Jane the Virgin’s Xo is the new Lorelai Gilmore

Xiomara Villanueva, better known as Xo, is the mother of Jane on The CW’s Jane the Virgin. Xo shares some similarities with Lorelai Gilmore, the quirky yet beloved mother of Rory in Gilmore Girls.

Both Lorelai and Xo became teenager mothers to a daughter at the age of sixteen.  They both have an unusually close bond with their daughters where they seem like sisters instead of mother and daughter.

Andrea Navedo, who plays Xo has amazing chemistry with Gina Rodriguez’s Jane. When these two actresses are in a scene together, the viewer forgets that they are watching a television show.

Also, Navedo plays Xo with the same fresh exuberance Lauren Graham exhibited as Lorelai. Just because Xo is the mother of an adult daughter, you never forget that she is also a young woman herself with her own dreams and aspirations. For Lorelai, it was opening up her own inn. For Xo, it’s dreams of singing.

Jane the Virgin presents the same positive message that Gilmore Girls did, which is that although it is better to wait until you are older and more emotionally equipped to handle the challenges of motherhood, being a young mother doesn’t mean your life is over. You can still raise a well-adjusted daughter while continuing to pursue your own dreams.

Xo, like Lorelei is a positive role model, one not only the Latina community can embrace, but viewing audiences all over.