day you got the part as Baby’s mom in 'Dirty Dancing'. I found it so interesting that you got the part and they told you, you had to “start today." What was that like?

Kelly Bishop: When I got the part for Dirty Dancing, I had never done a film from beginning to end! I was always the new kid on the block. You come in, you do a scene, you go away, you come back. And this movie afforded me the opportunity to really be a part of the whole process and that's exactly what I was hoping for. I thought, ‘okay, here's another great opportunity.’

FFW: Were you nervous? How does one harness that kind of confidence on the spot?

Kelly Bishop: I have a lot of faith. I'm not a religious person. I mean, I borrow from religions all over the place, but I’m spiritual. I have a tremendous amount of faith in the universe, in my creator, my guardian angel if I have one. So, I have a lot of trust that way, and I follow my instincts. That's one of the strongest things for me, is to follow your instincts. I mean this could be when you’re walking down the street by yourself, or whatever. If you say, ‘This doesn't feel right. I don't think I want to go that way.’ Then don't. Go the other way because your instincts are telling you something. I let my instinct guide me a lot, but I also weigh the pros and the cons when I’m facing a decision. If I get a job offer, I will list them all out. Well, this is the good stuff about it, and this is all bad stuff about it. Once you’ve gone through all that, circle back to your instinct again. What's your gut reaction on this? That's something I've always followed, but that really comes from a profound faith or trust in a higher power. 

FFW: Let’s talk 'Gilmore Girls'. I love how you described meeting Lauren Graham for the first time. What was your first impression of Lauren? It seems like your friendship blossomed from the start!

Kelly Bishop: I mean, she was gorgeous, confident, very warm, very open. She's highly intelligent and she's very accomplished in what she does. She also had such an understanding of the process of shooting a scene. She just exuded such confidence when we first met and she was very comfortable with herself. She was certainly deeply interested in what she was doing and took it very seriously, too. But it was her confidence that was very comforting to me — it helps other people feel confident. She’s quite a remarkable woman. I really adore her. 

FFW: In the book, you talk about a few episodes including 'Wedding Bell Blues' and the episode where Lorelei and Emily go to the spa. The spa episode reveals a lot about Emily Gilmore’s character and how she’s actually very endearing…would you say those are two of your favorite episodes?

Kelly Bishop: Oh, I like the spa episode a lot. And of course, 'Wedding Bell Blues' because it’s the episode where Emily and Richard renew their vows — and Ed Herrmann was one of the nicest people to work with ever. We were so comfortable with each other because we were both New York actors and around the same age. But there was another episode that I call “The Tennessee Williams.” It was the episode where Emily, who's always so proper and put together with her beautiful suits and well-groomed look, suddenly starts drinking because she finds out what Richard’s mother said to him the night before they married. After that, she's just all over the place and it's very funny. It just reminded me of a Tennessee Williams play. I loved whenever Amy would do that — when she would take something with Emily, and then she'd go off in some other surprising directions.

FFW: Is there anything you want to share with the 'Gilmore Girls' fandom? Maybe a favorite behind-the-scenes moment or memory from shooting the Netflix revival?

Kelly Bishop: Shooting the revival was terrific. And, of course, it was sad because Ed was gone, but the fact is, we will always miss him. He was just such a marvelous man and a wonderful actor. But because he had passed away, it gave Emily a whole new life and a whole new story that wouldn't have happened otherwise. And I think because Amy's father had passed away a couple of years before, and she'd been very close to him, she channeled the experience she had with her mother and her mother's grief over this loss. I think she was able to put a lot of that into Emily's story because she deserves it. And that was really helpful. I really enjoyed those four episodes because they gave me so much to do with the Emily Gilmore character.

FFW: I also have to ask…is there any mention or murmuring of a part two of the revival?

Kelly Bishop: I mean, I don't run into a lot of people who talk to me about Gilmore Girls just because I'm kind of private and I live a very ordinary life if I'm not doing something professional. But yes, people have asked me, but I don't know a thing. But if they were to film another reunion, you would absolutely without a question have to have Lauren and Alexis and you would also have to have Scott Patterson and me. You would have to have those four people really willing to do it. I'm not certain that would ever come together again…but also, you never know. 

FFW: Did you learn more about yourself while writing and publishing this memoir?

Kelly Bishop: Not really during the process of writing, but as I sort of explained my life and people pointed things out to me, that's when I stepped back and learned something. And that's why I'm better able to define my philosophy now. For instance, the instinct story. By stepping back and looking at it as a book now, I also think how fortunate I've been. I mean, it's just amazing to me how lucky I've been and I don't take it for granted.

Don’t miss Kelly Bishop’s memoir, The Third Gilmore Girl, where she shares her inspiring journey from Broadway’s A Chorus Line to her role as Emily Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. The book is available now.

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