Kelly Bishop is not a mom in real life, but that doesn't mean she doesn't know a thing or two about how to be one. Emily Gilmore was "kind of a tough piece of work," she said reflecting on her stand-out role as the matriarch on the perennially wholesome early aughts comedy-drama "Gilmore Girls." "She's going to say what she means and try to get what she wants, and I love a woman like that."

And that's exactly the sort of woman Bishop is during our "Salon Talks" conversation. Her sparkling verve — which fans know through her portrayal of Emily — has seen different iterations across her accomplished career.

During our chat, Bishop shared stories, from her early days as a dancer in New York, during which she held a leading role in the original production of "A Chorus Line," to playing Baby's mom in the '80s classic, "Dirty Dancing." Bishop's life, now chronicled in "The Third Gilmore Girl," is a testament to the ultra-rare quality of knowing exactly who you are.

Watch my "Salon Talks with the Tony Award-winning dancer and beloved actor to hear more about why she decided not to have children, how therapy has changed her life and why dogs have always been her closest companions.

This conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

At the recent Emmy Awards, there was a discussion about TV moms and how their role has evolved over time. How would you describe Emily Gilmore as a TV mom?

She's a different kind of TV mom from the ones I grew up with, with "Leave It To Beaver" and things like that. She's definitely a mother, but she's kind of a tough piece of work, and I'd imagine there are more mothers like that on television now. But she was rather unusual, and yet it's played off so beautifully with Lorelai and Rory and that nice relationship. So you'd have two different kinds of moms.

"I don't audition anymore, I refuse to do it. I've done it enough."

Fans do love Emily for her honesty and for her strong sense of self. What did you love most about her?

She was just fun to play. She's strong and doesn't worry about hurting people's feelings, really. And she's going to say what she means and try to get what she wants, and I love a woman like that.

"Gilmore Girls" creator Amy Sherman-Palladino wrote the foreword of your memoir. She saw many, many actresses read for the role of Emily, saying that she would basically know her when she walked in. Can you talk about the experience of trying out for that role and how you felt once you'd actually gotten it?

I really worked on that role. I don't audition anymore; I refuse to do it. I've done it enough. At this point in my life, I say, "They know what I look like. They know what I can do. If they want me, they can hire me. If not, just leave me alone." But I worked hard on [the "Gilmore Girls' audition] and always did because I believe as an actor, a major part of your job is to do the words as written, to present what the author wanted.

And so, I really worked on that role. And in a sense, almost knew it without the pages, which I also did at other auditions. I would walk in with the pages, but I wouldn't put them down because I thought that would indicate that this is my final performance. If you see me holding pages, this is my work in progress. But I was kind of giving my final performance or what it was at that point. So it made it a stronger presentation, and I went in, I did it. I thought I nailed it. I thought it was good. And then I left.

There were a couple of other women there for the same role. I went home. And you wait for a little bit. And I was waiting and waiting and waiting and waiting and calling my agent, saying, "Have you heard from them?" And as it turns out, she really was looking for the Rory and Lorelai characters. They were the leads of the show. What I didn't know is that she had already decided, and I thought, "Well, are they going to call me back out to California and have me read for the studio?" They didn't do that and I'm going, "I'm kind of giving up hope........

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