Kelly Bishop - wikipedia Kelly Bishop Kelly Bishop Bishop at the ATX TV Festival 2015 for the TV show Gilmore Girls Carole Bishop ( 1944 - 02 - 28 ) February 28, 1944 ( age 73 ) Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA Residence South Orange, New Jersey Occupation Actress, dancer Years active 1962 -- present Spouse ( s ) Peter Miller ( divorced ) Lee Leonard ( 1981 - present ) Carole `` Kelly '' Bishop ( born February 28, 1944 ) is an American actress and dancer, best known for her roles as matriarch Emily Gilmore on the series Gilmore Girls and as Marjorie Houseman, the mother of Jennifer Grey 's Frances `` Baby '' Houseman in the film Dirty Dancing. Bishop created the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical. She also starred as Fanny Flowers in the ABC Family short - lived comedy - drama series Bunheads. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 4.3 Theater 5 References 6 External links Early Life Bishop was born in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to Jane Lenore ( née Wahtola ) and Lawrence Boden Bishop. She grew up in Denver, Colorado, where she trained to be a ballet dancer, attending American Ballet Theatre 's Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School and the San Jose Ballet School. At eighteen, she headed to New York City and landed her first job dancing in a year - round ballet company at Radio City Music Hall. Bishop continued to dance in Las Vegas, summer stock and on television until she was cast in 1967 in Golden Rainbow, her first Broadway role. Career Bishop 's big break came when she was cast as the sexy, hard - edged Sheila in the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Her performance earned her the 1976 Tony Award as `` Best Supporting or Featured Actress ( Musical ) '' as well as the 1976 Drama Desk Award for `` Outstanding Actress in a Musical ''. She also acted in the Broadway productions of Six Degrees of Separation, Neil Simon 's Proposals, the Tony Award - winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Bus Stop. It was n't long before she was cast opposite Jill Clayburgh in Paul Mazursky 's big - screen drama An Unmarried Woman ( 1978 ). Bishop was initially cast in a much smaller part in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, but was called upon to play Mrs. Houseman when Lynne Lipton, the actress assigned the role, fell ill during the first week of shooting. Bishop went on to play a `` mom '' to high - profile stars in features : Howard Stern 's in the Betty Thomas - directed comedy Private Parts ( 1997 ), and Tobey Maguire 's in Wonder Boys ( 2000 ). Additional feature credits include Ich und Er ( USA : Me and Him, 1988 ), Queens Logic ( 1991 ), Café Society ( 1995 ), Miami Rhapsody ( 1995 ) and Blue Moon ( 2002 ). On television, Bishop starred in the Mike Nichols ' The Thorns opposite Tony Roberts and Marilyn Cooper. She played Lisa Ann Walter 's mother on My Wildest Dreams. She has guest - starred on Kate & Allie, Law & Order, Law & Order : Special Victims Unit and Murphy Brown. From 2000 to 2007, Bishop starred in the CW Television Network series Gilmore Girls as wealthy New England matriarch Emily Gilmore, mother of Lorelai and grandmother of Rory. Bishop was in Becky Shaw at the Second Stage Theatre in 2008. She then performed briefly in the 2011 revival of Anything Goes alongside Sutton Foster and Joel Grey. She replaced Jessica Walter in the role of Evangeline Harcourt. Bishop co-starred as Fanny Flowers on the ABC Family program Amy Sherman - Palladino 's Bunheads, in which she reunited with Sutton Foster. The show was canceled after one season. She returned to the role of Emily Gilmore in the miniseries Gilmore Girls : A Year in the Life ( 2016 ) on Netflix. Personal Life Bishop resides in South Orange, New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, TV talk show host Lee Leonard. Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1966 Step Out of Your Mind Missy Linden 1978 Unmarried Woman, An An Unmarried Woman Elaine 1982 O'Hara's Wife Beth Douglas 1986 Solarbabies Tutor Nover Dirty Dancing Marjorie Houseman 1988 Me and Him Eleanor Aramis 1991 Queens Logic Maria Six Degrees of Separation Adele 1995 Miami Rhapsody Zelda 1995 Cafe Society Mrs. Jelke 1997 Private Parts Ray Stern 1999 My X-Girlfriend's Wedding Reception Sylvia Wienstein 2000 Blue Moon Peggy 's Mother 2000 Wonder Boys Amanda Leer 2011 Friends with Kids Marcy Fryman 2011 Novel Romance, AA Novel Romance Lily Sparks 2014 Saint Janet Janet Television Year Title Role Notes 1976 Hawaii Five - 0 Char Episode : `` Oldest Profession - Latest Price '' 1981 Advice to the Lovelorn Rita Borden TV film 1982 Hart to Hart Laura Episode : `` Hart of Diamonds '' New Odd Couple, The The New Odd Couple Charity Episode : `` Murray 's Hot Date '' 1984 Kate & Allie Paulette Episode : `` Baby '' 1985 Recovery Room, The The Recovery Room Kaye Brenner TV film As the World Turns Grace Wescott Andrews TV series 1988 Thorns, The The Thorns Ginger Thorn Main role ( 12 episodes ) One Life to Live Serena Wyman 1 episode 1990 Baby - Sitters Club, The The Baby - Sitters Club Flora Episode : `` Claudia and the Secret Passage '' 1992 ABC Afterschool Special Roxanne Holden Episode : `` Summer Stories : The Mall - Part 1 '' 1992 Law & Order Marian Borland Episode : `` Intolerance '' 1992 Murphy Brown Connie Silverberg Episode : `` Me Thinks My Parents Doth Protest Too Much '' 1995 All My Children Freida Landau TV series 1995 My Wildest Dreams Gloria James Recurring role ( 5 episodes ) One Life to Live Dr. Robbins 1 episode 2000 Law & Order : Special Victims Unit Registrar Episode : `` Slaves '' 2000 -- 2007 Gilmore Girls Emily Gilmore Main role ( 110 episodes ) 2008 -- 2009 Law & Order : Special Victims Unit Julia Zimmer 2 episodes 2009 Army Wives Jean Calhoun Episode : `` Operation : Tango '' Mercy Lauren Kempton 4 episodes Good Wife, The The Good Wife Mrs. Kent ( voice ) Episode : `` VIP Treatment '' ; uncredited 2012 -- 2013 Bunheads Fanny Flowers Main role ( 13 episodes ) 2015 Sex&Drugs&Rock&Roll Elizabeth Episode : `` Supercalifragilisticjuliefriggingandrews '' 2015 Flesh and Bone Episode : `` F.U.B.A.R. '' 2015 -- 2016 The Good Wife Bea Wilson 2 episodes 2016 Gilmore Girls : A Year in the Life Emily Gilmore Main role ( 4 episodes ) Theater Year Show Role Notes 1968 Golden Rainbow Cat - Girl / Dancer Shubert Theatre 1968 Promises, Promises Clancy 's Lounge Patron / Company Nurse Shubert Theatre 1968 Precious Sons Bea ( standby ) 1971 On the Town Dance Ensemble Imperial Theatre A Chorus Line Sheila Shubert Theatre Originated role Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Musical 1990 Six Degrees of Separation Kitty / Ouisa Vivian Beaumont Theater Replacement Bus Stop Grace Hoylard Short revival, 29 performances 1997 The Last Night of Ballyhoo Boo Levy Helen Hayes Theatre Replacement 1997 Proposals Annie Robbins Broadhurst Theatre 2011 Anything Goes Mrs. Evangeline Harcourt Stephen Sondheim Theatre August 9, 2011 - January 15, 2012 References Jump up ^ `` Profile at FilmReference.com ''. filmreference. 2008. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 06. Jump up ^ `` Kelly Bishop Biography ''. Yahoo ! Movies. 2008. Retrieved 2008 - 07 - 06. Jump up ^ `` ' Gilmore Girls ' reunion : Kelly Bishop joins Amy Sherman - Palladino 's new ABC Family show -- EXCLUSIVE ''. EW.com. Retrieved 2012 - 04 - 21. Jump up ^ `` THEATER ; Two Mature Lives on Stage and Screen, Now Playing in New Jersey '', The New York Times, September 19, 1999. `` She and her husband, Lee Leonard, the host of Jersey Talking on News 12 in Edison, have been living in South Orange for four years. '' Jump up ^ Worth - Baker, Marcia. `` Mother 's Always Right : played the mother many times over '', Maplewood Matters, accessed April 22, 2007. `` Ask Kelly Bishop, South Orange resident and star of Gilmore Girls, what drew her to the role of Emily Gilmore, and she recalls, ' The pilot was simply the best script I ever read. ' '' External links Kelly Bishop at AllMovie Kelly Bishop at the Internet Broadway Database Kelly Bishop at Internet Off - Broadway Database Kelly Bishop on IMDb Kelly Bishop cast bio on The CW Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical ( 1976 -- 2000 ) Kelly Bishop ( 1976 ) Delores Hall ( 1977 ) Nell Carter ( 1978 ) Carlin Glynn ( 1979 ) Priscilla Lopez ( 1980 ) Marilyn Cooper ( 1981 ) Liliane Montevecchi ( 1982 ) Betty Buckley ( 1983 ) Lila Kedrova ( 1984 ) Leilani Jones ( 1985 ) Bebe Neuwirth ( 1986 ) Frances Ruffelle ( 1987 ) Judy Kaye ( 1988 ) Debbie Shapiro ( 1989 ) Randy Graff ( 1990 ) Daisy Eagan ( 1991 ) Tonya Pinkins ( 1992 ) Andrea Martin ( 1993 ) Audra McDonald ( 1994 ) Gretha Boston ( 1995 ) Ann Duquesnay ( 1996 ) Lillias White ( 1997 ) Audra McDonald ( 1998 ) Kristin Chenoweth ( 1999 ) Karen Ziemba ( 2000 ) Complete list ( 1950 -- 1975 ) ( 1976 -- 2000 ) ( 2001 -- 2025 ) VIAF : 32198315 LCCN : n97868855 GND : 103521475X BNF : cb140378514 ( data ) MusicBrainz : 48d90f95 - a7b6 - 4b5f - b043 - 277debac808b BNE : XX4951610 Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Kelly_Bishop&oldid=803075024 '' Categories : American female dancers Dancers from New Jersey American film actresses American television actresses Actresses from Colorado Actresses from New Jersey Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School alumni Drama Desk Award winners Actresses from Boulder, Colorado Actresses from Colorado Springs, Colorado People from South Orange, New Jersey Theatre World Award winners Tony Award winners 1944 births Living people American stage actresses 20th - century American actresses 21st - century American actresses Dancers from Colorado Hidden categories : Articles with hCards Articles with IBDb links Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Čeština Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Español فارسی Français 한국어 Italiano Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Suomi Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 30 September 2017, at 08 : 36. 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Question: who played baby's mother in the original dirty dancing
Answer: Carole "Kelly" Bishop