Paris Eustace Geller is a fictional character on the television series Gilmore Girls and its spin-off A Year in the Life, played by Liza Weil.

Paris was originally created for a three-episode guest arc by series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino and executive producer Gavin Polone at the beginning of the show's first season to introduce Rory Gilmore's character to the high pressures, competitiveness and stress of going from the small public high school in Stars Hollow, to the storied and respected halls of Hartford's Chilton Academy.

Prior to this encounter, Paris reads Rory's Stars Hollow transcript, courtesy of a student worker in the administration office she paid to sneak her the information out the window.

After Rory earns a D in a literature class as she tries to catch up with her classmates, Paris jokes bitterly the grade would be perfect to apply for work at McDonald's.

Paris had always wanted to get into this club too, as it ensured many guarantees for when she got into Harvard (which involved a show-created history where Sandra Day O'Connor was a member), and she asks Rory to put in a good word.

She also ends up visiting Stars Hollow several times throughout the year, first as a guest at a holiday dinner at the Independence Inn which she enjoyed despite what she thought were anachronisms, trying to score a story for the Franklin about the town's supposedly hidden dark side (at least until Kirk curtains off every non-G-rated movie in the town's video store behind a Rory Curtain, which Paris immediately jumps on for a story), and in a grade panic.

She finds romance at the conference with a boy named Jamie (Brandon Barash), who was often a partner with her in debates through the summer and took a liking to her assertive and commanding personality.

This is proven as she tries to engage Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) in a debate, only to be passed onto a confused Rep. Doug Ose (R-CA) during a farewell luncheon.

The set up for the secret meeting between Rory and Francie and the subsequent disclosure to Paris is remarkably similar to one of the plot lines in the 1981 movie, Absence of Malice starring Paul Newman and Sally Field.

In their freshmen year they would share this room with two other girls, cross-country runner Janet Billings (Katie Walder) and Tana Schrick (Olivia Hack), a sixteen-year-old child prodigy.

She ends her relationship suddenly and coldly with Jamie in the middle of her Yale freshman year, after commencing an affair with Professor Asher Fleming (Michael York) shortly after the Harvard-Yale Game.

Paris also experiences spring break with Rory on an impromptu trip to Florida caused by awful weather conditions and drenching rain in New Haven.

The two girls bonded even closer, with Paris paying for the whole trip and their odd way of spending a vacation that involved watching a marathon of the PBS miniseries The Power of Myth in their hotel room with pizza and assorted junk food.

In their sophomore year at Yale, Paris and Rory would share a dorm alone together, causing much discomfort for them both when either one of their boyfriends were present and they wanted individual privacy.

Afterward, an upset Paris goes to Lorelai for comfort several times throughout the summer, much to the derision of the Dragonfly Inn's staff, who consider her bossy and demanding.

In the meantime, Paris becomes editor of the Yale Daily News, in preparation for Doyle's graduation, immediately instituting a quieter and less chaotic newsroom.

Because of this grinding management style, the newspaper nearly misses a publication date, only making it to the press with a last-minute push by Rory to get it into the printer on time.

Paris and her boyfriend Doyle move into an apartment building in a more urban part of New Haven at the start of the semester, and eventually let Rory live with them.

[8] The final season of the series starts with Paris using the Daily News office for the summer to run her own test preparation service, called "The Paris Geller Yale Review", to help students pass standardized and admissions exams, like the services provided by The Princeton Review and Kaplan, because she wants to cut out the middleman and collect the fees that would have otherwise gone to the company itself.

[9] In the revival, it was revealed that she went into reproductive medicine, running a successful surrogacy/fertility clinic in New York known as Dynasty Makers, which Lorelai and Luke visit while considering having a child of their own.

In an argument with Francie Jarvis a few moments later, it is revealed that she additionally passed the bar and has a law practice license, is an expert on classical architecture, and may also be a certified dental technician.

Several writers have identified ambition as the core of Paris's character, noting that this creates a good deal of her wit, her resilience, and her eventual vulnerability as she bonds with others.

[11][12] In an article for Vulture, writer Jackson McHenry noted, "With Paris, Gilmore Girls insisted that ambitious women are compelling in their very ambition."

"[13] Saba Hamedy of Mashable also found Paris's difficulties relatable, labeling the character "as real as it gets," and declaring her "the true heroine of Gilmore Girls.

"[27] Numerous journalists have drawn comparisons between Paris and the candidates of the 2016 United States presidential election, with most citing a scene from the 2002 second-season finale of Gilmore Girls.

During the episode, Paris runs for Student Body President and learns that many voters consider her the most qualified candidate, but are hesitant to elect her for personal reasons.

[28][29][30][31] In 2017, Samantha Bee compared then-President Donald Trump to Paris Geller on an episode of TBS's Full Frontal, accusing him of showing favoritism in staffing choices.

[33][34] Many writers note that she rarely has a long-term boyfriend, and affirm that her driven personality and powerful stature would represent the gay community well in a prominent work of fiction.

"[36] Following the premiere of A Year in the Life, in which Paris undergoes a distinctive change in appearance, Autostraddle declared that the character had become "a queer icon.

[37] Daniel Mallory Ortberg of The Toast posted a detailed article on their potential as lovers, while BuzzFeed's Cassie Smyth called their bond "the greatest romance of the 21st century.