Lauren moved from Hawaii to the D.C. area at age five, where she was raised by her father, Lawrence. She attended Langley High School and earned a B.A. in English from Barnard College in New York City. She earned her Master's in Acting from Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts, Division of Theatre, in Dallas. She moved from New York to L.A. in 1995, and currently resides in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles and also has a home in New York City.

Lauren is best known for her role as Lorelai on "Gilmore Girls." She shed her "motherly" image in the film "Bad Santa" and can soon be seen in "Guys and Dolls" on Broadway.