Patrick Dempsey
Dempsey presenting Maid of Honor in Madrid, 2008.
Born	Patrick Galen Dempsey (1966-01-13) January 13, 1966 (age 46) Lewiston, Maine, United States
Occupation	Actor, Race car driver
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Rocky Parker (m. 1987–1994) Jillian Fink (m. 1999–present)

Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd ("McDreamy") on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award. He has also appeared in several films, including Sweet Home Alabama, Made of Honor, Valentine's Day, Flypaper, Freedom Writers, and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

Early life[link]

Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine, and grew up in Buckfield, Maine. His mother, Amanda M. (née Caisson), was a school secretary, and his father, William A. Dempsey, was an insurance salesman.^[1][2][3] He attended Buckfield High School and St. Dominic Regional High School.^[4] He was an adept juggler, tying for second in a national juggling competition.^[5] He was also an accomplished skier and while in high school won the Maine state slalom championship.

As a child, Dempsey attended Camp Wekeela located in Hartford, Maine.

Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age twelve. He told Barbara Walters on her 2008 Oscar special that he thinks dyslexia "made him what he is today." “It’s given me a perspective of — you have to keep working,” Dempsey told Walters. “I have never given up.”^[6]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Dempsey was discovered by an invitation to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. His audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in Philadelphia. Dempsey also appeared on ABC family on a show Overnight Success by Teri DeSario, where he sings and juggles. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and as Timmy (the Martin Sheen role) in a 1990 Off-Broadway revival of The Subject Was Roses co-starring with John Mahoney and Dana Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 with Beverly D'Angelo in the movie In The Mood, the true World War II story about Ellsworth Wisecarver who had relationships with older married women which created a national uproar. This was followed by the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson and Some Girls with Jennifer Connelly in 1988. This film was a flop. In 1989, he had the lead role in the film Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater. Although the teen comedy and romance roles led to Dempsey being somewhat typecast for a time, he was able to avoid playing the same character as his career progressed^{[citation needed]}.

1990s and 2000s[link]

Dempsey made a number of featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. However he received good reviews^{[citation needed]} as he portrayed real-life mob boss, Meyer Lansky in 1991, when Mobsters was put on the screen. His first major television role was a recurring role as Will's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks, Lily & Judy's psychologically unbalanced brother, on Once & Again. Dempsey received an Emmy^[7] nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 1993, he played a young John F. Kennedy in the 2-part TV mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth. In 2000, he also had a role as Detective Kincaid on Scream 3.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as the fiance of Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama. In 2004, he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. He also appeared as special guest star in The Practice for 3 episodes finale season (8x13-8x15), as a married man who murdered his lover.

In 2007, Dempsey starred in the Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers where he reunited with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He also voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear 2. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2008 film Made of Honor as Tom and the 2010's romantic comedy Valentine's Day; the latter film, directed by Garry Marshall, follows five interconnecting stories about Los Angelinos anticipating (or in some cases dreading) the holiday of love.^[8]

Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the prize-winning novel The Art of Racing in the Rain in July 2009, for Dempsey to star in.^[9] The project has not been able to find a director.^[10] Dempsey starred as Dylan Gould in the 2011 movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon.^[11][12]

[edit] Grey's Anatomy

Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd in the drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to landing the role of Derek Shepherd, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Gregory House on another medical show, House. Initially a midseason replacement, the show was very well received and has become a highly rated program. Dempsey's character Derek is often referred to as "McDreamy" and has received press attention for his sex appeal and his chemistry with Grey's Anatomy co-star Ellen Pompeo was well received by fans and critics. Dempsey also appeared in one episode of Private Practice, playing the same character as in Grey's Anatomy.^[13]

Dempsey was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama at the 2006 Golden Globes for the role. His success on the show has led to his becoming a spokesman for Mazda and State Farm Insurance. Regarding the eighth season, Dempsey stated that, "It will be my last. I do not know about the other characters. But for me it's over."^[14][15][16] But, after this comment stirred up some fans, his publicist released a statement saying that Dempsey's comments were somewhat taken out of context. His rep claims that he was referring to his contract ending next season and that it's uncertain what he will do next. On May 9, 2012, it was announced that the six original cast members including him had signed up for two more seasons.^[17]

BuddyTV ranked him #74 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".^[18]

Other work[link]

He has been the face of L'Oreal and Versace and was featured in ads for Serengeti sun glasses. In November 2008 he launched an Avon fragrance named Unscripted, and due to its success a second fragrance named Patrick Dempsey 2 was launched in October 2009.^{[dated info]}

Race car driver[link]

Dempsey at the 2008 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona.

Dempsey enjoys auto racing in his spare time, having competed in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, and Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race. He was a co-owner of the Vision Racing IndyCar Series team and current owner of Dempsey Racing, which is presently racing two Mazda RX-8 cars in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series GT class. He participates in this series as often as his schedule allows, as he is unable to race while filming a movie due to insurance issues. In 2009, he raced a Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans's GT2 class, and finished ninth in class.^[19]

Dempsey announced he would be in the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona along with other races throughout the season in a Mazda RX-8.^[20] Dempsey finished in third place in the GT Class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

In 2012, Dempsey will compete in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Racing-Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which, after 5 successful racing seasons in Europe, will be making its debut on American tracks.

Dempsey also formed the Dempsey Racing team which competes in the American Le Mans Series. The team fields a full time Oreca FLM09 in the Prototype Challenge class as well as a Lola B12/80 coupe in the Prototype 2 class (with Patrick himself driving) from Laguna Seca onward.

Dempsey is also known to have a collection of sports and collector cars.

Personal life[link]

Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 12. As a result, it is necessary for him to memorize all his lines in order to perform, even for auditions where he was unlikely to get the part.^[21][22]

Entertainment Weekly put Dempsey's hair on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "What made Grey's Anatomy a mega-medi-hit? It could have something to do with creator Shonda Rhimes' scalpel-sharp writing…or McDreamy's impossibly luxurious man hair. Just saying."^[23] In 2005, People magazine ranked him second in its annual list of "Sexiest Men Alive"^[24] and again in 2006.^[25]

Marriages and family[link]

He has been married twice. In 1987, he married actress and acting coach Rocky Parker (born 26 February 1940 in Brooklyn, New York). She was his best friend (Corey Parker)'s mother and appeared with Dempsey in the film In the Mood. The couple divorced in 1994.

On July 31, 1999, Dempsey married Jillian Fink. The couple have three children, daughter Talula Fyfe (born 20 February 2002) and twins Sullivan Patrick and Darby Galen (born 1 February 2007). The family resides in Malibu and also has a home in Texas. They own a farmhouse in Maine as well, but that property is currently for sale.

Patrick Dempsey Center for Cancer Hope & Healing and Dempsey Challenge[link]

In 1997, Dempsey's mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Her cancer has relapsed five times over the past fifteen years. In response to his mother's bouts with cancer, Dempsey helped start the Patrick Dempsey Center at Central Maine Medical Center in his home town of Lewiston, Maine. In October 2009 when Dempsey introduced the first Dempsey Challenge, registration was closed after reaching the goal of 3,500 cyclists, runners and walkers. The event raised more than $1 million for the cancer center. His mother was in the crowd as Dempsey finished his 50-mile ride.^[26] The Challenge has since become an annual October event presented by Amgen in the Lewiston-Auburn area.^[27]

Filmography[link]