Rory Gilmore

Rory Gilmore is a bookish sixteen-year-old in Stars Hollow, Connecticut, closer to her mother Lorelai than to anyone else in her life. She's just gotten into Chilton, a rigorous prep school that will test her against richer, sharper kids. She's studious, sweet-natured, and quietly ambitious, dreaming of becoming a journalist.

The writing lets her be genuinely, unfashionably good—kind, curious, a little naive—without ever making her dull, because the dialogue she's handed is as fast and reference-stuffed as her mother's. Bledel plays her with a stillness that lets you watch her actually think, so her small rebellions and crushes land with real weight.