From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Carole “Kelly” Bishop (born February 28, 1944) is an American actress, who is best known for her role as matriarch Emily Gilmore on the series Gilmore Girls, and for her role as Jennifer Grey's mother in the film Dirty Dancing. She is also well remembered for her Tony-winning performance as Sheila in A Chorus Line. Description above from the Wikipedia article Kelly Bishop, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.