Amelia Shepherd

Amelia Shepherd is the younger sister of Derek Shepherd. She has made several appearances as a recurring star on Private Practice during season 3, and became a regular in season 4, and a suprise visit to Seattle in Grey's Anatomy season 7.

Childhood and growing up
When she was 5, she and Derek saw their father get murdered. She said that afterward her world fell apart and she was in a "dark place" for a long time. During her teens she was so wild and out of control that she was called "Hurricane Amelia". To escape her pain she began using pills. She overdosed (accidentally) when she was a teenager and that almost killed her. She was dead for 3 minutes. She had been referred to as the black sheep of her family. She walked in on Mark and her sister-in-law Addison in bed together but kept it secret from her brother. She was apparently close to Derek at some point, but she now tries to avoid contact with him.

Personal life
She is very close to her former sister-in-law, Addison Montgomery and says that she has always been a better sister to her then her real sisters. She has three sisters and one brother. She does not believe in God and does not think that people can change. She doesn't give details but she tells Sam that she has "done stuff... bad stuff". She prefers to try and help other people with their personal problems rather than deal with her own life. Amelia finds out she`s twenty weeks pregnant with her dead boyfriend's baby in Season Five. However, it is later revealed that her baby has no brain.

Romantic life
Amelia has had several romantic flings but none very serious. She has told Sam that she doesn't have "anything or anyone" so it appears unlikely that she has a significant partner or is the mother of any of the 9 nieces and 5 nephews that Derek has referred to previously. In season 5, Amelia does however, get serious with the new character Ryan who she meets at a club and subsequently sleeps with. Amelia and Ryan become very close with their common drug addiction, going on a drug binge for twelve days where they sleep together and do drugs. After a failed intervention with the Ocean Wellness group, Amelia returns to her hotel room with Ryan where they make the pact to "get clean" after consuming the last bit of the drugs they have; Amelia passes out and awakes to find a dead Ryan next to her. After the ordeal, Amelia checks herself into a rehab facility. After she fully recovers she discovers she`s pregnant with Ryan's baby.

Career
Amelia graduated at the top of her class at Harvard Medical School and completed her residency at Johns Hopkins. She is board certified in neurosurgery and was employed as one of Dr. Geraldine Ginsburg's teaching fellows until Ginsburg fired her for discussing with a patient's husband a surgery that Ginsburg did not recommend and considered highly experimental. She is a neurosurgeon like Derek and although talking to her brother about her situation could help her find a new position she does not want to call him because of the "lectures and the "I told you so"s and the "You screwed up agains" that she fears will follow. Amelia takes risks in surgeries and at times appears very confident in her own abilities but when problems arise she can become overwhelmed with self-doubt. Sam had to push her to finish her surgery on Addison's comatose patient after complications arose.

Notes
 * she doesn't belive in God