Kelly Bishop

About

Kelly Bishop (born Carole Jane Bishop; on 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 originated 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. In 2023, she starred as Mrs. Ivey in The Watchful Eye (2023).

Bishop was born on February 28, 1944, in Colorado Springs, Colorado. She grew up in Denver, Colorado, where she trained to be a ballet dancer, and as a teenager, moved to California attending the San Jose Ballet School. At 18, 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.

Bishop moved to New York City to try to become a ballet dancer. Bishop’s big break came when she was cast as the sexy, hard-edged Sheila in the 1975 Broadway production of A Chorus Line, for which…