Alicia Silverstone was born on October 4, 1976, in San Francisco, California, the youngest of three children to Monty Silverstone, a real-estate investor, and Didi Silverstone, a former flight attendant.
Alicia's career began at the tender age of six when her dad took some photos of his young daughter, which eventually led to her getting several television commercials. After a guest spot on "The Wonder Years" (1988) as a literal "dream girl" she moved on to movies.
She landed a role in The Crush (1993), a sort of Fatal Attraction (1987) for teenagers in which she portrayed a disturbed young girl obsessed with an older man. The nasty little role didn't impress the critical establishment but it wowed its target audience: teenagers. In fact, the role won her the 1994 MTV Movie Award for "Best Villain" and "Breakthrough Performance".
It is interesting to note that during the filming of the movie, Alicia became an emancipated minor in order to get around child labor laws which would have interfered with her working hours. She was a dedicated actress from early on. The film also caught the attention of Aerosmith, who hired her to appear in a string of their music videos. The first of them, "Cryin'", was voted the #1 video of all time on MTV.
Alexis Bledel made her television debut in "Gilmore Girls" (2000), after spending years in front of the camera as a model. Bledel's parents encouraged her to try community theater in Houston when she was 8 years old, hoping it would help their daughter overcome her shyness.
She went on to perform in productions of Our Town, The Wizard of Oz and Aladdin, and later was scouted in a local mall to model. She began her modeling career while still in high school, traveling all over to locations like Tokyo, Milan, New York and Los Angeles.
After graduating, she enrolled at NYU as a film major. In the Spring of 2000, Bledel landed a manager through her modeling agency and headed to Los Angeles for her first pilot season, where she quickly landed the coveted role of Rory on "Gilmore Girls" (2000).
When she's not working, Bledel enjoys writing, reading, shooting photography, going to the movies and spending time with her family.
