Grey's Anatomy
THURSDAYS 9|8c
Derek Shepherd

Derek Shepherd

Played by Patrick Dempsey

POSITION:
Attending (Neuro)

STRENGTHS:
Kind; compassionate; charming; sensitive; clever; excellent bedside manner.

WEAKNESSES:
Stubborn; and has a habit of brooding and beating himself up over things.

Previous Quote

"She's got her mother's talent. She's got her mother's looks, Richard. What if she has her mother's disease?" - Derek Shepherd

Next Quote
Prev
  • Miranda Bailey to Derek:

    "That girl worked her ass off for you and you got all the credit."

  • to Derek:

    "You know what, Shepherd? I don't need crap from you."

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "Just because people do horrible things... it doesn't always mean they're horrible people."

  • Meredith Grey about Derek's hair:

    "It's one of the things that make me happy."

  • Richard Webber to Derek:

    "I've been where you are. You've been drunk for a few days, I was drunk for years."

  • Miranda Bailey to Derek:

    "This man is trying to kill himself. God forgive me, I need you to let him."

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "There is no other day. Every day is like this. Every day is a crisis."

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "You're driving awfully fast, Dr. Shepherd. The least you could do is wear a seatbelt."

  • Mark Sloan about Derek:

    "He's married and self-satisfied. It's irritating."

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "I may not always be so graceful about it, but I want you here."

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "You and Cristina are so busy supporting each other. Have you even noticed that I went through a trauma, too?"

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "Let's go to City Hall tomorrow. I don't want to spend another day not being married to you."

  • Meredith Grey to Derek:

    "My sense of adventure is down on the 1st floor, it's not in this elevator"

Next

Character Bio

LIKES:
Meredith; ferryboats; his trailer; fly-fishing; scotch; hopeless cases

DISLIKES:
Having a failed marriage under his belt.

NOTABLE RELATIONSHIPS:
After finding his wife, Addison, in bed with his best friend, Mark, Derek left New York and moved to Seattle. There, he met Meredith and pursued a relationship. After a series of ups and downs, the couple finally got married!

FAMILY:
Derek comes from a very large family. He has four sisters. His father passed away when he was very young. Most recently, Derek and Meredith adopted a baby girl named Zola.

OTHER:
Nicknamed "McDreamy" by the hospital's female staff, Derek is known for his good looks, beautiful hair, charm and phenomenal surgical skill. He was shot in the chest by the Seattle Grace shooter, Gary Clark, and survived. Derek spearheaded a high profile Alzheimer's Trial, which were halted due to the suspicious actions of Meredith Grey. Afterwards, Derek took an interest in operating on hopeless cases. His reputation earned him an offer from Harvard. Most recently, Derek injured his hand in a plane crash. Stranded in the woods alongside his fellow surgeons, Derek's future remains unclear.

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Actor Bio

Sure he was a bit nerdy in the ‘80s, but that is precisely why we think the man who plays Dr. McDreamy himself is even MORE intriguing today.

Patrick Dempsey’s portrayal of Dr. Derek Shepherd has earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award and a People's Choice Award. In addition he has garnered two Golden Globe nominations and received a 2006 Screen Actors Guild nomination.

Dempsey's movie career keeps him just as busy: He starred in the romantic comedy Made of Honor, Disney's Enchanted (opposite twice-Oscar-nominated Amy Adams) and the critically acclaimed Freedom Writers, alongside Oscar winner Hilary Swank.

Dempsey became well known as the unlikely heartthrob of such classic '80s nostalgia films as Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy. Other films include Sweet Home Alabama, Scream 3, With Honors, Outbreak, Hugo Pool, The Treat, The Palace Thief, Heaven Help Us, Happy Together, Some Girls, Coupe De Ville, Run, Mobsters and In the Mood.

On television, Dempsey nabbed an Emmy nomination in 2001 for his portrayal of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, in the critically acclaimed Once and Again. In 2003 he made a memorable guest appearance on NBC's hit Will & Grace as Will's love interest, and in 2004 he co-starred in HBO's highly-acclaimed Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston.

Dempsey has also starred in the NBC movie based on Fyodor Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment, opposite Ben Kingsley; appeared in the television miniseries 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Michael Caine; co-starred with Oliver Reed in the biblical epic, Jeremiah, and could also be seen in JFK: Reckless Youth, A Season in Purgatory, Blood Knot, The Right to Remain Silent, Shallow Grave and Blonde.

Dempsey was born and raised in Lewiston, Maine. He first appeared on stage as David in the San Francisco production of Torch Song Trilogy. Other early stage work included On Golden Pond for the Maine Acting Company, the international touring production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, directed by Gene Saks, and The Subject Was Roses at the Roundabout Theatre in New York. He also took the stage in The Pasadena Playhouse run of The Importance of Being Earnest as Algernon Moncrieff.

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