If you're a fan of Grey's Anatomy, you know the importance of lines like, "I'm just a girl in a bar" and "Pick me, choose me, love me" and the impact on the series of the girl who said them. Meredith Grey is at the heart of the series, and the incredibly talented Ellen Pompeo plays her.
Grey's Anatomy will return for its 18th season this September, and fans are thrilled about the idea. Following the story of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, every Thursday evening has become a ritual for fans. There are shirts and blankets, coffee mugs and wine glasses, and home decor full of character and quote references. Of course, Meredith Grey is one of those characters fans absolutely adore.
She's also one of the very few characters left who were part of the journey from episode one. With the long-running series still pressing ahead, some fans wonder if the sun will set on the show anytime soon. If so, what will the stories of characters like Richard Webber and Meredith Grey wrap up as, and what will the actors move on to do next?
Does Ellen Pompeo plan to keep acting after the series ends, and what does she enjoy doing when she's not working? Here's what we know.
9 She's Not Quite Sure What The Future Holds
After working on the Grey's Anatomy series, for so long -- she's excited about many things, but she's also not really sure what the future holds. Her life is going to be vastly different, as she's used to shooting for so many months out of the year and being part of this show and owning this character.
She spoke about the possibility of acting again in the future and not acting again at all.
"I'm not saying I'll never act again, I very well may, but I'm not super excited about continuing my acting career."
8 She Says Acting Is For 'The Young At Heart'
As she's gone through the process of being a major character on Grey's Anatomy, she's lived a "lot of lives," and sometimes it can be exhausting. She's been doing this for years now, and with the added stress and changes caused by Covid, it can be exhausting at times.
Ellen Pompeo said that acting is really for the young at heart.
"I have no desire to go sit in trailers at 11 o'clock at night and wait to shoot scenes and have ADs knock on my door and tell me when I can eat lunch. You know, it's for the young at heart. It's for the youth!"
7 She Hopes To Make Healthcare Workers Proud
In her role as Meredith Grey and her personal life, especially during this season of existing during a pandemic, she focused on saluting healthcare workers. She and the cast of Grey's dedicated season 17 to those who lost their lives to Covid and those who survived it. The season had a strong focus on the pandemic but still found love, light, and hope in the process, hoping to share that with viewers at home.
6 She's Business Minded
In a podcast interview with Lauren Brown, she spoke about being more entrepreneurial at this part of her life. She wants to start a business and do things a little differently than she has been. It's a time to step away from the spotlight and embrace other dreams and aspirations.
"I'm more entrepreneurial at this stage. I'm excited about investing in businesses and starting a business. That's an area of growth that I'm excited about, using my brain in a different way."
5 She's An Incredible Mom
Of course, Ellen Pompeo will also enjoy time with her family and focus on her children and husband. Pompeo loves her family, sharing moments with them often on social media and the time she gets to spend with them. While she keeps them close, even as she works, it'll be a nice change of pace to get to be home with them more and to have an empty plate where they can exist in a different season together.
4 She Wants To Try Something New
In speaking of a future project recently, Pompeo talked about the excitement that comes along with trying something new. There's the looking forward to it, there's planning and happiness and nervousness, and of course, the possibility of failure, and she's thought of that, too.
"If it fails, it fails, but at least I'm trying something new."
3 A Podcast On The Horizon?
Ellen Pompeo recently got a taste of the "podcast life" on Ladies First With Laura Brown and spoke of the podcast she'll be hosting in the future, Tell Me. She's really looking forward to doing something different, for many reasons, and one is just the fact that it's been a long time since she has!
"I thought, 'Let me go out there and do something I've never done before and try something completely different for absolutely no other reason than to try something different because I haven't for so long.'"
2 She Loves Giving Back
Ellen Pompeo loves to give back, so it's safe to assume that no matter what's next for her, she'll continue being an advocate and helping others as much as she can. If you go to her Instagram profile, it's flooded with support for causes, and she uses her platform as a way to spark conversation and change. She gives a voice to those who need it and questions societal "norms" that don't seem to welcome everyone. Her heart is one of the things people love about her so much, and a trait she's brought to her character on screen, too.
1 She Loves Her 'Grey's' Family
No matter what the future holds, Ellen Pompeo's bond with her character and fellow cast and crew are significant. In a post on Instagram that showed a scene from season 17, she said angels on earth surrounded her. While it's certainly a reference to everything going on with her character in the series, it also rings true to how she feels about those she's worked with on this path.