Gilmore Girls fans know the entangled love stories of its stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel, but did you know that one key actor once dated Johnny Depp?
Sherilyn Fenn was known to many for her Emmy-nominated work in Twin Peaks but to many millennials she is better known for portraying not one but two characters during her stint in Gilmore Girls.
Who was Sherilyn Fenn in Gilmore Girls?
In season three, she played Sasha, the bubbly girlfriend of Jess Mariano's estranged dad Jimmy, while in seasons six and seven, Sherilyn was recast as Anna Nardini, the mom of Luke’s daughter April.
1980s romances
Sherilyn got her start in the 1980s though, during which time she dated "Purple Rain" singer Prince before appearing in a short film in 1985 called Dummies with Johnny.
© Sherilynn FennThe pair were together for three years, and it's clear that their time together has stayed with the actress, as in June she wished the actor a happy birthday and recalled how he was her first love.
"You are always in my heart. Wishing the best for the pure soul I fell deeply in love with," she captioned a photobooth picture they took during their romance.
"True/first love never dies. Our time together we will always have memories of."
© Sherilynn FennThe snap showed Sherilynn sitting on Johnny's lap in the booth, with the actress in a black-and-white polka dot blouse leaning her head against Johnny's.
A second black and white snap showed them with their heads tiled towards each other.
"Ode to my first"
In May she also posted a picture from their time together, writing: "Ode to my first , John Christopher xo."
© Disney General Entertainment ConIn the picture, Sherilyn wore a baby pink velvet gown, and Johnny, real name John Christopher, wore a suit.
They were engaged for a period of time but then broke it off, however, in 2017 Sherilynn told The Big Issue that he was "real love".
"He was very sweet. He was my first love," she said. "I had found real love. It was with someone who was walking the same path, but even if he wasn't, the love and the connection was strong enough — cooking meals, hanging out, laughing and crying…I know him as a human not a movie star."
TV roles
Sherilyn starred as Audrey Horne on the cult television series Twin Peaks, and returned in 2017 for the spin-off.
She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and an Emmy Award for her work in David Lynch's classic.
© Getty ImagesShe also had film roles in Wild at Heart (1990) and Of Mice and Men (1992) and appeared in the television series' Shameless (2016), and Shining Vale (2022) with Courteney Cox.
In 1993, she welcomed a son, Myles, with guitarist-songwriter Toulouse Holliday, and in 2007 she gave birth to her second son, Christian, with her partner Dylan Stewart.
