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“Grey’s Anatomy” is television’s longest-running medical drama — a feat it achieved in 2019 when it aired its 332nd episode and bested “ER,” the previous record holder (per CNN). Considering that Ellen Pompeo has played the show’s title character for every one of its 400 episodes (and counting), it’s natural to assume she’s always received the highest pay. In truth, co-star Patrick Dempsey took home the biggest paycheck at first.
“He was being paid almost double what I was in the beginning,” Pompeo said in an interview with Variety. “I didn’t even realize until we were renegotiating Season 3.”
More than once, Pompeo approached Dempsey about negotiating as a team, but he always declined. “At one point, I asked for $5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ and I’m Meredith Grey. They wouldn’t give it to me,” she told The Hollywood Reporter in 2018. Despite feeling tempted to quit, she ultimately refused “to let a guy drive me out of my own house.”
After Dempsey left “Grey’s Anatomy” in Season 11, the show remained popular. During its 14th season, Pompeo negotiated to become the highest-paid woman on TV, earning more than $20 million annually. She confessed to The Hollywood Reporter her initial worries about seeming greedy. “A guy wouldn’t have any problem asking for $600,000 an episode. And as women, we’re like, ‘Oh, can I ask for that? Is that OK?'”
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