Ellen Kathleen Pompeo, born November 10, 1969, is an American actress and producer. She was born in Everett, Massachusetts, and moved to New York City at the age of twenty-six, where she was discovered by a casting director for an advertisement campaign for L'Oreal. She made her screen debut on NBC's legal drama Law & Order and appeared in several television shows, including Strangers with Candy, Strong Medicine, and Friends.
Pompeo made her feature film debut in 1999 with the romantic comedy Coming Soon and gained wide recognition in 2002 for her starring role in Brad Silberling's drama Moonlight Mile. Since 2005, she has starred in ABC's medical drama Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Meredith Grey, earning a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2015, Forbes ranked her fourth among the highest paid TV actresses with earnings of $11.5 million. Her other notable films include Old School (2003), Daredevil (2003), Art Heist (2004), and Life of the Party (2005). She was honored in 2007 by the National Italian American Foundation for Special Achievement in Entertaining. Pompeo married producer Chris Ivery in 2007, and they have two children.
United States
