Whatever Happened To Miss Patty From Gilmore Girls?
Amid the eternal debate over whether Rory should've ended up with Dean, Jess, or Logan, we sometimes forget that the gentle misfits who reside in the tiny, mercilessly New England-y burg of Stars Hollow, Connecticut, provide the true foundation of "Gilmore Girls." There's socially dysfunctional jack of all trades Kirk Gleason, played by eventual "Guardians of the Galaxy" member Sean Gunn; town gossip Babette Dell, played by TV legend Sally Struthers; and even bubbly hotel chef Sookie St. James, played by current bona fide movie star Melissa McCarthy.
But not every supporting actor on "Gilmore Girls" still makes frequent appearances in TV and movies. For example, Liz Torres — known to "Gilmore Girls" fans as dance studio proprietor Miss Patty — has kept a comparatively low profile since roughly 2010.
Appearing in 79 episodes, plus the "Summer" and "Winter" portions of the "A Year in the Life" Netflix revival — meaning, just about half of the entirety of "Gilmore Girls" — Miss Patty seems to enjoy reflecting upon her more adventurous and glamourous younger years in showbusiness. Miss Patty has more ex-husbands than Kirk has side hustles, and she's probably too interested in Lorelai and Rory's romantic lives (but who on this show isn't?).
Venerable TV actor Liz Torres still pops up here and there
Unlike Miss Patty, Liz Torres is a showbiz veteran with 125 credits and counting, having launched her television and film acting career in the late '60s (per IMDb). As a matter of fact, Torres played nurse Teresa Betancourt for seven episodes of "All in the Family" in the mid-'70s, which means "Gilmore Girls" isn't even the first time she and Sally Struthers appeared on a generational cornerstone of scripted television together. But since Torres was already a well-established character actor in her early 50s when she landed the role of Miss Patty, it's pretty easy to understand why she didn't feel a ton of pressure to follow up on the success of "Gilmore Girls" after the show wrapped up in 2007.
Torres, now in her 70s, hasn't racked up too many credits since 2016's "Year in the Life," aside from a few TV guest spots, although 2021's "E. Roosevelt," in which she plays FDR's firebrand of first lady, certainly sounds entertaining. She was last seen in NBC's "Lopez vs. Lopez," playing a character by the name of Daisy.
As far as other aspects of her life go, Torres lives in LA and has been married to producer Peter Locke for almost 50 years. Staying married for half a century is pretty impressive while also, ironically enough, totally unlike Miss Patty.