Bledel was born in Houston, Texas. Her mother, Nanette, is Mexican, and her father, Martin Bledel, is Argentine; her father's family were Danish immigrants to Argentina. She has one younger brother, Eric, born 1986. Her first language is Spanish, and she did not learn English until she began school. In fact, her Sisterhood co-star America Ferrera was surprised during an interview with a Spanish magazine when Bledel started speaking Spanish.[citation needed] Bledel's mother encouraged her to try community theater when she was a child to overcome her shyness.[3] She subsequently appeared in local productions of Our Town and The Wizard of Oz before being scouted at a local mall and given work as a fashion model. She attended St. Agnes Academy in Houston and is Roman Catholic. She went to Page Parkes Center for Modeling and Acting and majored in film at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts for one year. She previously had appeared in the film Rushmore as an extra in four scenes.
Bledel made her TV debut on The WB series Gilmore Girls in 2000. She portrayed Rory Gilmore, the daughter of single mother Lorelai Gilmore. Initially, Rory was a high school student living with her mother, but later moved on to college at Yale University, where she, among other things, worked as the editor of the Yale Daily News. Bledel has said that she feels she can relate in some ways to Rory, both when it comes to some personal traits and her relationship to her own parents. She also sees the family structure and mother-daughter relationship on the show as something to which many people can relate. In 2002, Bledel was voted one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25". She appeared as the main character in the video for Less Than Jake's "She's Gonna Break Soon", lead single from their 2003 album Anthem. The single charted at number 39 on the UK charts. In 2005, she starred in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants based on the book by Ann Brashares. She played Lena Kaligaris, a talented artist on a journey with her three best friends, linked over the summer by a pair of magical jeans.
In 2005, Bledel made a shift from previous TV and film characters while portraying Becky, a prostitute, in the movie Sin City. "She's a very professional prostitute. She carries a gun and she kicks ass," said Bledel of Becky. Sin City is shot almost entirely in black-and-white, with splashes of color here and there, such as a red dress, blood or an entirely yellow evil character. In Becky's case, it was her eyes that kept their color, as director Robert Rodriguez claimed that he found Bledel's eyes to be "so amazing I had to keep them blue in the picture."
In the summer of 2007, Bledel wrapped filming of The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants sequel. It has been announced that Bledel will star in The Post Grad Survival Guide as Ryden Malby. She has recently been cast in a new movie entitled The Letters, which is anticipated to be released in 2009. The Letters is a drama / thriller film by director Todd Fjelsted and is currently in pre-production. Bledel is set to star opposite Scott Porter in the upcoming film The Good Guy, also due for a 2009 release. In this, Porter plays a Wall Street businessman whose life begins to fall apart when he helps out a new salesman. Bledel will play Beth, Porter's girlfriend. Anna Chlumsky of My Girl will play her friend.
Bledel enjoys reading, hiking, taking photographs and spending time with her family and friends. She also likes to play the piano. Between scenes on Gilmore Girls, she headed to her trailer to play her keyboard. She also works with First Book, a nonprofit organization, which gives books to the poor. After drinking so much coffee due to her character Rory's strong appreciation for it on the first season of Gilmore Girls, she became sick of it. When Rory "drinks coffee," Bledel is drinking tea or Coca-Cola instead. She was ranked #87 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2005. She dated her Gilmore Girls co-star Milo Ventimiglia for three and a half years, beginning around December 2002, before separating sometime before July 2006.
During an appearance on Late Night With Conan O'Brien, on April 25, 2006, Bledel revealed that she loves traveling to Europe, and that she has already been to the Tuscany region of Italy and loved it. In that same appearance, she also stated that she likes all types of foods, from gourmet cuisine to fast food specialities. In an appearance on Late Show with David Letterman, she revealed that she plays recreational soccer. Her team is called "The Hustlers". Although she admits to not being so athletic in the past, she said that this soccer team was a fun way to stay in good shape and have fun at the same time.