Ellen Pompeo

Pompeo was born in Everett, Massachusetts, then lived on New York City's Upper West Side. Ellen is part Italian; her grandfather was born in Gesualdo, a village in Province of Avellino, Italy. Her mother died when she was four years old. In 1996, she was bartending at the SoHo Bar & Grill when an agent approached her about appearing in commercials. Subsequently appeared in commercials for Citibank and L'Oreal. She began her career with minor roles on television shows like Strangers with Candy and a handful of films. She also appears in Stereophonics' video for their single Have A Nice Day (U.S. version).

Determined to succeed in acting, Pompeo moved to Los Angeles in 2001. A turning point came when she was selected by director Brad Silberling in 2002 for a role in his film Moonlight Mile. She also appeared in the film Daredevil playing Matt Murdock's (Ben Affleck) secretary Karen Page, but most of her scenes were deleted from the theatrical version of the film. She portrayed Jim Carrey's ex-girlfriend, Naomi, in the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but all her scenes were cut from the final film; They can be viewed on the collector's edition DVD of the film. In 2003 and 2002, Pompeo starred in Old School as Nicole and Catch Me If You Can as Marci. Her guest roles include two episodes of Law & Order and an episode of Friends.

Pompeo landed her first major role in the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy, as the title character, Meredith Grey, a surgical intern at a prestigious hospital. The show became the highest-rated show on network TV in its third season. In 2007, Pompeo was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series. That year, she also signed a new contract for Grey's Anatomy that increased her salary to nearly $200,000 per episode.

Filmography:
Life of the Party (2005) .... Phoebe
Grey's Anatomy (2005 - present) TV Series .... Dr. Meredith Grey
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) Naomi (deleted scene)
Art Heist (2004) .... Sandra Walker
Nobody's Perfect (2004) .... Veronica
Friends (The One Where the Stripper Cries) (2004) .... Missy Goldberg
Undermind (2003) .... Flynn
Old School (2003) .... Nicole
Daredevil (2003) .... Karen Page
Catch Me If You Can (2002) .... Marci
Moonlight Mile (2002) .... Bertie Knox
The Job ("Anger") (2001) .... Sue
In the Weeds (2000) .... Martha
Eventual Wife (2000) .... Beth
Coming Soon (1999/I) .... Upset Girl
8 1/2 x 11 (1999) .... Human Resources Woman
Strangers With Candy (1999) .... Lizzie Abrams

Life of the Party starring: Rosalind Chao, David Clennon, Larry Miller, Gabriel Olds, Pamela Reed