Lauren Graham’s Seinfeld Role, Explained

Gilmore Girls star Lauren Graham made an appearance on the 1990s sitcom Seinfeld and her character is part of a clever and unforgettable plotline.

Three years before her career-making role as Lorelai Gilmore on Gilmore Girls, Lauren Graham appeared on Seinfeld as a memorable character. While the sitcom follows Jerry (Jerry Seinfeld) and his friends Kramer (Michael Richards), George Costanza (Jason Alexander), and Elaine Benes (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) as they spend time together and complain about their lives in New York City, the main characters have a wide range of relatives and love interests, and many of these parts are played by now-famous actors. Several actors who appeared on the sitcom prior to playing their most notable roles include Bryan Cranston, Catherine Keener, Debra Messing, and Bob Odenkirk.

Although Graham is known for playing cool mothers like Lorelai Gilmore and Sarah Braverman on Parenthood, she also portrayed several sitcom characters in the 1990s, including graduate student Laurie on 3rd Rock From the Sun and Richard Karinsky’s (Malcolm Gets) girlfriend Shelley on Caroline in the City. Graham’s Seinfeld role is an example of the light-hearted and humorous characters she has continued to take on.

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Lauren Graham Played Valerie On Seinfeld

Lauren Graham played Jerry’s girlfriend Valerie in season 8, episode 20, “The Millennium.” She is funnier than most of his love interests, as she changes the order of people on her speed dial. She takes this very seriously, Jerry is sad when he’s moved from 7 to 9. While Jerry has some relationships that last, he and Valerie aren’t meant to be, and in an amusing storyline, Jerry and Valerie’s stepmother Mrs. Hamilton (Louan Gideon) argue over being number 1. In a smart twist, Mrs. Hamilton puts Jerry’s number under “poison control,” and when she becomes ill after eating salsa, Valerie is upset to hear Jerry’s voice on the phone.

Valerie’s storyline is compelling since Jerry typically looks for faults in the women he dates, and he struggles to find someone who he thinks is perfect enough to be in a long-term relationship with. Even though she doesn’t appear for longer than this one episode, Valerie is a confident and opinionated person who doesn’t care that Jerry is upset about her speed dial decisions. Like Lorelai, she has quirks that she is proud of.

Valerie Exposes Jerry’s Desire To Be Liked

Valerie stands out because while Jerry finds hilarious reasons to break up with his girlfriends, she is the one who ends their romance. She proves how insecure Jerry is and how much he wants to be liked by others, which makes her one of his most important love interests. He attempts to wow her with a romantic date, thinking that this will force her to change his speed dial position, and while this works out, he ultimately sabotages himself.

Although Jerry never learns his lesson, which is what sets Seinfeld apart from other sitcoms, he could definitely take something important away from his relationship with Valerie: that he shouldn’t focus on what other people think of him. His fixation with speed dial ruins his chance at finding love with Valerie, and she is right to think that Jerry should be more mature.

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