Ellen Pompeo

Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (/pʌmˈpɛoʊ/, born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. She rose to fame for her portrayal of Dr. Meredith Grey in the long-running hit ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy (2005–present). The role earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama nomination in 2007 including many more accolades. She has also appeared in the films Moonlight Mile (2002), Old School (2003), and Daredevil (2003).

Early life

Ellen Pompeo was born in Everett, Massachusetts, the daughter of Kathleen B. (née O'Keefe) and Joseph E. Pompeo, a surgeon. Her father was of Italian, English, and Irish descent, while her mother was of Irish ancestry. She was raised Roman Catholic. Her mother died of a painkiller overdose when Ellen was five, and her father remarried soon after; he died on September 1, 2012. She has five siblings: three sisters and two brothers. She was nicknamed the pencil, and stracciatella (an ice cream flavor).

Career

1995–2004

Sandra Oh

Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian actress known for her role as Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy, a role that earned her Golden Globe and 2 Screen Actors Guild awards, as well as five nominations for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

She has also played notable roles in the feature films The Princess Diaries, Under the Tuscan Sun, Last Night, Sideways, and had a supporting role on the HBO original series Arli$$. Other films she has appeared in include The Night Listener, Sorry, Haters, Blindness, Bean, Wilby Wonderful, Hard Candy, and Rabbit Hole.

She starred in the acclaimed Asian Canadian films Double Happiness, The Diary of Evelyn Lau, and Long Life, Happiness & Prosperity the formers of which won her the Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role and the Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series respectively.

She currently stars in the Refinery29 Web Series Sh*tty Boyfriends.

Justin Chambers

Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former fashion model, known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy.

Early life

Chambers was born in Springfield, Ohio, the son of Pamela Sue (Willman) and John William Eugene Chambers II. He has a fraternal twin brother named Jason, one older brother John Jr. (Chip), and two older sisters, Mia and Susan. He and his twin brother visited hospitals often as children due to frequent bouts with pneumonia. He attended Southeastern High School in South Charleston, Ohio, and later Springfield Clark JVS.

Career

Chambers was discovered by a modeling scout on the Paris Metro and went on to represent Calvin Klein in a fragrance campaign. He worked throughout Europe, Japan, and the United States for Calvin Klein, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana. After deciding on an acting career, he moved to New York, where he studied at the HB Studio. Studios and Ron Stetson Studios for four years. That landed him a few television roles, including recurring role in soap opera Another World as Nicholas Hudson, and New York Undercover. In 1998 he was cast as series regular in the short-lived CBS primetime soap opera Four Corners. Chambers also appeared in several television movies, such as Harvest of Fire, Rose Hill, and Seasons of Love

Chandra Wilson

Chandra Danette Wilson (born August 27, 1969) is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC television drama Grey's Anatomy since 2005. She made her New York stage debut in 1991 and began to land guest spots on a variety of prime-time television shows. She made her first film appearance in the 1993 film Philadelphia.

Early life

Wilson was born in Houston, Texas. She started her theater career at the age of five with the Houston-based Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS). Wilson attended Houston's High School for the Performing and Visual Arts and went on to the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, where she earned a BFA in drama. Her mother, a postal worker, wanted to keep her daughter active, so she enrolled Chandra in a litany of after-school activities that would set the course for her show business career. "Starting at age four, my mom decided that she was not going to have an idle child in the house," Wilson recalls. "So I started taking dance lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and then I was in acting classes on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and I was also modeling on Saturdays. And that was my childhood."

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series that premiered on American Broadcasting Company (ABC) as a mid-season replacement on March 27, 2005, and is currently in its 12th season. The series focuses on the fictional lives of surgical interns and residents as they gradually evolve into seasoned doctors, while trying to maintain personal lives and relationships. The title is a play on the name Gray's Anatomy, an English-language human anatomy textbook originally written by Henry Gray. The show's premise originated with Shonda Rhimes, who serves as an executive producer, along with Betsy Beers, Mark Gordon, Krista Vernoff, Rob Corn, Mark Wilding, and Allan Heinberg. The series was created to be racially diverse, utilizing a color-blind casting technique. While the show is set in Seattle, it is primarily filmed in Los Angeles, California.

The series' protagonist is Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who originally is accepted into the residency program at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital. Meredith is assigned to work under Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), along with Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Dr. George O'Malley (T. R. Knight), Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers). Following O'Malley's death and Stevens' departure, the hospital's merger with Mercy West brings in Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew), in the sixth season.