Watch Madeleine Albright's cameos in Gilmore Girls, Parks and Rec, and more

Madeleine Albright, who died Wednesday at the age of 84, is best known for serving as the first female secretary of state under former President Bill Clinton.

But after her time as America's chief diplomat, Albright embarked on a minor second career as an actress, playing herself in several movies and TV shows.

In a Season 7 episode of political comedy Parks and Recreation, Albright advises National Park Service Regional Director Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler) on how to handle a dispute with one of her employees.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

"You're right, once again, Madeleine Albright," Knope says.

"Can I have my pin back now?" Albright responds, indicating a silver and gold dove brooch Leslie is wearing. Albright was known for her extensive collection of pins, which she frequently "donned to communicate a message or a mood during her diplomatic tenure," according to the State Department website.

In a 2005 episode of Gilmore Girls, Albright appears in a dream sequence in which she snuggles up to Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) to wish her a happy birthday, repeating lines Rory's mother, Lorelai (Lauren Graham), delivered in Season 1.

"I just had a dream that Madeleine Albright was my mother," Rory tells her boyfriend when she wakes up.

On Madam Secretary — which took its title from Albright's 2003 memoir — Albright appeared twice to provide guidance to fictional Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord (Téa Leoni). In the show's second season, Albright tells McCord, "There is plenty of room in the world for mediocre men. There is no room for mediocre women."

In the fifth season, Albright appeared alongside two other former secretaries of state — Colin Powell and Hillary Clinton — to warn McCord about the threat of nationalism and the importance of diversity.

Albright also appeared as herself in the 2011 film The Adjustment Bureau in a scene in which several real-life political figures hobnob with Matt Damon's congressman character.

Continue reading for free

We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.

Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.

Grayson Quay

Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-GazetteModern AgeThe American ConservativeThe Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.