Kimberly Alexis Bledel (/bləˈdɛl/ blə-DEL; born September 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Rory Gilmore on the television series Gilmore Girls (2000–2007), and Emily Malek in The Handmaid's Tale (2017–2021). Bledel also had a recurring role in Mad Men in 2012 and reprised her role as Rory Gilmore in the Netflix reunion miniseries Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life (2016).

Bledel made her feature film debut as Winnie Foster in the Disney live action adaptation of Tuck Everlasting (2002), and went on to appear in Sin City (2005), Post Grad (2009), and as Lena Kaligaris in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) and its sequel (2008).

Bledel has received various awards and nominations for her work. For her role in Gilmore Girls, she received nominations for Satellite, Teen Choice and Young Artist Awards. For her role in The Handmaid's Tale she has received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations, winning Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series. She has also received three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Drama Series.

Early life and family
Bledel was born on September 16, 1981 in Houston, Texas, to Nanette (née Dozier), who worked as a gift processor and flight attendant, and Martín Bledel. She has a younger brother, Eric. Her father is Argentinian. Her mother was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and her family moved back to Mexico, at the age of eight. Her paternal grandfather, Enrique Einar Bledel Huus, was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and was of Danish and German descent; Enrique was Vice President of Coca-Cola Latin America and the Coca-Cola Inter-American Corporation. Bledel's paternal grandmother, Jean (née Campbell), was originally from New York and had Scottish, Irish and English ancestry. Of her parents' upbringing in Latin America, Bledel said: "It's the only culture my mom knows from life, and my father as well, and they made the decision to raise their children within the context they had been raised in." Bledel grew up in a Spanish-speaking household, and did not learn English until she began school. She identifies as Latina.

Bledel attended Baptist and Lutheran schools, and graduated from the Catholic St. Agnes Academy in Houston in 1999. Her mother encouraged her to try community theater to overcome her shyness. As a child, Bledel appeared in local productions of Our Town and The Wizard of Oz. She was scouted at a local shopping mall and given work as a fashion model. Bledel attended NYU before dropping out after being cast in Gilmore Girls at the age of 18.