Lauren Graham and Melissa McCarthy gave fans plenty of friendship goals as Lorelai Gilmore and Sookie St. James on ‘Gilmore Girls‘. Turns out, their off-screen friendship has been just as fun.
More than two decades after meeting on the show, the pair are still close. And Graham has now revealed the wonderfully random Christmas tradition they kept going for years.
Lauren Graham Reveals Their ‘Gilmore Girls’ Christmas Tradition
McCarthy was honored at Variety’s 2026 Power of Women ceremony on September 23 for her work across TV and film. Graham presented the award and looked back at how their friendship started. “I met Melissa playing her pretend friend on Gilmore Girls. And we got to become friends in real life,” Graham began in her speech.
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Then came the story nobody could have guessed. Graham revealed that she and McCarthy used to take turns throwing cowboy-themed Christmas parties. Why cowboys? Apparently, even they have no idea. “Among the many festivities we shared over the years was the tradition of taking turns throwing a cowboy-themed Christmas party,” Graham said.
“I don’t know why this was the theme. Neither of us was from the South, and I don’t know any cowboys. But I still have a 10-gallon hat in my closet and photos of the Christmas where we hired a band called Cousin Lovers to play in my living room.”
Graham also remembered how McCarthy’s talent was “obvious” right from the start, saying she “brought levity and warmth” to the ‘Gilmore Girls‘ set. But seeing McCarthy perform with the Groundlings Sunday company showed Graham another side of her talent. And it became a moment she will “never forget.”
Graham Knew McCarthy Had Something Special
McCarthy’s Groundlings characters were anything but ordinary. “Whether she was playing a character who for no particular reason chugged ranch dressing or her character who warned you about the E.coli levels of your taco dish from Taco Bell, she made it work,” Graham said. “The characters were so original and invented and so, so funny. I wondered how the business of the world would ever discover and find a way to embrace the incredible range she had. The world and the business figured it out.”
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Graham also praised the “empathy, intelligence, originality” and “enormous amount of heart” McCarthy brings wherever she goes. “Those [are the] same skills that make her an exceptional performer and a generous philanthropist in a truly powerful way,” she added.
McCarthy had her own sweet throwback during her acceptance speech. She said it felt “special” to have Graham present the award because ‘Gilmore Girls‘ was one of her “very, very” first jobs. Back then, McCarthy was still learning how everything worked on set. She admitted she sometimes accidentally stole Graham’s light because “I could not find my mark to save my life.”
Graham could easily have called out those mistakes, but McCarthy remembers her doing the exact opposite. “Lauren was, of course, the star. And she could have thrown her power and pointed out my mistakes. But instead she was incredibly kind and funny and quietly helped me learn the ropes within the scene without breaking character,” McCarthy said. “Lauren was really one of my first lessons in how to yield power with grace and give patience. So thank you for that, Lauren.”
Years later, Graham and McCarthy’s friendship still feels like one of the sweetest things to come out of ‘Gilmore Girls‘. Between cowboy Christmas parties and plenty of love for Stars Hollow, the two clearly took more than just great careers away from the show.
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