List of Grey's Anatomy characters

Grey's Anatomy is an American television series created by Shonda Rhimes, and is broadcast by ABC. The show features an ensemble cast of regular characters, with nine main characters in its first season. Since the first season, many characters have left the show or have been written off it, with new main characters having been both written in and out of the series.

Main characters

The following is a list of all current and previous main characters who have featured in Grey's Anatomy. The characters are listed in alphabetical order.

Name	Actor/actress	Starring seasons	Recurring seasons	Occupation at Seattle Grace	Job Title
Theodora 'Teddy' Altman	Kim Raver	6,[1] 7, 8	6	Attending Surgeon	Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery
Dr. Altman is the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Seattle Grace. She previously served in Iraq with Owen Hunt. Although a skilled surgeon, her teaching methods might appear somewhat unorthodox. Her arrival at Seattle Grace, followed by her profession of love to Owen has caused some friction between Owen and his girlfriend, Cristina Yang.
Jackson Avery	Jesse Williams	7[2], 8	6	Surgical Resident	M.D.
A surgical resident from Mercy West Hospital, he is also called "pretty boy," especially by Cristina Yang. He is a grandson of the famous surgeon, Dr. Harper Avery. He develops a crush on Cristina, and while inebriated he kisses her at a party, but Cristina breaks the kiss. In the 6th season finale, he is told by Dr. Shepherd that there is a lockdown in the hospital and is later left by Dr. Hunt and Dr. Altman in the OR with 2 nurses and 1 anesthesiologist. He is the one who decides that Yang should operate on Shepherd in order to save him. When Mr. Clark (the shooter) takes the OR hostage, he disconnects Shepherd in order to make everyone believe that he is dead until Mr. Clark leaves the room. It is also revealed later in season 7 that Avery suffers from traumatic nightmares.
Miranda Bailey	Chandra Wilson	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	-	Attending Surgeon	M.D.
An attending general surgeon at Seattle Grace hospital, Miranda Bailey initially gave a cold, domineering impression, earning her the nickname "The Nazi". However her attitude has since softened and she has developed a maternal role towards the residents in the hospital. She has recently undergone a divorce which led her to turn down a fellowship in pediatric surgery.
Preston Burke	Isaiah Washington	1, 2, 3	-	Former Attending Surgeon	M.D.
Preston Burke was the Former Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery. He began a romantic relationship with Cristina Yang, which came under strain when Burke was shot and his right hand's nerve supply was disrupted. With his career threatened he had Yang perform some of his surgeries, a situation which resolved when Derek Shepherd repaired Burke's nerve supply. Burke and Yang continued their relationship which ultimately ended on their wedding day, when he left her at the altar. Burke graduated at the top of his class from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Alexandra 'Lexie' Grey	Chyler Leigh	4, 5, 6, 7, 8	3	Surgical Resident	M.D.
Resident and half-sister of Meredith Grey, Lexie, was in relationships with Mark, Alex, and Jackson. Known for her photographic memory, she has earned the nickname Lexipedia. Initially she had a distant, contentious relationship with Meredith, but they have since grown closer. She is often called "Little Grey" by other doctors on staff.
Meredith Grey	Ellen Pompeo	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	-	Surgical Resident	M.D.
Resident Meredith Grey is the central protagonist of the show, and narrator of the majority of episodes. She began the series as an intern and has since progressed along her career path. Her character is defined by her romantic relationships as well as the lingering effects her mother's affair with Richard Webber has had on her life. She is best friends with Cristina Yang and following a long romance, she has married neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd.
Erica Hahn	Brooke Smith	4, 5	2, 3	Former Attending Surgeon	M.D.
Following Preston Burke's departure, Erica Hahn took his position as Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Seattle Grace. Her brusque, somewhat harsh personality was tempered by Callie Torres, with whom she began a relationship. Her time at Seattle Grace ended abruptly, however, when she became discontent with Izzie Stevens, and the lack of disciplinary action following the Denny Duquette incident. Dr. Hahn attended the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, where she was in the same class as Dr. Burke.
Owen Hunt	Kevin McKidd	5, 6, 7, 8	5	Attending Surgeon	Chief of Surgery
Owen Hunt, Chief of Trauma Surgery, is the husband of Cristina Yang. Suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, he has struggled with the horrors he experienced whilst serving with the army in Iraq. He invited former colleague Teddy Altman to work alongside him at Seattle Grace, a decision which caused some friction between himself and Cristina. In the season 7 premiere he marries Cristina. Later, he is also offered the position by Richard Webber to choose the next chief resident at Seattle Grace. He was later promoted to Chief of Surgery after Webber resigned.
Alex Karev	Justin Chambers	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	-	Surgical Resident	M.D.
Hard-headed and often discourteous Resident, Alex Karev has had a series of unfortunate relationships throughout his life beginning with his mother. At an early age he had to become her defender from an abusive father and later her caretaker. While working as a doctor he was involved with a patient, Ava, but her mental instability strained their relationship and Alex once again adopted a caretaker role before Ava's admission to a psychiatric hospital. Subsequently he embarked on a relationship with Izzie Stevens and they wed, however Izzie asked for a divorce following her dismissal from Seattle Grace.
April Kepner	Sarah Drew	7[3], 8	6	Surgical Resident	Chief Resident
A surgical resident from Mercy West Hospital, she was fired in Episode 6.06 by Chief Webber, but later rehired by Dr. Shepherd in Episode 6.13 due to his believing her dismissal was unfair. Later it is revealed that she has a crush on Dr. Shepherd in Episode 6.19. In the season six finale, she informs him that her best friend Dr. Reed Adamson has been shot and killed. She later runs into Mr. Clark (the shooter) when Shepherd was shot. Clark lets her go when she emotionally tells him everything about her life. In the third episode of season 7, April reveals that she is a virgin. In the season 7 finale, April becomes Chief Resident.
Addison Montgomery	Kate Walsh	2, 3	1, 2	Former Attending Surgeon	M.D.
Former Chief of OB/GYN and Neonatal Surgery, and the ex-wife of Derek Shepherd, Addison transferred to Seattle Grace, seeking reconciliation with Derek. After achieving a degree of understanding with Derek and realizing that he was in love with Meredith Grey, Addison left Seattle Grace. The character is now the protagonist of ABC series Private Practice and continues to make guest appearances on Grey's Anatomy.
George O'Malley	T.R. Knight	1, 2, 3, 4, 5	-	Former Surgical Resident	M.D.
George O'Malley had a less aggressive personality compared with his fellow residents. He once had an infatuation with Meredith Grey which ended when they slept together, and halfway through Meredith began to cry, humiliating George. He also had a strong friendship with Izzie Stevens and later Lexie Grey. He was once married to Callie Torres, but their marriage came to an end when George slept with Izzie. George and Izzie tried a relationship but decided to remain as friends when they realized their relationship lacked chemistry. Inspired by Dr. Hunt's experiences, George decided to leave Seattle Grace and enlist in the Army. But on his way to tell his mother about joining the Army, tragically, George died when rescuing a girl from being hit by a bus, sacrificing himself instead.
Arizona Robbins	Jessica Capshaw	6, 7, 8	5	Attending Surgeon	Chief of pediatric surgery
Arizona Robbins, pediatric surgery attending, has a cheery disposition but gets upset when challenging authority. She has embarked on a relationship with Callie Torres. She comes from a military family and graduated from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. She has been revealed to harbor great emotional intelligence; her insight and advice have been used to defuse several situations, such as Callie's dispute with her father. In season 7, she wins a prestigious award, and she and Callie plan to move to Malawi, Africa and work there. However, she breaks up with Callie and leaves her at the airport. They reconcile soon after, and ultimately get married.
Derek Shepherd	Patrick Dempsey	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	-	Attending Surgeon	Chief of Neurosurgery
As Chief of Neurosurgery, Derek Shepherd earned the nickname McDreamy by the female staff of Seattle Grace. The lead male character, he is known for his complicated love-life. Initially he moved to Seattle from New York to get away from his adulterous ex-wife Addison Montgomery whom he discovered was having an affair with his best friend, Mark Sloan. He subsequently began a long romance with Meredith Grey which resulted in their marriage. Recently he had a somewhat antagonistic relationship with Richard Webber whom he believed wasn't governing the hospital appropriately. He took over as the Chief of Surgery after going to the hospital board about Chief Webber's drinking problem, but resigned after nearly dying from being shot.
Mark Sloan	Eric Dane	3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	2, 3	Attending Surgeon	Chief of Plastic Surgery
Mark Sloan, Chief of Plastic Surgery, has a playboy personality that nearly jeopardized his friendship with Derek by having an affair with his wife, Addison Montgomery. He knew both Derek and Addison Shepard from when all three lived in New York. Derek and Mark managed to resolve their issues and reaffirm their friendship. He has been given the nickname "McSteamy" by the female staff. Sloan had a relationship with Lexie Grey which ended due to strain when Mark's 18 year old daughter from a one night stand appeared at the hospital and subsequently moved in with them. The girl's mother had named her Sloan and never told Mark about her. She arrived in Seattle unannounced, and Mark found out she was pregnant. Mark wanted to keep the baby but Sloan decided to give it up for adoption. After that, Mark and Lexie retake their relationship, but it ends when Mark got Callie Torres pregnant, and Lexie started dating Jackson Avery.
Isobel 'Izzie' Stevens	Katherine Heigl	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	-	Former Surgical Resident	M.D.
Growing up in a trailer park and putting her newborn daughter up for adoption at age 16, Izzie managed to progress along medical school by paying her bills through modeling. She put her career as doctor on the line in a risky bid to get her lover Denny Duquette a new heart by cutting his LVAD wires. Denny subsequently died but Izzie managed to keep her job. Izzie began a relationship with Alex Karev, but their relationship came under strain when she was diagnosed with metastatic melanoma. She survived the condition following treatment with Interleukin-2 but after restarting work she accidentally induced hyperkalemia in a patient listed for renal transplant. Subsequently she lost her job, and has since disappeared from Seattle Grace. Originally, it was planned that character would have a proper closure to her relationship with Alex in season 7, but this did not happen.
Calliope 'Callie' Torres	Sara Ramirez	3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	2	Attending Surgeon	M.D.
Introduced as an orthopedic surgical resident, and then promoted to an attending, Callie was once married to George O'Malley, but divorced after he developed feelings for Izzie Stevens. Later, she had a lesbian affair with Erica Hahn which was cut short by Hahn's departure from Seattle Grace. She was in a happy relationship with Arizona Robbins but they broke up because Arizona did not want to have kids. At the end of the 6th season, however, after doing a surgery on a small girl while a shooter is loose in the hospital, Callie tells Arizona in a round about way that she loves her and the two end up getting back together and decide that they are going to have children. In season 7, while about to move to Africa with Arizona, Arizona breaks up with her and leaves her at the airport in Seattle. Later on, Callie gets horribly injured in a car crash with Arizona and ultimately ends up marrying Arizona.
Richard Webber	James Pickens, Jr.	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	-	Attending Surgeon	M.D.
Authority figure and ex-Chief of Surgery at Seattle Grace, Richard has had a difficult past characterized by affairs and alcoholism. His relationship with Meredith Grey is at times volatile because he had an affair with her mother. Recently Richard has struggled with managing the finances of Seattle Grace and has merged the hospital with Mercy West Hospital. The merger has caused him much stress, strained his relationship with Derek Shepherd and ultimately contributed to the collapse of his sobriety. He stepped down as Chief of Surgery in season 8.
Cristina Yang	Sandra Oh	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8	-	Surgical Resident	M.D.
Skilled Resident Cristina Yang has an indomitable passion for cardiothoracic surgery, and is almost ruthless in pursuit of her desired specialty. She is best friends with Meredith Grey, and has previously been in a relationship with Preston Burke, which ended suddenly when he left Cristina on their wedding day. Since then she has entered into a relationship with Owen Hunt, whom she marries in season 7.

Supporting characters

Other medical professionals

Name	Actor/Actress	Season(s)	Episode count
Nurse Olivia Harper	Sarah Utterback	1, 2, 3, 4, 6	18
A nurse at the hospital. She had relationships with George and Alex. Alex gave her syphilis which she then unknowingly gave to George after breaking up with Alex (which was part of a hospital-wide syphilis epidemic among the doctors and nurses). After that, Alex began a relationship with Izzie, who then found him cheating on her with Nurse Olivia. The female interns occasionally insultingly refer to her as "Syph Nurse." She was also in the club 'Nurses United Against Mark Sloan' which implies she has had sexual relations with him. During the merger, she is fired and Derek offers to give her a recommendation.
Nurse Tyler Christian	Moe Irvin	1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6	24
Nurse Tyler is one of the members of the nursing staff at Seattle Grace. He attended the nurse strike in season 2.
Patricia	Robin Pearson Rose	1, 2, 3, 5	12
Patricia is Richard Weber's assistant/secretary and had previously worked as a nurse.
Dr. Sydney Heron	Kali Rocha	2, 3, 4	8
A fifth-year general surgery resident at Seattle Grace, known for her extremely perky personality. She initially appeared as Bailey's substitute when Bailey was on maternity leave and clashed with Cristina, who finds Sydney's positive attitude unbearable. She later served as Izzie's peer counselor and revealed that her perky persona actually originated from a nervous breakdown she suffered after losing a patient of her own. She was also in the running to become chief resident, but lost to Callie, who was later replaced by Bailey. Sydney also went on one date with Dr. Shepherd, but dumped him when she decided he wasn't ready for the kind of relationship she needs.
Dr. Katharine Wyatt	Amy Madigan	4, 5, 6	18
A psychiatrist at the hospital, she was Dr. Meredith Grey's and Dr. Erica Hahn's therapist. As of "Sweet Surrender", Dr. Owen Hunt has begun sessions with her.
Dr. Steve Mostow	Mark Saul	4, 5, 6	37
A surgical intern of Dr. Cristina Yang, who calls him "2". In "There's no 'I' in Team", Dr. Yang considered "giving" him to George O'Malley when he finally passed his medical exams. Later on, Steve allowed the other interns to practice an epidural anesthesia on him, and introduce a catheter onto his male organs; because of this he couldn't move for a while and thus was not present at Sadie's operation. Dr. Yang found him immobilized and thus found out about the operation. Steve was put on probation along with the other interns. Later in the season, Steve slept with fellow intern Pierce's girlfriend Megan, and she got pregnant. It's revealed in the 6th season that Steve and Megan got married, and concluding that he was the father. During the merger Megan is fired, but Steve keeps his job, although she's later hired back by Derek Shepherd. According to his blog[4], he has aspirations to go into neurosurgery as a specialty.
Dr. Graziella Guzman	Gloria Garayua	4, 5, 6	17
A surgical intern of Dr. Izzie Stevens, who considered giving her to George O'Malley because she charts like crap, but kept her because she can put in a line. Graciella is a nervous student, who eats a lot of chocolate when nervous. In the episode "In The Midnight Hour", she was the only one who quit the interns' operation on Sadie because she felt it was wrong; nevertheless, she was put on probation with the other interns.
Intern Pierce	Joseph Williamson	4, 5, 6	23
A surgical intern of Dr. Alex Karev, who considered to give him to George O'Malley just because he hates how his name sounds. Pierce has confronted Dr. Karev in at least one occasion, when he met his punishment along with the other interns in the episode "In The Midnight Hour" and commented that Dr. Stevens killed a man and was forgiven; Dr. Karev responded by physically attacking him. Later on the season, Pierce and Steve fought over Megan, Pierce's girlfriend who slept with Steve during a break up, and now she's pregnant without knowing who is the father to her baby.
Dr. Ryan Spalding	Brandon Scott	5, 6	15
A surgical intern of Dr. Cristina Yang, who considered giving him to George O'Malley, first appeared in "Life During Wartime" and was subsequently named "4.2". In the episode "In The Midnight Hour" Ryan was one of the surgical interns operating on Dr. Sadie Harris. He was left on his own in an OR, while the others went to get help. He was put on probation with the other interns, after Sadie nearly died in the operation.
Dr. Megan Mostow	Molly Kidder	4, 5, 6	25
nee Nowland. Resident and former intern of Dr. Meredith Grey's, who she considered giving to George O'Malley. She had a relationship with Intern Pierce which ended when she had an affair with Steve that resulted in a pregnancy. During the hospital merger The Chief fired her by e-mail. Later she decided to sue the hospital, believing her dismissal was related to her pregnancy. She was later rehired by Derek Shepherd, who believed she was fired unjustly and deserved a "fighting chance."
Intern Laura	Candice Afia	4, 5, 6	25
Former surgical intern under Dr. Alex Karev. Laura was rebuked by Izzie Stevens when she made fun of a patient with a facial deformity.
Dr. Raj Sen	Anjul Nigam	1, 2, 4	7
A psychiatric resident at Seattle Grace. He sometimes provides consults for the surgeons.
Dr. Virginia Dixon	Mary McDonnell	5	3
An exceptional cardiothoracic surgeon who has Asperger syndrome, and served as the interim Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery.
Dr. Swender	Kimberly Elise	5	3
A surgical oncology attending assigned to oversee Izzie Stevens' cancer treatment. She is said to be the best surgical oncologist in the state of Washington.[5] Swender is a proponent for IL-2-use as treatment for cancer; she reasons its success when a patient, initially given only three months to live, uses the therapy and survives an additional two years. The patient, however, succumbs to complications due to the inherent nature of the IL-2. This has shown to affect Swender's otherwise authoritarian and impartial persona, and casts doubt on this treatment-protocol.[6]
Dr. Margaret Campbell	Faye Dunaway	5	1
A general surgery attending and Seattle Grace's first female surgeon. With forty-years of surgical experience, she is considered a pioneer and one of the hospital's most respected surgeons; it is implied that, in that time, Richard Webber was taught by her as she recalls an incident involving a clamp dropped into an open body cavity, and has worked with Ellis Grey. More recently, Cristina Yang has been vocal about her objections and criticisms of Campbell's continued long-standing service. Due to a complication caused by a lacerated bowel during a routine cholecytectomy, Campbell shortly retires after performing her last surgery to repair the "careless mistake."[7]
Dr. Sadie Harris	Melissa George	5	8
An intern and former best friend of Meredith. She reveals self-harm tendencies and later quits Seattle Grace after her medical knowledge and expertise are called into question.
Dr. Colin Marlowe	Roger Rees	3	3
A professor at Stanford University and brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon (noted for pioneering a procedure called the Marlowe transplant), Colin Marlowe had a three-year relationship with Cristina Yang before she graduated and began her residency at Seattle Grace. He appeared months later as a candidate for Chief of Surgery, and ultimately withdrew as his true purpose to rekindle his relationship with Cristina failed.
Dr. Norman Shales	Edward Herrmann	4	3
An elderly surgical intern assigned to second year Dr. Alex Karev. Dr. Shales is a former pharmacist who because of his age is often mistaken by patients as the senior physician. He has since transferred into Psych.
Nurse Rose	Lauren Stamile	4, 5	10
A nurse at the hospital. She works often with Dr. Derek Shepherd. She has been the attending nurse on over 30 of Dr. Derek Shepherd's surgeries, as Rose stated in "Forever Young" (Season 4, Episode 8). Derek and Rose shared a kiss and were dating, much to Meredith's distress as she tried to get over him. Despite their seemingly happy relationship, Rose was soon bothered by comments made by hospital personnel about Meredith and Derek's breakup only being temporary which ended up being true when Derek and Meredith got back together for good. For example, Addison Montgomery sarcastically called Rose the "McRebound," unaware that Rose was in the room. Her prediction proved correct when in the season finale, "Freedom," Derek and Meredith make up and share a kiss. Derek abruptly leaves this kiss to break up with Rose, signaling the end of their relationship. Afterward, Rose was hostile towards Derek whenever she saw him but when she accidentally cut his hand during a surgery, she apologized and transferred to peds.
Dr. Finn Dandridge	Chris O'Donnell	2, 3	9
The former veterinarian of Meredith and Derek's dog, Doc. He was also the newest love interest for Meredith for some time before she broke up with him because she was still in love with Derek. His wife, Liz, died in a car accident. The interns have given him the nickname "McVet," in accordance with Derek Shepherd's nickname, McDreamy. He dated Meredith throughout the end of the second season, and the beginning of the third season. He competed with Derek Shepherd for Meredith's heart and ultimately lost to Derek because Meredith was still in love with him (Derek). Meredith realized that he may be the "best guy," but he wasn't "her guy." After she told him this, he replied by saying, "He'll break your heart again Meredith, and when he does, I won't be here" and walked out for the last time.
Dr. Ben Warren	Jason George	6, 7	3
Anesthesiologist from Mercy West Hospital and boyfriend of Dr. Bailey until she broke up with him because he went golfing the day of the shooting.
Dr. Reed Adamson	Nora Zehetner	6	10
Surgical resident, formerly at Mercy West Hospital. She was close friends with Dr. Charles Percy and Dr. April Kepner. She seemed to be attracted to Alex Karev, and she had a one night stand with Mark Sloan. She was shot in the head by Gary Clark in the season six finale.
Dr. Charles Percy	Robert Baker	6	11
Surgical resident, formerly at Mercy West Hospital. He was often referred to as "the big guy." He was in love with Dr. Reed Adamson. Percy was shot by Gary Clark in the season six finale, and despite Miranda Bailey's efforts, he died.
Dr. Robert Stark	Peter MacNicol	7	7
An incompetent pediatric surgery attending brought on as the interim Chief of Pediatric Surgery when Arizona Robbins gave her notice to oversee a pediatric surgery program in Malawi, Africa. Under contract for a year, Stark continues to serve as the department chief when Robbins returns. Described as a lazy doctor[8] and a complacent and self-satisfied attending, Stark represents the antithesis of attending surgeons commonly employed at Seattle Grace/Mercy West Hospital.[9] Stark has an antagonistic disposition with most of the hospital staff, especially Alex Karev. April Kepner is the only exception to his behavior, whom he later attempted to date with little success.
Dr. Lucy Fields	Rachael Taylor	7	8
An OB/GYN attending and maternal-fetal medicine fellow at Seattle Grace Mercy West. Self-proclaimed as being "damn good at her job," Fields attended Harvard Medical School and completed her OB/GYN residency at Duke University Medical Center.[10] Fields is also Callie Torres's obstetrician and shows that she is equal parts tough, ironic, and empathetic, especially when dealing with Torres and her support team: Mark Sloan and Arizona Robbins. It also seems that she has a slight crush on Alex Karev, and in Episode 18 they start to form a relationship. Also, Doctor Addison Montgomery comes back and is told that she is not up to key with dealing with traumatic pregnancy cases.(Ex: Callie being pregnant in a car accident).Alex Karev breaks off the relationship he had with her in the season 7 finale.[11]

Family members

Meredith and Lexie's family

• Ellis Grey (Kate Burton, Sarah Paulson (1982 flashback)): Meredith's mother. She was a highly respected surgeon who trained at Seattle Grace with Dr. Webber. During their residency, she and Webber had an affair; she left her husband Thatcher for him, but he could not bring himself to leave his wife. After her residency, she left Seattle to take a position at Massachusetts General. She also worked at the Mayo Clinic. She won the Harper Avery Award twice, and she invented the laprascopic Grey method. She developed early onset Alzheimer's shortly before Meredith started medical school, and at the start of the show she had been placed in Roseridge Home for Extended Care, a nursing home. She died in the middle of Season 3 of cardiac arrest. In "Drowning on Dry Land" she appears to her daughter encouraging her to go back and live her life.
• Thatcher Grey (Jeff Perry): Father of Meredith and Lexie Grey. He was married to Ellis Grey, Meredith's mother, for about seven years. They divorced after she had an affair with Richard Webber. Thatcher blames Ellis somewhat for his estrangement from Meredith, saying Ellis was "cold" and wouldn't let him get to know his daughter. After the disintegration of his first family, Thatcher remained in Seattle and married his second wife, Susan. They had two daughters, Lexie and Molly. After Meredith moved to Seattle for her residency, Susan encouraged Thatcher and Meredith to develop a relationship. However, Susan's sudden death devastated Thatcher, and he blamed her death on Meredith. He became an alcoholic, and Lexie had to give up a residency at Massachusetts General Hospital to move to Seattle to care for her father. He eventually went to rehab and apologized to his daughters; however, his alcoholism had destroyed his liver, and Meredith had to give him a portion of hers to save his life.
• Susan Grey (Mare Winningham): The second wife of Thatcher Grey, and mother of Lexie Grey and Molly Grey Thompson. Susan was always aware of Thatcher's first wife and daughter, but she didn't meet Meredith until Molly was a patient at Seattle Grace. She reached out to Meredith and encouraged her to develop a relationship with Thatcher. At first, Meredith resisted Susan's attempts to mother her, but eventually she came to think of Susan as a surrogate mother. Susan died suddenly, following a rare complication from a routine procedure to treat her acid reflux and hiccups. Thatcher was devastated by her death and became an alcoholic.
• Molly Grey-Thompson (Mandy Siegfried): Daughter of Thatcher and Susan Grey, and Lexie's younger sister and Meredith's half-sister. She proposed to her husband, Eric, before he was shipped out by the military to be stationed in Iraq. Originally a patient at Mercy West, Molly transferred to Seattle Grace when she was 32 weeks pregnant and Addison operated to repair a congenital diaphragmatic hernia on Molly’s baby. She later gave birth to a daughter, whom she named Laura.
• Laura Thompson: Daughter of Molly Grey and Eric Thompson.
• Zola Shepherd: Adoptive daughter of Meredith and Derek.

Derek's family

• Carolyn Maloney Shepherd: Derek's mother. Cared for Derek and his sisters after her husband was murdered.
• Addison Montgomery: Derek's ex-wife who cheated on him with Mark. She comes to Seattle at Richard's request and the two attempt to reconcile. She ultimately moves to Los Angeles.
• Kathleen Shepherd: One of Derek's sisters.
• Nancy Shepherd: One of Derek's sisters. She slept with Mark as stated in the episode "Let The Angels Commit" when she told him, "Come on Derek. Everyone sleeps with Mark."
• Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone): Derek's sister and the youngest Shepherd child. She and Derek witnessed their father being murdered along with Derek. She became addicted to prescription medication before crashing Derek's car while under the influence. Amelia works with Addison in Los Angeles and Amelia also slept with Mark as did Nancy and Addison before her.
• Zola Shepherd: Adoptive daughter of Meredith and Derek.

Cristina's family

• Helen Yang Rubenstein (Tsai Chin): Cristina's mother. Helen and Cristina's father divorced, and she remarried Dr. Saul Rubenstein, an oral surgeon, when Cristina was three. She thinks Cristina should focus more on getting married and less on her career.

Izzie's family

• Robbie Stevens (Sharon Lawrence): Izzie's mother. She works as a waitress.
• Hannah Klein (Liv Hutchings): Izzie's biological daughter, born when Izzie was sixteen years old. In the third season, Hannah is admitted to Seattle Grace Hospital with leukemia, and Izzie donates bone marrow to her. However, Hannah refuses to see her.

Dr. Webber's family

• Adele Webber (Loretta Devine): Dr. Webber's wife. She was frequently frustrated by his devotion to the hospital, and she eventually left him. She became pregnant with his child but had a miscarriage. They have since reconciled. She was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
• Camille Travis (Tessa Thompson / Camille Winbush): Daughter of Adele's sister Arlene and Dr. Webber and Adele's niece. She was diagnosed with ovarian cancer when she was fourteen, and the cancer returned when she was a senior in high school. Dr. Bailey ordered the interns to plan a prom in the hospital for her.
• Arlene Travis (Shelley Robertson): Adele's sister and Camille's mother.

George's family

• Harold O'Malley (George Dzundza): Father of George O'Malley. He was a truck driver with a passion for vintage cars. He was married for forty years to his wife, Louise, and they had three sons: Jerry, Ronny, and George. He was very proud of all of his sons, but he often had trouble relating to George. He was admitted to Seattle Grace with esophageal cancer that had spread to his stomach, as well as a leaking aortic valve. He underwent surgery to replace his aortic valve, which was successful, and later had a second surgery to determine the extent of the cancer. Prior to the second surgery, he had asked Dr. Webber and Dr. Bailey to remove the tumor regardless of the risk in order to give him a chance to fight the cancer. The surgery proved too much for his body, and after several days, he went into multi-system organ failure, which prompted the family to take him off life support.
• Louise O'Malley (Debra Monk): George's mother. She works as a teacher. George seems to find her a little overbearing, and is often embarrassed by her good-natured gestures, such as setting out breakfast for the interns during rounds and offering to iron his scrubs. She is a devout Catholic, and she is very upset when George and Callie get divorced.
• Jerry O'Malley (Greg Pitts): George's brother. He works at a dry cleaners.
• Ronny O'Malley (Tim Griffin): George's brother. He works at the post office.

Alex Karev's family

• Aaron Karev: Alex's younger brother. He works as a mover. He is very nice and polite, which is why Cristina named him "Angel Spawn" while she calls Alex "Evil Spawn". He comes to Seattle Grace with a hernia, which Dr. Bailey successfully repairs. He's very chatty and tells the doctors about his and Alex's troubled childhood. He is later diagnosed with schizophrenia after he suffers a psychotic break and tries to kill his younger sister, Amber. As a result, he has been committed to a psychiatric ward.
• Amber Karev: Alex's younger sister. She is a high school student. Aaron is trying to convince her to go to college, but she doesn't see the point.

Miranda Bailey's family

• Tucker Jones: Miranda's ex-husband who divorced her because she spent more time working than at home with him and Tuck. Tucker was operated on by Derek when he got into a car accident on his way to the hospital for their son's birth.
• William George Bailey Tucker "Tuck" Jones: Miranda's son with her ex-husband Tucker.

Mark Sloan's family

• Sloan Riley( Leven Rambin): Mark's biological daughter. As an 18-year old, she gives birth to Mark's grandson and puts him up for adoption.
• Sofia Torres: Mark's daughter with Calliope "Callie" Torres. She was born prematurely as Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres on March 31, 2011 (Song Beneath the Song). She was conceived after Mark and Callie had a one night stand.

Teddy Altman's family

• Henry Burton (Scott Foley): Husband of Dr. Teddy Altman. She meets and marries him in season 7 so that he can use her health insurance to cover the ongoing costs of his treatment for Von Hippel-Lindau disease. He dies in season 8 while undergoing surgery.

Other minor characters

• Joe the Bartender (Steven W. Bailey): The owner of the Emerald City Bar, located across from the hospital, where the doctors often go for a drink. Joe collapsed due to an aneurysm in "Raindrops Keep Falling on my Head," and Derek and Burke performed a stand-still surgery to repair it. Joe and his boyfriend Walter attended the Thanksgiving Izzie hosted at Meredith's house, and they went on a camping trip with Dr. Shepherd, Burke, Webber, Karev and O'Malley. During this trip, Joe revealed during a discussion with the Chief that although he and Walter had been "on-and-off" for about ten years, they were now committed and considering the possibility of children. They are one of two couples being considered as adoptive parents for a young mother's twins.

• Walter (Brian Reid/Jack Yang): Joe's boyfriend. Walter has been played by Jack Yang in all of his appearances except in the episode "Let It Be", where he is played by Brian Reid.

• Bonnie Crasnoff (Monica Keena): A patient admitted to Seattle Grace Hospital after being in a train crash. She and another passenger, Tom, were connected by a large metal pole passing through their bodies. Since moving the pole would kill them, the doctors decided to move one of the patients off the pole, then operate around the pole to repair the damage in the other patient. Since her injuries were more severe, they decided to move her, and she died almost immediately. Bonnie reappeared in Season 3 as part of Meredith's dream after drowning.

• Dennison "Denny" Duquette, Jr. (Jeffrey Dean Morgan): A patient waiting for a heart transplant. He developed a close relationship with Izzie Stevens, and he eventually proposed to her. Izzie risked her career to save him by cutting his LVAD wire, insuring that he would become so ill that he would get a new heart. He died shortly after the transplant from a blood clot. He reappeared in Season 3 as part of Meredith's dream after drowning. In Season 5 Izzie began to see Denny everywhere, which was eventually revealed to be a symptom of her brain tumor.

• Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler): The commanding officer of the Seattle PD bomb squad that responded to the bomb scare. He helped to keep Meredith calm as she held the bomb located inside a patient's body. She removed the bomb safely from the patient, but it exploded while Dylan carried it out of the OR. He reappeared in Season 3 as part of Meredith's dream after drowning.

• Amanda (Shannon Lucio): A young woman saved from being hit by a bus by George, who was subsequently dragged several yards by the bus. Amanda was extremely concerned about him, and she stayed with him in the ICU and referred to him as "her prince." She attended George's funeral and cried harder than his own mother. Amanda kept a daily vigil outside the hospital until Izzie confronted her, pointing out that she was still alive thanks to George, and that she should honor him by living her life.

• Rebecca Pope or "Ava" (Elizabeth Reaser): A patient suffering from amnesia after being badly injured in the ferry crash. At the time of the crash, she was in the third trimester of pregnancy. She was discovered by Dr. Alex Karev, and they developed a very close relationship. While at Seattle Grace, she delivered a baby girl and underwent extensive facial reconstruction surgery, performed by Dr. Mark Sloan. She eventually regained her memory and went home with her husband Jeff, although before leaving she pleaded with Alex to "give [her] a reason to stay." She returned to Seattle Grace to be with Alex, and he ended up getting suspended for sneaking her into the OR gallery to watch him perform surgery. She left, but returned six weeks later claiming to be pregnant with his child. Although initially upset, Alex eventually became excited about having a baby with her; however, it was revealed that she was suffering from a hysterical pregnancy. When she learned that she was not actually pregnant, she became severely depressed, and Alex neglected his duties at the hospital to take care of her. But when she attempted suicide, Izzie intervened and had her admitted to the psychiatric ward. It's revealed that she had been diagnosed with borderline personality disorder several months earlier, and her husband had taken their daughter and left her. Alex visited her after she was admitted and told her that he couldn't take care of her anymore, and that she would be transferred to a psychiatric facility. Elizabeth Reaser was nominated Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series at the 2007 Emmy Awards for her role on the show.

• Gary Clark (Michael O'Neill): Husband of a patient at Seattle Grace. His wife was treated by Dr. Lexie Grey and Dr. Webber. After surgery his wife went into a coma, and since she had earlier signed a DNR, she was taken off life support. Clark filed a lawsuit against Dr. Shepherd for wrongful death, but lost. In the Season 6 finale, he returned to the hospital intending to kill Dr. Shepherd, Dr. Lexie Grey, and Dr. Webber. He ended up shooting several other people, including Derek Shepherd, Owen Hunt, Reed Adamson, Charles Percy, and Alex Karev. After a tense standoff with Dr. Webber, he used his last bullet to commit suicide instead of killing Dr. Webber.

• Mary Portman (Mandy Moore): She was Miranda Bailey's patient during the Seattle Grace shooting. She is the wife of Bill Portman. She helped Miranda attempt to save the life of Charles Percy and despite their efforts he died. She returned to the hospital six months later to have the colostomy reversal she was supposed to have the day of the shooting. The surgery was successful, but sadly, Mary never woke up. She was taken off life support one month later and died.

• Bill Portman (Ryan Devlin): Husband of Mary Portman.

References

1. ^ Nellie Andreeva (January 4, 2010). "Kim Raver Promoted on: "Grey's Anatomy"". American Broadcasting Company. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=9470394. Retrieved January 4, 2010. ^{[dead link]}
2. ^ "Grey's Anatomy" Exclusive: Jesse Williams Gets Full-Time Upgrade, Entertainment Weekly, June 8, 2010
3. ^ "Exclusive: 'Grey's Anatomy' promotes Sarah Drew". Entertainment Weekly. Time Inc.. June 9, 2010. http://ausiellofiles.ew.com/2010/06/09/greys-anatomy-promotes-sarah-drew. Retrieved June 9, 2010. 
4. ^ "The Intern Formerly Known as Steve". ABC. 2008. http://blogs.abc.com/internsteve/about.html. Retrieved 2009-04-26. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Stand By Me". Grey's Anatomy. ABC. 2009-03-19. No. 16, season 5.
6. ^ "Here's to the Future". Grey's Anatomy. ABC. 2009-05-14. No. 23, season 5.
7. ^ "An Honest Mistake". Grey's Anatomy. ABC. 2009-02-19. No. 16, season 5.
8. ^ Clack, Zoanne. "Grey Matter: From the Writer's of Grey's Anatomy". http://www.greyswriters.com/2010/11/do-not-go-gentle-into-that-good-night-once-upon-a-midnight-dreary-while-i-pondered-weak-and-weary.html. Retrieved 05 February 2011. 
9. ^ Harper, Bill. "Grey Matter: From the Writer's of Grey's Anatomy". http://www.greyswriters.com/2010/11/bill-harper-on-somethings-gotta-give.html. Retrieved 05 February 2011. 
10. ^ "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)". Mark Wilding (writer), Kevin McKidd (director). Grey's Anatomy. ABC. 2011-02-03. No. 13, season 7.
11. ^ Wilding, Bill. "Grey Matter: From the Writer's of Grey's Anatomy". http://www.greyswriters.com/2011/02/mark-wilding-on-dont-deceive-me-please-dont-go.html. Retrieved 05 February 2011. 

External links

• Official blog of Joe the bartender
• Official blog of nurse Debbie