Milo Ventimiglia Gilmore Girls 25th anniversary Jess Mariano, Digi Mart USA News: It has been 25 years since Gilmore Girls fans first met Jess Mariano, and Milo Ventimiglia says he still can’t quite believe it.
Viewers first met the character on October 25, 2001, in the season 2 episode “Nick & Nora/Sid & Nancy.” Jess quickly became a fan favorite, and his journey from a brooding teenager to an empathetic author and publisher was celebrated throughout the show’s seven-season run. The role also gave Ventimiglia his big break, and he later went on to star in Heroes, This Is Us and other projects.
In an interview with Good Housekeeping, Ventimiglia said he was shocked by how much time has passed since he first began portraying Jess. Speaking over Zoom while promoting his new Netflix film, A Dog’s Perfect Christmas, he said, “2001—wow.
So, that was 25 years ago—it’s my Gilmore Girls anniversary. That’s pretty massive, because I was 24 when I filmed that.
So, to know that more years have passed than I was old, that’s pretty crazy.”
Ventimiglia also reflected on how impressed he is that fans still gravitate toward both the show and his character. He credited creators Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, saying they had written something “evergreen” that resonates regardless of a viewer’s age or where they start watching.
“I think everybody just has this common love of it, and I don’t know that that’s ever going to go away, which I think is pretty cool,” he said. “I love that people still embrace it, and they like Jess.”
