Original Grey's Anatomy Cast in Photos: Then and Now

Ellen Pompeo has been playing Meredith Grey in Grey’s Anatomy since the show’s commencement in 2005. She was 35 at the time that the first episode aired. While we’ve grown to love her overly-ambitious character for her impressive surgical skills at then-named Seattle Grace Hospital and complicated love life with McDreamy (A.K.A. Dr. Derek Shepherd), Pompeo has admitted that her role has much more depth than that, exploring themes of loss, grief, and connection. "Everywhere I go — whether it's Italy, whether it's France, London, Kansas,” she told Ellen DeGeneres in a 2018 interview, “the people come up to me with tears in their eyes and tell me how meaningful the show is to them.”

Now, Pompeo shares three children with music producer Chris Ivery. While she’s no longer a series regular as of 2023, she still provides a voice-over as the narrator of every episode, and she even makes appearances on the show now and again to surprise the show’s massive viewership. In her most recent project, Good American Family, Pompeo, now 55, plays Kristine Barnett, the adoptive mother of Natalia Grace. Inspired by a true story, the Hulu series follows a couple questioning the true identity of the little girl they adopted.

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Patrick Dempsey played everyone’s favorite hot doc Derek Shepherd on the show for 11 seasons starting at the age of 39. Whether you love him for his masterful brain surgery skills or the sweet wedding vows he shared with Meredith on a post-it note, Dr. Shepherd (A.K.A. McDreamy) was an integral facet of everyone’s favorite storylines. But even before this gig put him on the map, he already had some pretty impressive roles under his belt, including acting parts in Loverboy, Scream 3 and Sweet Home Alabama.

Today, Dempsey, 59, shares three children with hair stylist Jillian Dempsey. Since leaving the show in a truly ceremonious fashion in 2015, Dempsey has been seen in films such as Bridget Jones’s Baby and Ferrari. He was also crowned People’s “Sexiest Man Alive” in 2023, and even made a surprise guest appearance in a recent season of Grey's Anatomy.

Sandra Oh played the brilliant and fiery Cristina Yang on the series for ten seasons before leaving the show in 2014. Ferociously loyal to Meredith and wholly uninterested in changing herself for even the hottest of doctors, Cristina remains one of the show’s most influential characters. And though Oh took up the role at the age of 33, she still recognizes the impact of Cristina two decades later. “When there is a 15-year-old girl — and she wasn’t even born [when Grey’s premiered in 2005] — who then comes to me and is like, ‘I’m in medical school because of Cristina,’ I love it,” she told The Hollywood Reporter back in June 2024. “I never, ever forget how important Cristina is. I never do because those 15-year-old girls find me, and now, 10 years on, I have much more appreciation for their appreciation.”

While she married filmmaker Alexander Payne in 2003, the pair formally divorced in 2006. Since bidding the series farewell, Oh, now 53, has been keeping her impressive resume stacked with roles in series such as Killing Eve and Invincible. Coming later this year, you’ll also be able to see her in Aziz Ansari’s Good Fortune alongside Keanu Reeves, Seth Rogan and Keke Palmer.

Chandra Wilson has been gracing our screens as Dr. Miranda Bailey since she was 35, and the no-mercy general surgeon and intern supervisor hasn’t gone anywhere during the show’s 20-year tenure. Through every makeup, breakup, and local disaster on the show, Dr. Bailey has been right there to advocate for her interns and colleagues.

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Now 55, Wilson has cemented herself as an integral character on the show, and continues to bring Dr. Bailey to life each episode. Wearing many hats on the hit ABC show, including mother, mentor, surgeon, and of course, friend, Wilson has dedicated her acting career to Grey’s Anatomy. While she’s known for being private about her personal life, outside the show she shares three children with her long-time partner.

Katherine Heigl stepped into the shoes of the not-so-level-headed surgical intern Izzie Stevens at the age of 26. She may have only been on the medical drama for the first six seasons, but her spunky attitude and questionable decisions had viewers hooked, and had a major role in the show’s initial success. During her time on the show, she also starred in a slew of timeless romcoms, including 27 Dresses, Knocked Up and New Year’s Eve.

Now 46 years old, Heigl married singer Josh Kelley in 2007, and the couple now share a son and two adopted daughters. Since Grey’s she’s been spotted in TV shows such as Suits, Firefly Lane and Doubt.

To this day, James Pickens Jr. plays the ultimate work dad, Dr. Richard Webber. And while his character has been known since the show’s start to provide a comforting shoulder to cry on, Dr. Webber has had his fair share of drama in the series. But before he took the role as the best teacher at Seattle Grace hospital at age 50, you may have spotted Pickens Jr. in a number of TV series and films, such as Beverly Hills, 90210, The Practice and Venom.

Pickens Jr., now 70, is married to former Musique member Gina Taylor, and the two share two children. While he’s remained loyal to his role on the medical drama, he’s also made appearances over the years in shows such as Roseanne, Yellowtstone and Station 19.

T.R. Knight played Dr. George O’Malley, a surgical intern turned resident, on Grey's for the show’s first five seasons. While he was a main character on the show, he was eventually written out of the series at the end of season five in 2009. His reason for leaving the hit show? Well, he cites a "breakdown of communication" between himself and executive producer Shonda Rhimes, he told Entertainment Weekly in July 2022. "My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George]. And with respect, I'm going to leave it at that."

Following his time on the show, Knight married writer and ballet dancer Patrick B. Leahy in 2013. Now 51, he’s been spotted in a number of roles in shows such as The Flight Attendant and Will and Grace. He even reprised his role as Dr. O'Malley by making a guest appearance in season 17 of Grey's Anatomy.

Justin Chambers played Dr. Alex Karev on the hit show until he departed in 2020. While his character certainly had some flaws, Dr. Karev was nothing if not loyal to Meredith. Their friendship, though rocky at times, persisted until the very end when he took his leave in season 16.

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Chambers married former model agency booker Keisha Chambers in 1993, and the pair share five children together. Now 54, he’s been spotted in shows such as The Offer and Accused since his departure.