Ellen Pompeo Biography

Actress Ellen Pompeo plays Dr. Meredith Grey in the ABC television series Grey’s Anatomy.

A native of New England, she began acting professionally in New York in the mid-1990s and got her first break in television as a guest star on Law & Order (two episodes, 1996 and 2000).

Pompeo then made a name for herself in the movies after a role in the hit comedy Old School (2003) and smaller roles in the high-profile movies Moonlight Mile (2002, opposite Jake Gyllenhaal), Catch Me If You Can (2002, with Leonardo DiCaprio) and Daredevil (2003, starring Ben Affleck).

Grey’s Anatomy made its debut in 2005 with Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey, a young intern with a topsy-turvy personal life.

The success of the show put the spotlight on Pompeo and her co-stars at the time (Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl, T. R. Knight and Isaiah Washington).