‘Gilmore Girls’: Linda Gehringer Recalls Fellow Actors Being Excited to Meet ‘Pennilyn Lott’
Linda Gehringer played an iconic but short-lived role in Gilmore Girls. The stage actor took on the part of Richard Gilmore’s much-discussed ex-fiancee Pennilyn Lott in a single episode of the series. Despite only appearing once, Gehringer’s character was a memorable one. So memorable, in fact, that she revealed a group of acting students were thrilled to meet her.
Who was Pennilyn Lott?
Pennilyn Lott appeared in the season 4 episode, “Ted Koppel’s Big Night Out,” but her name was mentioned several times before making an appearance. Pennilyn dated Richard Gilmore before he met Emily Gilmore. The duo was engaged, but presumably, Richard called it off to pursue Emily.
In the episode, Pennilyn, in a conversation with Lorelai Gilmore, made it clear that she knew more about Lorelai’s life than she should have. When Emily confronted Richard about it, he admitted he had been meeting his former love once a year for lunch for the entirety of his marriage. The revelation left Emily reeling, but Pennilyn never appeared again. She was, however, mentioned several episodes later in a telegram that Trix Gilmore sent Richard on the eve of his wedding to Emily.
Linda Gehringer said acting students were excited to meet her after her role in ‘Gilmore Girls’
An actor being recognized for a role in Gilmore Girls isn’t surprising. The show’s biggest fans know the series inside and out and can name most characters who appeared on the show, even those who appeared only briefly. Still, Linda Gehringer was surprised. Gehringer told Scott Patterson during an appearance on I Am All In that she was surprised when she was recognized as Pennilyn Lott. She told Patterson that she ran into a group of acting students who were super excited to meet her because of her role on Gilmore Girls. Gehringer stated that fans were excited to meet her. Thankfully, they weren’t judgemental about Pennilyn Lott, despite her status as the woman who came between Emily and Richard.
Gehringer went on to portray more significant roles since her brief stint on Gilmore Girls. She appeared, most recently, in Physical, but is often recognized for her appearances on Grey’s Anatomy and Justified. Before Gilmore Girls, Gehringer was best known for her work on Evening Shade. She played Fontana Beausoleil.
Linda Gehringer isn’t the only minor character actor who is still associated with their ‘Gilmore Girls’ role
Gehringer isn’t alone in her experience. She is far from the only actor who played a minor role in Gilmore Girls. She also isn’t the only actor to be recognized for a minor part. Max Greenfield, whose parts in Greek and New Girl were far more significant than his one-liner in Gilmore Girls, still gets recognized for the role.
In 2020, Greenfield said that he still gets tweets about playing Dean Forrester’s friend Luke in one Gilmore Girls episode. In the season 4 episode, Dean, drunk from a parking lot bachelor party, stumbles into Luke’s diner with friends. One of his friends points out that his name is Luke, just like the diner owner. That’s all Greenfield’s character said in the episode. The episode aired in 2004.
