Carolyn Shepherd

Carolyn Shepherd (née Maloney) is the mother of Derek Shepherd.

Personal life
She lives in New York. She is friendly and gets on well with all her children and is very friendly to Mark Sloan, who he claims "practically raised me" and always refers to as "Mrs. Shepherd", viewing her as his mother figure.

When Derek and Addison were married Addison was under the impression that Carolyn liked her but after their divorce, Derek admitted she didn't and after meeting Meredith, Carolyn offered him a ring to give to Meredith telling him Addison was obviously not the one for it.

During her visit to Seattle, she met Meredith for the first time, in which Meredith panicked and with the help of  Izzie, she was made to be presentable and linkable for Mrs. Shepherd. However, Mrs. Shepherd did not approve of Meredith until Meredith finally came clean and revealed she was not the type of girl that mothers like, much to Izzie's dismay. On talking to Derek, Carolyn admits she does approve of Meredith, claiming that unlike Derek who only sees things in black and white, Meredith doesn't and that Meredith is the one for him, giving Derek a ring that his father wanted to give to Derek for the right girl, which Carolyn believes is Meredith.

Lexie Grey appeared intimidated by Carolyn, following Carolyn's confrontation with Lexie after Mark revealed he was sleeping with her, even though Derek asked him not to. Like Meredith, Carolyn also approves of Lexie for Mark even though she is much younger than him, claiming he has "the emotional maturity of a horny 15 year old".

Carolyn even expresses some concern over Owen Hunt, after learning he was an army medic in Iraq, asking if he's been able to sleep since his return and even suggesting herbs that worked for her.

Carolyn is very much aware that she "gave birth to 5 doctors" and is prepared to wait to visit her children, as demonstrated when she came to Seattle to visit Derek.

Romantic life
She is widowed and had five children with her husband. One boy and four girls. Her husband was murdered by two people that wanted his watch.

Career
She was a navy nurse for 25 years.