Some Lesser Known Facts About Ellen Pompeo

• Ellen Pompeo is of Italian, English, and Irish descent.

• Ellen Pompeo’s mother passed away when Ellen was just 4 years old.

• Ellen Pompeo has been interested in becoming an actor since her childhood and she used to take part in her school plays and local theatre productions.
  

  Ellen Pompeo’s childhood photo

• Ellen Pompeo used to work as a bartender at a restaurant in Miami and that’s where she met the fashion photographer Andrew Rosenthal.

• In 1995, Ellen and her photographer friend Andrew Rosenthal moved to New York City and she started working as a bartender in a restaurant. She did various odd jobs to support herself while attending auditions to get an acting role.

• In the same year, Ellen was cast in the American short film titled ‘Do You Have the Time.’

• One day while working as a bartender, a casting director discovered her and signed her up for an ad campaign for the personal care brand L’Oreal and banking company Citibank. Before getting into films and TV series, Ellen used to do a lot of commercials.

• In 1999, Ellen was cast in the American short film titled ‘8 ½ x 11’ in which she played the character of the Human Resources Woman.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American short film titled ‘8 ½ x 11’ (1999)

• In the same year, she was cast in the American television sitcom titled ‘Strangers with Candy’ in which she played the character of Lizzie Abrams. The show was telecast on the Comedy Central TV channel.
  

  Ellen Pompeo (left) in a still from the American television sitcom series titled ‘Strangers with Candy’ (1999)

• In 2000, Ellen Pompeo was cast in the American medical drama TV series titled ‘Strong Medicine’ in which she played the character of Quincy Dunne.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American medical drama TV series titled ‘Strong Medicine’ (2000)

• In 2001, Ellen Pompeo moved to Los Angeles.

• In 2002, she was cast in the American romantic drama film titled ‘Moonlight Mile.’
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American film titled ‘Moonlight Mile’ (2002)

• While she was pursuing acting full-time, Ellen Pompeo used to face major financial instability.

• In the same year, Ellen Pompeo was cast in the American biographical crime comedy-drama film titled ‘Catch Me If You Can.’
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American comedy-drama film titled ‘Catch Me If You Can’ (2002)

• Her performance in the drama film ‘Moonlight Mile’ was loved worldwide and that also made her grab a role in the American medical drama television series titled ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ in 2005 in which she played the lead character of Dr. Meredith Grey. The character became widely popular, making Pompeo one of the most renowned television actresses.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American medical drama TV series titled ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ (2005)

• In 2003, Ellen met her husband Chris Ivery for the first time at a grocery store in Los Angeles and they both started dating six months later.

• In the same year, Ellen Pompeo was cast in the American superhero film titled ‘Daredevil’ in which she played the character of Karen Page.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American superhero film titled ‘Daredevil’ (2003)

• In 2004, she was cast in season 10 of the American television sitcom TV series titled ‘Friends’ in which she played the character of Missy Goldberg.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American sitcom TV series titled ‘Friends’ (2004)

• In the same year, Ellen Pompeo was cast in the American science fiction romantic drama film titled ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ in which she played the character of Joel Barish’s girlfriend Naomi. However, her scene was later deleted for some unknown reasons.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American romantic drama film titled ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ (2004)

• In 2004, she was cast in the American short film titled ‘Nobody’s Perfect.’

• In 2004, Ellen was cast in the action thriller film titled ‘Art Heist.’

• The former Mayor of New York City Michael Bloomberg served as the witness at Ellen and Chris Ivery’s wedding in 2007.

• In 2007, there were media reports that mentioned that she suffered from an eating disorder. Reacting to the speculations, Ellen Pompeo stated how the media was so irresponsible and that she was worried about leaving a bad impression on the little girls who look up to her. She was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I don’t want them to think I starve myself or don’t eat, and that to be like me that’s what they have to do.”

• In 2011, Ellem Pompeo founded her own production company named ‘Calamity Jane’ which has developed several television dramas for the American Broadcasting Company (ABC).

• In the same year, Ellen Pompeo signed a new contract for the TV series titled ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ in 2011 that increased her salary to US $200,000 per episode. This contract was to have her involved with the show until its 12th season.

• Ellen was named the eighth highest-paid TV actress in 2012, earning $9 million.

• In 2013, Ellem Pompeo renewed her deal with Grey’s Anatomy and she earned $350,000 per episode with additional payment from syndication (each episode getting aired multiple times on multiple channels throughout the country).

• In the same year, she was listed as number 4 on the Forbes list of The Highest Paid TV Actresses of 2013.

• In 2014, she expressed a lack of interest in acting after the TV series Grey’s Anatomy was completed. She was quoted saying in an interview that
  

  I definitely don’t have a strong desire to act after Grey’s; I definitely feel myself transitioning. I don’t find acting terribly empowering. For the place I am in my life… I don’t necessarily want to work for other people.”

• Ellen Pompeo has been vocal about gender equality and has used her platform to advocate for equal pay and opportunities in the entertainment industry. She also advocates for sustainable living and reducing carbon footprints.

• In 2015, Ellen Pompeo was again ranked fourth in the Forbes list of The Highest Paid TV Actresses with earnings of $11.5 million.

• In the same year, Ellen Pompeo was cast in the music video for Taylor Swift‘s single track titled ‘Bad Blood.’
  

  Ellen Pompeo on the poster of Taylor Swift’s music video titled ‘Bad Blood’ (2015)

• In 2016, Ellen Pompeo held on the fourth spot on Forbes’ list bringing in $14.9 million, a 32% increase in earnings from 2015.

• In the same year, Ellen Pompeo along with the American producer Shonda Rhimes and actresses Kerry Washington and Viola Davis appeared in an ad campaign for the 2016 US election in which they were supporting Hillary Clinton.

• In 2017, she lent her voice to a stuffed animal cat named Missy in the American animated children’s television series titled ‘Doc McStuffins.’

• She became the third highest-paid female and the fifth highest-paid actor overall in 2018 with earnings of $23.6 million.

• In the same year, she renewed her contract for Grey’s Anatomy by agreeing to two more seasons. She became the highest-paid actress in a television drama series by earning more than $20 million a year with the new deal.

• Ellen received the amount of $575,000 per episode under her new contract and she was promoted to the rank of producer for the series which was estimated to earn her a separate $6 million to $7 million annually.

• Ellen Pompeo was listed as a co-producer for the Grey’s Anatomy spinoff which was the American action-drama television series titled ‘Station 19’ (2018) and she received an office space for her production company named Calamity Jane at Walt Disney Studios.

• In 2018, she wrote an article on the issue of the ‘gender pay gap’ in the acting industry and her new contract with ABC. The article was featured as the cover story for the January 2018 issue of the American magazine named ‘The Hollywood Reporter.’

• Forbes ranked Ellen as the third-highest female and the fifth-highest actor overall on its 2018 list of highest-paid TV actors on television with an estimated earnings of US $23.5 million.

• In 2019, Ellen appeared as the guest judge in season 4 of the American reality competition TV show titled ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ which was telecast on VH1.
  

  Ellen Pompeo (right) as a judge in season 4 of the American reality TV show titled ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ (2019)

• She as the owner of her production company in collaboration with American Broadcasting Company bought out the rights to the Paradise book trilogy.

• Ellen Pompeo has been part of many American films and some of them are ‘In the Weeds’ (2000), ‘Mambo Café’ (2000), ‘Old School’ (2003), ‘Undermind’ (2003), and ‘Life of the Party’ (2005).
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American film titled ‘Life of the Party’ (2005)

• In 2021, Ellen Pompeo started her own podcast channel named ‘Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo’ in which she used to interview and chat with a lot of different guests and celebrity friends of hers.
  

  The poster of Ellen Pompeo’s podcast titled ‘Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo’ (2021)

• In the same year, she was cast in the American reality TV series titled ‘Martha Gets Down and Dirty’ which was telecast on Discover+.
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American TV series titled ‘Martha Gets Down and Dirty’ (2021)

• She loves spending time with animals and often shares photos with her pet dog on social media.
  

  Ellen Pompeo with her pet dog

• Ellen Pompeo has been part of many American TV series and some of them include ‘Get Real’ (2000), ‘The Job’ (2001) and ‘Repeat After Me’ (2015).
  

  Ellen Pompeo in a still from the American TV series titled ‘Repeat After Me’ (2015)

• She loves horseback riding and has even participated in competitive riding events.

• In 2023, Ellen received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

SHE IS THE MOMENT! Our @EllenPompeo will be honored with her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023. 🥺⭐🤍 pic.twitter.com/tja2xFkr48

— Tell Me with Ellen Pompeo (@tellmewithep) June 17, 2022

• She has been on the covers of various international magazines.
  

  Ellen Pompeo on the cover of the Architectural Digest Magazine in 2023

• Ellen Pompeo occasionally consumes alcohol.