Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) is one of the two central figures in Gilmore Girls, but how old is she at the beginning, end, and in A Year in the Life?

Gilmore Girls follows the lives of mother-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, and the age of the latter is an important factor in the show's story, both at the start and the end of the series. Rory is played by Alexis Bledel across both Gilmore Girls' original run and the Netflix revival, Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life, and her relationship with Lorelai (Lauren Graham) is the heart of the whole show.

On top of that, Rory's relationships with other characters, from her boyfriends such as Dean Forester (Jared Padalecki), Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), and Logan Huntzberger (Matt Czuchry), to her friendships with Lane Kim (Keiko Agena) and Paris Geller (Liza Weil), are explored too. Because of her age, Rory's development was much clearer to see in Gilmore Girls than many other characters, as her journey from being a teenager into a young adult is given such great focus. With that growth and change from high school to college and beyond being so integral, it makes Rory's age key - but what is it in the show?

When Gilmore Girls begins, which is set in the year 2000 (the same as release), Rory is 15-years-old, before quickly having her 16th birthday. This is addressed in season 1, episode 6, "Rory's Birthday Party", when an invite is sent out for her party revealing not only the date she was born, but even the exact time: October 8, 1984, at 04:03 AM. However, while this does line-up with most of the show, it does create a slight issue. In the Gilmore Girls pilot episode, when Lorelai is hit on by a guy at Luke's Diner, who then mentions a friend for Rory, Lorelai responds that "she's 16." Given Rory's birthday isn't for another few episodes, it's possible she's just rounding up, or that this was done simply for the pilot - there was no guarantee it'd be picked up for series when it was shot, and so making her 16 there might've made more sense.

Rory being 16 is a key decision for the story not just for how it allows the show to chart some of her most crucial formative years, but for the thematic parallels between her and Lorelai. The latter was 16-years-old when she had Rory, and so having her daughter be that age when Gilmore Girls begins means they can contrast the differences in each's upbringing, which factors not only into their dynamic, but also that of Rory with her grandparents too. The way Rory responds differently to Lorelai, and eventually embraces the more affluent side of her life, makes for some of the show's biggest dramatic swings.

When Gilmore Girls ended with season 7 back in 2007, Rory was graduating from Yale, and so was 22-years-old at this point (still a few months shy of her 23rd birthday). Again, it was an age that worked for the narrative and themes of the show, leaving Rory at an age where she could go off and become truly independent as an adult. Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life picked up almost a decade later, so Rory was 31 at the beginning, and then would've turned 32-years-old by the final episode, "Fall", since her birthday is October. That's where she announces to her mother that she's pregnant, bringing things full circle with Rory, about to have a baby, now the same age Lorelai was when Gilmore Girls started.

Next: Gilmore Girls: How Old Lorelai Is At The Beginning & End