Dean Forester is a fictional character from the TV series Gilmore Girls. He is played by Jared Padalecki.

Tall, strapping, and chestnut-haired, Chicago-born Dean is introduced into the series as the new guy in town. He immediately falls for the shy, sensitive intellect, Rory Gilmore (Alexis Bledel) after she shows him around Stars Hollow. Rory in turn quickly becomes infatuated with the good natured, laid back, even-keeled Dean, which briefly poses a problem with winning an enrollment to the fictional Chilton Private School as it takes her away from the regular high school which Dean would be attending. He quickly gets a job as a grocery store stock boy and is the first serious boyfriend for Rory, and arguably the most mature (though sometimes rather boring) one she has over the course of the series. At first their relationship almost doesn't work out because the emotionally repressed Rory has trouble expressing the intimate, affectionate feelings that Dean, like any boyfriend, likes to hear, but they manage to work through that. In short, he is set up as the boyfriend a girl doesn't fear taking home to meet her parents. With his all-American looks, polite personality, and willingness to be there for people, Dean is presented as the prototypical "knight in shining armor" boyfriend; always polite, always there for his girlfriend, and always willing to come through for her should she ever need him.

Clara (Scout Taylor-Compton) is his little sister. She originally meets Rory when Rory comes to the door pretending to be a girl scout. We assume Dean is responsible for her while his parents are working as she accompanies him quite a bit. She looks to be around 8 years younger than him.

His parents, as named in his wedding announcement to Lindsay, are Randy and Barbara Forester. In the episode "Tippecanoe and Tyler, Too," though, Rory refers to Dean's mother as "May", so she is probably Barbara May, and uses her middle name. She works part-time transcribing medical records. Randy owns a shop which sells stereo systems, he also works on cars, as does Dean's grandfather. Dean builds Rory a car. His father takes him skeet shooting to 'pass on the tradition' which he enjoyed when he was Dean's age.

He also has an older sister, whom he mentions once ("I have sisters") but is never named or seen. And a three year old nephew who was the ring bearer at his wedding, possibly belonging to his older sister.

He has a grandmother in Chicago whom he visits. He also has an old girlfriend in Chicago named Beth who dated his cousin after their breakup.

Later, however, another complication arises in the form of Jess Mariano (Milo Ventimiglia), the bad boy nephew of diner owner Luke Danes (Scott Patterson). Although the couple was having problems before Jess, their relationship is further strained after Rory spends more time with Jess. Initially put off by Jess's anti-social attitude, Rory warms up to him when she discovers he shares her fondness for reading. Dean is eventually driven to jealousy by Jess' presence and this leads to the end of his relationship with Rory, which frees Rory up to pursue a full time romance with Jess—only to have it fall apart when Jess's problems prove to be too much for Rory to handle. She later confesses to her friend Lane Kim that she got too used to Dean's reliability and affectionate nature and assumed that Jess would do the same, only to realize too late that Jess was not as dependable as Dean.

Even though he regrets breaking up with Rory, Dean later starts dating a girl named Lindsay Lister (Arielle Kebbel) and impulsively marries her. However, it is still obvious that he still carries strong feeling for Rory. His feeling for her remain so strong that, upon seeing a tearful and clearly upset Rory at a party (after she had been talking to Jess), he is so overcome with rage that he violently attacks Jess, resulting in a brawl between the two (it is worth noting that Dean threw both the first and the last punches of the fight.) During his bachelor party, a drunk Dean confesses to Luke that he cares for Rory and asks why she didn't love him back. Dean remains too close to Rory and, when it becomes clear to him that he's made a mistake in marrying Lindsay, he goes to Rory with his problems, and they have an affair—Rory's first sexual experience. This incident creates a brief rift between Rory and Lorelai when Lorelai discovers what has happened saying that she has become the other women, which upsets Rory .

Lindsay eventually finds out about the affair and angrily throws Dean out, which briefly complicates things with Rory. But Dean decides to rekindle his romance with Rory (even though she now lives at Yale), much to the aggravation of many, including Luke and Rory's Grandparents, all of whom judge Dean unworthy of Rory. To make matters worse, Dean and Rory find their lives heading in completely different directions. With Rory rarely in Stars Hallow due to her life at Yale and Dean holding three jobs at once to make ends meet, the two of them rarely find time to spend together; both cancel date after date due to their commitments.

The two finally find time for a date; it would be planned that Dean would pick Rory up after a party that her grandparents planned to throw for her. However, the party was thrown with the sole purpose of introducing Rory to other prospective blue blooded boyfriends with business aspirations, including Rory's next boyfriend, Logan Huntzberger. Rory enjoys herself at the party so much that she briefly forgets about her planned outing. She eventually remembers, and by the time she walks out to a furious Dean, the two realize that their lives were heading in different directions, and Dean ends their relationship for good.

In his final appearance, Dean does not see Rory, but rather Luke. Luke tried to apologize for his behavior during a double date that took place between the two of them and the Gilmore Girls, but the hostile Dean would have none of it. Luke interpreted this as lingering bitterness that still existed due to the breakup between him and Rory, but Dean related his faulty relationship with Rory due Luke's with Lorelai, saying that ultimately, Luke would hold Lorelai back from whatever potential she may have. With this statement, Dean is never heard from again.