Addison Forbes Montgomery

"Then slowly, over time, everything changes. And you're no longer this young thing, and you don't believe in fairytales and "perfect" isn't in your vocabulary. And then suddenly, here is this man and he becomes so familiar to you that one day you find yourself looking at him thinking I could love this person for the rest of my life."

- Addison Montgomery

Addison Forbes Montgomery (formerly Montgomery-Shepherd) is a double board certified OB/GYN, subspecializing in maternal-fetal medicine/fetal surgery, a neonatal surgeon (one of the foremost in the country) and a medical geneticist at the Seaside Health and Wellness. She is married to Jake Reilly and mother to Henry Montgomery.

Early Life
Addison was born in Connecticut in 1967 into a wealthy background with her brother Archer, father "The Captain" and mother Bizzy.

When she was seven, she fell off her bike in the vineyard while going downhill because her tire came off. She flipped over the handlebars and scraped her face, but Archer picked her up, told her it was going to be okay, and carried her the half a mile back home. This is how Addison has always seen her brother, as the big brother who carried her home.

From the age of eight, Addison was mixing her father, The Captain's drinks.

When she was 10, Addison also had to deny her father's affair with his secretary, waiting for "daddy" while he was having sex in his office and then pretending she had fun getting ice-cream with her father. Her father also had affairs with (among others) 3 maids, 4 of Addison's nannies, Jolene her French tutor, and the chef. She only discovered in adulthood that it was her mother who had cheated first, with a woman but chose to stay married because she already had a family. The Captain knew but also stayed with her, but had affairs with other women.

When she went to prom in high school, it was with Skippy Gold. Addison was a band geek with braces and a lisp, and she was forced to talk about Star Wars the whole night.

Addison attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where she met her future husband, Derek Shepherd. In addition, she also met Sam Bennett, her future on and off boyfriend; Mark Sloan, her future lover; and her best friend, Naomi Bennett.

Addison is entitled to a twenty-five million dollar trust fund and owns three properties: a New York brownstone, a house in The Hamptons, and a house at Santa Monica. She now lives beside a beach in Malibu next door to an old friend, Sam Bennett.

Marriage Problems with Derek
Addison cheated on her husband of over 10 years, Derek with his best friend Mark Sloan. Prior to this, Addison and Derek's marriage had been an unhappy one, as Derek had been putting in little effort. Derek even mentioned that the demise of their marriage was not her fault alone. They each owned their own respective practices, putting a strain on their marriage. When he found Mark and Addison in bed together, he simply walked away.

Derek then picked up his life in New York, sold his private practice, and relocated to Seattle. This is where he began his legendary relationship with Meredith Grey. Upon Richard's request to help out with a patient, Addison visited Seattle. When she arrived at the hospital, she noticed her husband, Derek talking to Meredith. She walked over and while he saw her doing so, Derek apologized to Meredith for what was to come. Addison then introduced herself as Derek's wife, about whom Meredith knew nothing.

Later, Addison moved into Derek's trailer, and the two tried to reconcile. Addison asked Derek if they were even after she got poison oak from walking Meredith's dog in the woods. The two laughed over the incident. They divorced after Addison found a pair of women's underwear in Derek's pocket.

After the divorce, Addison had to put Derek in a tiny box and make him petty and insignificant in order to get up in the morning.

Relocating to Los Angeles
Addison had very little in Seattle after she and Derek divorced. Her marriage with Derek was over, her relationship with Mark had completely vanished, and her attempt at a relationship with Alex Karev failed. She visited Los Angeles to see her friends Naomi and Sam Bennett, also because Naomi was a fertility specialist. Naomi offered her a position at Oceanside Wellness Group. Addison returned to Los Angeles not long after that, taking Oceanside Wellness up on their job offer at their practice. One day, Addison searched through Naomi's files at the practice to read her own file, and found that her chances of becoming pregnant were worse than she'd previously imagined. She learned that her egg count was a mere two, and was heartbroken.

First Return to Seattle
Later, Addison returned to Seattle Grace Hospital to treat a pregnant woman suffering from ectopia cordis, in which the fetus's heart was growing outside of the body. Although she seemed somewhat happy to be back in Seattle, she made it clear that the visit wasn't permanent and she had every intention of returning to Oceanside Wellness Group. Addison also showed that the history between her, Meredith, and Derek was in the past as she was able to hug Meredith and be genuinely happy for them, unaware that they had broken up.

During her stay, in which the surgeries on both mother and child were successful due to Addison, Mark, and Erica's expertise, Addison was forced to realize that a lot had changed in her absence (particularly the breakdown of Callie and George's marriage, Meredith and Derek's break up, and his relationship with Rose, as well as Bailey and Tucker's marital issues.)

When the chief approached her and attempted to persuade her to stay at Seattle Grace, Addison told him that she now knew it was the right thing to leave and told him to fill her position. Before returning to Los Angeles, however, Addison went to Joe's bar and warned Meredith that, even though she was now zen, she wanted to "kick her ass" for not fighting for Derek and allowing his new girlfriend to have the happily ever after that she deserved.

Relationship Woes and Trouble at the Practice
Addison's status in the dating world remained uncertain as she had been stood up by Kevin after she went to find him at the station, and remained unaware that Pete had gone to her house the same night. Some time later, Addison and Naomi found themselves at odds regarding Naomi allowing a couple to conceive a child through Naomi's fertility treatment who would act as an organ donor for their ill child. When the parents demanded Addison birth their child three months premature, an ethical debate raged between Addison and Naomi. Addison eventually learned Naomi agreed to help the couple due to the practice's financial trouble that she was concealing from the group. Despite Naomi's pleas, Addison told Sam that the practice was in trouble. At the same time, Kevin returned for Addison to tell her that he stood her up to train for the SWAT team and the two flirted, leaving their future ambiguous.

Armed with the knowledge of the practice's struggles, Sam and Addison formed a hostile takeover of leadership of the practice and each doctor worked to save the practice from extinction. Addison and Naomi's friendship, however, couldn't stand what Naomi saw to be a betrayal and Naomi cut her best friend out of her personal life, leaving only professional ties.

With her 'family' at the practice in disarray, Addison took Charlotte's offer to do some surgeries for St. Ambrose, in order for her to relieve her frustrations which she claimed 'fall away' when she holds a scalpel. However, rushed off her feet and desperate to do nothing but cut Addison spent no time conversing with her patients and getting to know them. When a stressed and worried husband of a pregnant patient asked her what his wife's name was, and she was unable to answer, she realized that she had become the one who wasn't talking and decided to return to family at the practice for good, refuting Charlotte's offer to work at St. Ambrose full-time. This persuaded her to move forward with Kevin as well as attempting to repair her friendship with Naomi.

Archer's Hospitalization
Having landed in Seattle, a worried Addison was greeted by Richard and Derek as Archer was prepared for a diagnosis. Derek discovered eight cysts caused by the parasites and, having consulted specialists, revealed that they were inoperable as surgery would cause more harm than good. A reluctant Addison refused to give up on Archer and told Derek that she needed him to be a God. As she attempted to pray in the hospital chapel, Addison confessed to Callie that she didn't believe God knew who she was, and so praying for a miracle was worthless. Her old friend then reminded her that she saves babies, and God knows who she is because of it. Having received the push from Sam, Derek decided to do the surgery. Addison watched on tenterhooks as Derek attempted to remove the parasitic cysts. When removing the eighth and final one, it ruptured, allowing the parasite dig further into his brain. Addison, however, faced much relief when the parasite was caught, extracted and Archer stabilized. To celebrate Derek's success the old friends visited the Emerald City Bar, where they reminisced about Derek's love song to Addison. Addison however, recognized that Derek was in her past, and, despite her gratitude, she had to once again make him petty and insignificant in order to move on with her life.

Relationship with Pete
After Violet was attacked and gave her baby to Pete, Addison became one of the principle caregivers to Lucas. She filled the void left by his birth mother and was overjoyed at the prospect of having a baby of her own. However, after Violet recuperated, Addison told Pete to go back to her, and subsequently lost touch with Lucas. She was, once again, left without a child of her own.

Sloan Riley's Surgery
As Mark wanted the best care possible for his daughter Sloan and was unsure of Elizabeth Chen's abilities, he had Addison fly in for the surgery. When Addison was operating, she realized it would be riskier than she thought. She was confident she could continue successfully, but Mark insisted that she stop. However, he later traveled with Sloan to Los Angeles so Addison could perform it. She did so successfully.

Callie's Car Accident
Since Callie and Addison were close friends, Addison flew back to Seattle, at Richard's request after hearing that Callie had been in a car accident. She later performed an emergency C-section on Callie and delivered her daughter, Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres, prematurely.

Meeting Jake and Renewed Pursuit of Motherhood
After Naomi left, Addison went to therapy.

The night Pete had a heart attack, Addison sat with Lucas and kept him comfortable until Violet was contacted and returned from the airport. She assured him everything was going to be okay, as Sam and Amelia were the best people to take care of him. Despite Sam still not having changes his mind about having a baby, Addison decided to go ahead anyway and made an appointment with the best fertility specialist she could find in the city. That man turned out to be Jake Reilly, her anonymous date she met flirting over pineapples. She then wanted to quit, but Jake had no problem leaving their flirtation in the past. He promised her he'd give her a baby.

Soon after, Jake turned out to be applying for Naomi's job at the practice. Addison, being in charge, was hesitant to hire him. Meanwhile, she informed Sam she was going off birth control, so she had him buy condoms. After Jake assured her he had no ulterior motive and promised not to flirt, Addison had to face that he was the best candidate, and officially hired him. Addison told her therapist that she didn't need to tell Sam about her Fiji history with Jake, as they were broken up at the time, and admitted that she finally happy again.

Addison started looking for IVF specialists to start the process. Needing someone to talk to, she grew closer to Violet, who also needed someone to talk to about her marriage problems. Sam later realized he needed to be there for his girlfriend and offered to listen to her talk about IVF specialists, but she told him she was fine. In therapy, she said she became a better and more generous person because of Sam.

However, Addison soon realized she must be crazy to compartimentalize Sam and the baby, starting to fear Sam was going to leave her. She took her concerns to Jake after he told her some more about himself and his youth to make her trust him, but all Jake could tell her was to listen to her instincts. At night, she told Sam what she was worried about. He knew she was, but kissed her to tell her he wouldn't leave. However, in therapy, Addison still said she came to realize that maybe love means wanting the other person to be happy, even if they can't be with you.

Addison started the IVF process with fertility drugs, and asked Jake to inject them as she wanted to stay sexy for Sam, so he couldn't do it for her. Addison tried to keep it secret in order not to become the office gossip, but that became difficult when she soon started suffering from mood swings and extreme emotional reactions to what was happening at the practice. Addison started thinking Sam was just dating her because she couldn't have children, but Jake assured her that was just the hormones. He did tell her she needed people on her side, as she couldn't go through it alone. She then told Sam that she started the IVF process with Jake's help. He once again stated he didn't want a new child because the experience of having a child is as awful at times as it is wonderful, so he was glad to have gotten through it with Maya. He assured Addison that didn't mean he stopped loving her, though. In therapy, Addison said she had to teach herself to have hope again.

Soon after, Addison started looking for sperm donors, throwing out lots of candidates based on medical history alone. When she felt like she was drowning in files, Sam assured her she could make it happen. Addison asked her colleagues for help, but they all give her different advice. Addison received good news from Jake: they were able to retrieve 4 eggs, which needed to be picked that day. He'd contact a friend at the sperm bank to speed up the process, meaning they could fertilize the eggs that day. Sam came to support Addison when Jake would pick the eggs, but she was already under. She woke up with Sam by her side, and started crying because she put herself in this position where a stranger was needed to get pregnant, all because she cheated. Sam convinced her the bad things didn't outweigh her good qualities, so she shouldn't punish herself. He advised her to pick the musician's sperm. She did pick him, and later that day, Jake fertilized the eggs with Addison watching.

Over the three days the embryo had to grow in the lab, Addison kept checking on it. She wasn't allowed to have sex before the implantatoin, but Sam suggested they do "other things". She happily agreed to that. Meanwhile, Addison also met Ryan Kerrigan and expressed her worries over Amelia, who assured Addison she was fine. The day after, Jake implanted the eggs. In therapy, Addison said she was thrilled and terrified that if all things went right, there could be an entire person with a full life ahead could be growing inside her. She was looking forward to sharing experiences with her child.

Amelia went missing for 12 days, and when she showed up at the practice to announce her engagement to Ryan, Addison was both angry and relieved at the same time. Since Charlotte was convinced Amelia was using, they staged an intervention at the practice. Amelia started attacking them one by one, and hit Addison's weak spot when she attacked her about her infertility and past abortion. Addison threatened to report Amelia to the medical board, throw her out of her house and change the locks, and call in her family, but the only thing that actually got Amelia to stay and listen was the oxy she demanded. The doctors gave her the oxy, which Amelia snorted off the reception desk. Right when Amelia seemed to cave to her friends's talks and agreed to go to rehab, Ryan arrived. The doctors suggested they also help Ryan, but a quarrel ensued when Addison noticed Ryan was wearing Amelia's father's watch. Amelia aggressively forbade her from telling that story and soon left with Ryan, leaving Addison to feel like the intervention was a bad idea. However, the next morning, Addison received a call about Amelia, who was ready to go rehab.

Addison helped her pack and drove her to the treatment center. Amelia, who has a great mother, had Addison think that even the best mothers's kids can go down the wrong path. Later that day, Addison received the news that she was not pregnant, but Jake assured her that didn't mean it was over. Sam seemed relieved about the news, so Violet agreed to hold her hand the next time she was going to try. Addison came up with a crazy plan that included a lot of fertility drugs. She wanted to try again with fresh sperm and fresh eggs, even though she had two frozen eggs left herself. Addison took Sam to therapy with her as he needed to face there would be a baby in her life soon, but he said that was not a problem yet and that he wanted Addison. Two weeks later, Addison collapsed at the practice as a side-effect to the hormone treatment. That made her decide that the embryo transfer would be it: she'd either be pregnant or not. After she was fully recovered, they did the transfer. On Thanksgiving, Addison did a pregnancy test.

Alternate Reality
In Meredith's dream, Derek and Addison are still in an unhappy marriage and Addison is pregnant with their child, though the child is later revealed to be Mark's. Also, Addison is still part of the surgical staff at Seattle Grace Hospital, and remains the OB/GYN and neonatal head.

Adopting Henry
Mere hours after delivering a baby at St. Ambrose Hospital, Addison got a call from her social worker saying that a birth mom had chosen her. She returned to the hospital, shocked to find that it was Judi, the same woman whose baby she had delivered. Judi had decided she couldn't find a better mom for the baby, and that it must have been fate since Addison was the one who delivered the baby boy. Addison named him Henry Montgomery.

Personality
Addison is a very confident, smart, and poised woman. She can be described as cold and unforgiving, however, she is also quite warm and kind. She is also very concentrated and dedicated to her work, as she is considered the best in her field. Addison is sometimes difficult and uncompromising but she can be very kind and be accepting.

Addison describes herself as a worrier; she constantly worries about what's happening and what's not happening. Professionally, she is very confident, but not personally. She likes to think that worrying prepares her for whatever may happen.

Derek Shepherd


Addison met her future husband, Derek Shepherd, in medical school in the summer. Their relationship grew and they eventually married. Derek once wrote a song for her.

After medical school, Addison and Derek became extremely successful in their respective fields and each began their own practice in New York. However, this strained their marriage.

Addison was married to Derek Shepherd for eleven years before eventually sleeping with Derek's best friend, Mark Sloan, which prompted Derek to leave New York for Seattle at the request of their old friend and mentor, Richard Webber.

After she and Derek initially separated, she tried to get over him, even hoping that dying her hair blond would help. She remained in New York and lived with Mark for two months, during which she became pregnant with Mark's child but she chose to have an abortion. The relationship ended when Mark cheated on Addison and Richard Webber brought her to Seattle Grace for a consult on a difficult case.

After a period of antagonism between her and Derek (in which he continually referred to her as "Satan"), Addison decided to stay on as the Head of Neonatal Surgery and OB/GYN at Seattle Grace, signing a two-year contract after she and Derek decided to make an effort to work things out. Addison was unaware that Derek still had feelings for Meredith.

When Addison discovered that her husband slept with Meredith at the hospital-sponsored prom, Addison (in a drunken haze) called Mark Sloan to Seattle. She and Derek agreed that their marriage was over and started divorce proceedings. She asked Mark to go back to New York, but he stayed, expressing his desire to continue their relationship.

When the divorce was finalized, Addison dropped the "Shepherd" from her last name. Wanting to make a fresh start, Derek happily relinquished most of their shared properties (their Brownstone in Manhattan and a residence in The Hamptons) to her believing that she deserved it as his initial impression was that she had only had a one-night stand with Mark while he carried on an affair with Meredith.

Alex Karev
She stayed in Seattle for a long while after and a possibility of a relationship between her and Alex Karev was hinted at when they kissed in Joe's bar. She felt it was too strange though and he said he didn't care so the relationship was not brought ahead any further.

During the 60 days that Mark and Addison were trying to remain celibate to give themselves a chance, she slept with Alex. However, despite Addison wanting more, he wasn't ready for that.

Mark Sloan
Addison and Mark originally met in med school. She cheated on her husband, Derek, with him. After Derek left for Seattle, Addison and Mark lived together for two months, during which time she became pregnant. She had an abortion, and Mark eventually cheated on her.

After finding out Meredith and Derek slept together at the prom, she called Mark over to Seattle and slept with him again. Mark decided to move to Seattle in hopes of pursuing a relationship with Addison.

On the one-year anniversary of the day she discovered she was pregnant, Addison and Mark made a deal. If they both could abstain from sex for 60 days she would be willing to try a real relationship with him. She doesn't hold up her end of the bargain when she engaged in a sexual encounter with Alex at the hospital. Mark learned of this after witnessing them stumbling out of an on-call room. She was spared from confessing, however, when Mark selflessly lied to her by telling her he had broken their promise long before. He felt that although he had feelings for her, she shouldn't have to feel guilty.

Mark visited Addison in LA when his daughter, Sloan Riley, needed surgery. They had sex several times, which prompted Addison to ask Mark if he truly wanted to have a relationship with her because she could make it work. However, Mark was still in love with Lexie, so he apologized to Addison and turned her down.

Pete Wilder
When she left Seattle Grace Hospital for a private practice in L.A, she had a brief interest in her co-worker Pete (whom she kissed) but gave up on any potential romance between the two after Pete stood her up for a date.

Later, Pete and Addison reconnected at a hospital event and went back to her house to have pizza and watch lame TV shows, and ended up having sex. They started a relationship that they described as "helping each other" and Addison decided to move on from Sam since he was seemingly happy with his new girlfriend, making them officially a couple.

When Pete was sick and Addison was looking after Lucas, Pete said "I love you, Violet" to Addison while on fever medication, leading Addison to confront Pete six weeks later. Pete states that he will always love Violet as she is the mother of his child, but he wants to be with Addison.

Violet returns from Costa Rica and Addison tells her that Pete will pick her because she is Lucas' mother.

Later on the porch, Sam tells Addison he is sick of doing the right thing and should do the wrong thing, and then kisses her as Pete walks in.

Kevin Nelson
Addison was then asked out by Kevin Nelson, a police officer. Unfortunately, her trust issues interfered with her and Kevin, issues that resulted in her jealously following Kevin after she thought he was having an affair and ending with her arrest by the SWAT team. Nonetheless, she confessed her issues to Kevin and they resumed their relationship.

But more troubles came when Addison's brother came to visit and told Kevin that she was just "enjoying him". When he hadn't called Addison back; she had thought he was avoiding her, but would find out he had been shot. When her brother left; Kevin moved in with her while he was recovering. While Addison now had to deal with Charlotte who was opening up a competing practice on the fourth floor, she was more annoyed by Dr. Wyatt Lockhart, a doctor working for Charlotte's practice who steals a patient of Addison's and convinces Naomi to work for her. In the midst of this Addison, and Kevin's different lifestyles get in the way of their relationship leading to him moving out. But Addison later calls him telling him she misses him, and they make up.

However, Addison kisses Wyatt after seeing him for who he really is, not the arrogant, headline grabber she thought he was. Kevin repeatedly questions her where she was that night and believes she's lying, Addison claims she was working, and just as Kevin was finally able to drop the questioning, she admits she kissed another man, and they break up. As Addison goes to Wyatt to try a new relationship, she catches Naomi having sex with Archer instead.

Noah Barnes
Noah and Addison frequently met in the scrub room over a period of three months, one of them always finishing surgery and scrubbing out and one scrubbing in, leading to their greeting of "Finishing or starting?". They both continued to flirt, not knowing each other's names, and eventually meet in the doctor's lounge where Noah asks for her name. Looking shocked, he quickly leaves.

Addison later meets him as the husband of one of her pregnant patients, Morgan Gellman. Upon this discovery, Addison quickly removed herself from Morgan's case, as she was not comfortable with her feelings for Noah while she treated his wife, feelings which Noah reciprocates. Addison decides not to make a move in their relationship, refusing to be a home wrecker, after her past mistakes with her ex-husband and his best friend. Noah, however, asks her not to leave the case, as she is the best in her field and Morgan cannot lose another child (she had a string of miscarriages prior to seeing Addison), and he will keep his feelings for Addison in check. However, Noah cannot help the way he feels, and Morgan realizes her marriage is in jeopardy, asking Addison to save her child, as that is all that is keeping her and Noah together. She says she sees it in Noah's eyes, he's there, but he's not quite there. When Addison has to perform surgery on Morgan, Noah is not there for her and Morgan is willing to put off the surgery to have Addison find Noah and he eventually does go into the OR to be there for Morgan, with a push from Addison.

Sam Bennett
Sam asked Addison out when they were in med school, but Addison declined because Naomi was in love with him. When Addison moved to LA, she bought the house next door to Sam, leading to their developing friendship.

Addison and Sam kissed after a hiking experience gone wrong while discussing what would have happened had Addison said yes to Sam in med school. They kissed twice more and Sam propositioned Addison to develop their relationship, but Addison said no because Naomi was her best friend.

Sam dated another Neonatal surgeon, leading Addison to date Pete, although she still loved Sam, and she is seen constantly talking about him to Pete. Sam and Addison had an off and on relationship for a long time.

The main reason for their relationship troubles was that Addison wanted a child, but Sam had Maya, and Maya's daughter, and didn't want more kids. After Addison adopted Henry, Sam seemingly accepted Henry. He even asked her to marry him after Addison and Jake had had sex.

Jake Reilly
When Addison's therapist told her to make a change in her life, she met Jake and they flirted over pineapples at the grocery store. They started seeing each other at a coffee shop. However, they both agreed to keep their identities in secret. Jake was going on vacation to Fiji and he asked Addison to come with him. She eventually accepted, but when at the airport, she realized it wasn't right to try to avoid Sam and the problems the practice was suffering.

Later on, Addison started her fertility treatment only to find out her doctor was Jake. He admitted he never left for Fiji. Addison, humiliated, left the office.

When Jake interviewed for the fertility specialist opening at Oceanside Wellness, Addison was horrified because she recognized him as her former doctor. She was strongly opposed to the practice hiring him, but she ran out of excuses not to, as he was the perfect candidate for the job. Jake began working at the practice, and Addison made him not mention their previous encounters to Sam, who she was dating at the time of Jake's arrival.

Addison began fertility treatments with Jake as her doctor. He helped her through her two failed IVFs and also to try to find a surrogate.

She once threw herself at him at an OB/GYN convention in Palm Springs. She was extremely drunk and stumbled into his hotel room, where she asked him if he wanted to sleep with her. He turned her down, saying that it was the alcohol talking and that she would regret it in the morning. When Addison woke the following morning, she remembered what had happened and was thoroughly embarrassed.

Jake once asked her if their relationship was purely physical because he cared about her, but she was sending him mixed signals. Addison confirmed that it was not just physical, but also emotional. Their relationship grew over time. When Jake was talking to his daughter, Angela, he told her that it wasn't Addison sending the mixed signals; it was him.

Addison proposed to Jake shortly before Henry's adoption, and was thoroughly humiliated when he didn't answer; but after a talk with the ghost of his late wife, he accepted. They later got married.

Friendships
Since arriving at Seattle Grace Hospital, Addison has made many friendships with other hospital staff, most notably Callie Torres and Miranda Bailey (Miranda's reasons being that Addison smells nice, she's polite, and she saves babies). Her friendship with the two ladies has often been based on the fact that they act as each other's confidantes. Callie and Addison often discuss their current relationships and love lives, which has ultimately led to a very close friendship between the two. Addison is also very good friends with fellow attending, Preston Burke, and her ex-husband, Derek Shepherd. She still has a friendship with Mark Sloan and a father-daughter bond with Richard Webber, and is often portrayed to be very close to him. The only intern that Addison really bonded with was Alex Karev but she had no grudges against any of the interns and even hugged Meredith as a sign of acceptance of her relationship with Derek. She helped inspire Izzie to become a fighter again.

Addison is believed to have had a good relationship with the Shepherd family, in particular, Nancy Shepherd, but, pending Derek's revelation of the true extent of Addison/Mark's relationship, her closeness to the Shepherds is in doubt.



After moving to L.A., Addison returned to Seattle Grace Hospital to help with a patient whose fetus’s heart was growing out of its body. Upon her return, Addison didn't expect much change; but soon learned that since her departure a lot had changed - for example, the break up of Meredith and Derek and his relationship with Rose, Callie's divorce and the breakdown of Bailey's marriage. During her stay there she met Callie's new friend Erica Hahn and mistakenly interpreted their friendship as a relationship. The mother and child both survived the surgery and Addison prepared to leave Seattle and return to L.A, telling Richard that she needed to come back to see how much she liked her new life. She left, but not before finding Meredith and telling her that she wasn't allowed to let Derek get away.

Addison betrayed Naomi by confronting Sam with something about the practice. Naomi dropped her friendship with Addison and refused to talk to her. Eventually, she and Naomi began to mend their friendship and at last came back to being best friends. Addison (despite her rocky start) got on well with her new colleagues and friendships were rekindled (as she was friends with Naomi and Sam years ago), friendships were started (Violet, Dell, and Coop) and even a short time relationship occurred (with her new friend, Pete). When Naomi left for New York, Addison and Violet became very close, discussing relationship woes and Lucas situations, and just generally they were pretty close. When Amelia came to L.A., she and Addison had a very sisterly relationship.

Career
Addison is considered one of the best surgeons in her field in the world, having patients travel across the country to receive medical and surgical care from her, helped by her excellent bedside manner. She formerly worked at Seattle Grace Hospital, before her relocation to Los Angeles to join a private practice. When she relocated, her surgical practice became limited, with her practice being mostly obstetric work and occasional genetic counseling with Naomi. However, she does have surgical privileges at St. Ambrose Hospital, allowing her to conduct her own surgeries, which is a right she exercises frequently. Charlotte King also calls on Addison to consult and take on complex medical cases from the hospital, which increases her OR time.

She completed her surgical residency under the supervision of her now good friend, Richard Webber. During her residency, Richard gave Addison a patient who would not survive, to teach Addison to not get too emotionally involved with her patients, as a result, Addison avoided Richard for almost a year. As an attending, she repeated the same trick with Izzie Stevens and one of the quintuplets the hospital was taking care of.

During her OB/GYN residency, Addison was mentored by Dr. Vivian Carlsmith, a world-renowned OB/GYN, and pioneer in maternal-fetal medicine. Addison was Vivian's smartest student, eventually surpassing Vivian's skill.

Addison's training also encompasses why she is regarded as one of the best surgeons in her field: she is board certified in obstetrics and gynecology with her sub-specialty in maternal-fetal medicine, board certified in neonatal surgery, and has completed a fellowship in medical genetics, specializing in cystic fibrosis. She is very open about her credentials and has relayed them to patients, co-workers, and subordinates that have doubted her abilities.

Surgically, she is highly skilled in complex, often laparoscopic and open, obstetrical, gynecological, neonatal and fetal surgeries. She is one of the few surgeons in the world who can separate fetal blood vessels and correct Twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome, which she has special expertise in. She was formerly the attending surgeon in charge of a world-class NICU and state-of-the-art OB/GYN wing at Seattle Grace Hospital. Although a highly successful and well-paid job, Addison left Seattle to go to L.A to join a private practice.

When she arrived at the practice she was surprised to discover that Naomi, who gave her the job offer, didn't tell the rest of the staff about Addison. The other doctors showed Addison that she was clearly not welcome. On her first day in the practice, she performed surgery in an unsterilized delivery room only with the help of Alternative Medicine Specialist, Pete. On the end of the same day, they decided to vote on whether Addison should join the practice or not but Addison put her foot down and told them that she was going to stay even if they wanted her gone. Everyone was impressed by her speech and they decided not to vote after all.



When Richard Webber asked Addison to return for a complex surgery, she agreed, and at the end of the day, Richard attempts to get her back and letting her start the next morning. Addison declined the offer, being sure that leaving was the right thing to do. Similarly, when Naomi would not speak to Addison, Addison took a number of surgeries at St. Ambrose to relieve her frustrations. Charlotte tried to woo her to the hospital with the surgeries but Addison declared the practice as her 'home'.

Not long after moving to Los Angeles, Addison learned that the practice was failing financially so confronted Sam and the two formed a hostile takeover. In a bid to get the practice back to how it used to be Addison accidentally prompted a vote between Sam and Naomi, but was stunned when she was elected to lead the practice as Addison's leadership shone through.

Later, Addison dissolved the practice, funded the change, and renamed it to Seaside Health and Wellness.

Notes and Trivia

 * She was 39 when she moved to Los Angeles.
 * When Derek left her in New York, Addison dyed her hair blonde.
 * Since moving to L.A, Addison describes herself as very zen. She buys aromatherapy candles and takes walks on beaches.
 * When she worked at Seattle Grace Hospital, her salary made her one of the highest paid surgeons in the Northwestern United States.
 * She has special expertise in Twin-to-Twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS).
 * Addison performs abortions. She believes life only begins when the baby can survive outside the mother's body, thus at birth.
 * During her education, Addison always hated neuroanatomy.
 * Addison's SGH ID badge stated her departments were Obstetrics and Gynecology and Neonatology.
 * Despite the fact that she has not been a series regular since the third season of Grey's Anatomy, she has made a guest appearance in most subsequent seasons, until her final one in season 8:
 * ​Season 4: Piece of My Heart
 * Season 5: Before and After and An Honest Mistake
 * Season 6: Blink
 * Season 7: Song Beneath the Song
 * Season 8: If/Then
 * Addison sometimes wears reading glasses.
 * She has her own lucky scrub cap.
 * Addison has a very close sisterly relationship with Amelia Shepherd, as Addison took her to get her ears pierced, she did her hair for prom, and she explained to her how to use birth control when Amelia didn't know who to ask.
 * Before she was officially a part of the Seattle Grace Hospital attending staff, she wore salmon scrubs. Whether or not she owned these scrubs or if she was wearing the uniform color of OB/GYNs remains unclear. Kate Walsh stated in an interview that it was decided to let Addison wear the navy blue scrubs to make her more part of the attendings group.
 * Whenever Addison wants to tell something that she cannot tell, she stares at the person she wants to tell.
 * Addison and her family are WASPs - they only go to Church on Christmas, and she does not know how to pray.
 * In the episode In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl From Somewhere Else, Addison tells Sam that 11 men have seen her naked (12 including him). Three of them are Derek Shepherd, Mark Sloan, and Alex Karev.
 * It has been noted that Addison's qualifications are unrealistic for a practicing doctor in her late-30s/early-40s, as she has already gained a highly-regarded reputation at her character's introduction to the series. Since Derek and she attended medical school together and were both educated by Richard Webber, it is likely she completed a 5 year residency in general surgery followed by a 2 year fellowship in pediatric surgery focusing on neonatal and fetal surgical procedures, returning to complete a 4 year residency in obstetrics and gynecology followed by a 3 year fellowship in maternal-fetal medicine, with her (likely to be) 2 year fellowship in medical genetics following everything else. In reality, under best circumstances, would make Addison a minimum of 40 years old.
 * It has been indicated throughout seasons five and six of Private Practice that Addison first completed a residency in OB/GYN. This would mean that she followed up with fellowships in maternal-fetal medicine and medical genetics, then completed a general surgery residency and finished with a pediatric surgery fellowship focusing on neonatal and fetal surgeries. If this is indeed the case, this creates a continuity-error with her being mentored by Richard, as stated in Grey's Anatomy, as OB/GYN residents do not rotate in other surgical departments; this would be plausible if Richard were somehow involved in Addison's OB/GYN residency.
 * Addison appeared in every single episode of Private Practice, except for Two Steps Back and The Hardest Part.
 * Although incorrect, Dr. Jake Reilly referred to Addison as a neonatologist.
 * Addison is the first and last character to be seen on Private Practice. The last scene of the show is the group talking in the kitchen in the practice, and her face is the last one to be seen from inside the elevator before its doors close completely.
 * In one semester, she took classes in organic chemistry, physics II, multivariable calculus, conversational French, introduction to the modern European novel, and tennis.
 * She's one of only eight people in the world who can perform OB/GYN, perinatology, and neonatal surgery on a world-class level.
 * Addison is considered "the Meryl Streep of Maternal-Fetal Medicine."
 * Before Izzie returned to Seattle Grace, she asked Addison how does the guilty feeling of being rich wear off, saying that the name Addison Forbes Montgomery-Shepherd sounds wealthy.
 * She loves bacon cheeseburgers.
 * She has a cat named Milo, formerly owned by her patient Lillie Jordan.
 * She used to have a pet hermit crab, but the air filter was noisy so she shut it off, and it died.
 * Her fortune is about 30 million dollars.

Notable Episodes
These episodes are Addison-centric or otherwise very informative about her life.
 * The Other Side of This Life, Part 1
 * The Other Side of This Life, Part 2
 * In Which We Meet Addison, a Nice Girl From Somewhere Else
 * In Which Addison Finds the Magic
 * In Which Addison Has a Very Casual Get Together
 * In Which Addison Finds a Showerhead
 * Apron Strings
 * In Which We Say Goodbye

Memorable Quotes

 * Addison (to Jake): I love you. And you're the last man I want to say that to. Let's get married.


 * Addison: Dr. Karev, I may be a board-certified OB/GYN, but I also have fellowships in maternal-fetal medicine and medical genetics, and I am one of the foremost neonatal surgeons in this country. When you can top that, you can mouth off. Until then, you will do your job and you will do it right, which at this point at time, means you keep your mouth shut unless I give you permission to open it. Understood?


 * Addison: Hi, I'm Addison Shepherd.
 * Meredith: Shepherd?
 * Addison: And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband.

Appearances
Addison Montgomery Addison Montgomery-Shepherd