Meredith Grey

"If there's a crisis, you don't freeze, you move forward. You get the rest of us to move forward. Because you've seen worse. You've survived worse, and you know we'll survive too. You say you're all dark and twisty. It's not a flaw, it's a strength. It makes you who you are."

- Derek Shepherd

Meredith Grey was born to Ellis Grey and Thatcher Grey. She became a surgeon at SGH where she developed her skills and made best friends such as Cristina Yang and her now husband, Derek Shepherd. She is intelligent, compassionate, hard-working, has good medical instincts and a natural flair for medicine.

Childhood
Meredith's parents' marriage was troubled, although a part was due to Ellis spending too much time working and normal everyday problems, however, a large part was due to the fact that Ellis was having an affair for years with one of her colleagues and best friends, Richard Webber. Their marital issues proved too great and eventually Thatcher left the home when Meredith was five years old, he tried to visit her sometimes but eventually after getting nowhere, stopped and started a new family with his new wife, Susan Grey.

When Thatcher left Ellis she continued her relationship with Webber although he still had a wife, Adele. Although Richard tried to conceal his relationship with Ellis, Adele always knew so if she was in their company, she would just play with Meredith. Eventually, Richard broke off his relationship with Ellis with Meredith only metres away, riding on a carousel. Shortly thereafter, Ellis accepted a fellowship opportunity at Boston General. She relocated to Massachusetts with Meredith and Thatcher lost all contact with his daughter. As an adult, her only childhood memory of Thatcher was giving her cereal in the morning.

In the 8th grade, her English class had to read Romeo & Juliet. Then for extra credit, their teacher Mrs. Snyder made them act out all the parts. A boy named Sal Scafarillo was chosen for Romeo and all the girls were jealous of Meredith who was chosen for Juliet but Meredith was not happy and complained to her teacher that Juliet was an idiot because she falls for the one guy she knows she can't have. Then she blames fate for her own bad decision. She told her that if Juliet was stupid enough to fall for the enemy, drink a bottle of poison and go to sleep in a mausoleum then she deserved whatever she got. Therefore, at the age of 13, she was very clear that love like life is about making choices. Meredith later described her high school years to Cristina by saying "I wore a lot of black. Had the whole angry pink hair thing going on. Wouldn't have been caught dead at prom."

She went to college at Dartmouth, and despite excessive drinking and partying, she graduated. Following her graduation, she had difficulty holding a job, due to her partying lifestyle. Ellis suggested Meredith find direction in her life by going to medical school even though she told her that she didn't have what it took to make it in the surgical world. Following an argument about Meredith's lack of ambition, Meredith spent two months traveling in Europe with her best friend Sadie Harris who also hated Ellis. She returned when her mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer's Disease. Her mother's condition gave Meredith the incentive to go to medical school.

Derek Shepherd


Meredith and Derek first met at The Emerald City Bar the night before Meredith's first day at Seattle Grace. Derek approached her, they got drunk, someone took advantage and Meredith woke up the next day after sleeping with him. When she went to work she discovered that Derek too worked at Seattle Grace so she refused to date him. However, eventually at a party she gave in and the two began to date secretly. They became public quickly, although Richard Webber dissaproved, but their relationship ended when Addison Montgomery arrived at the hospital, claiming to be Derek's wife.



Meredith stayed away from Derek but then asked him to make a choice between her or Addison, saying "pick me, choose me, love me". Derek tried to make a decision but it was a hard one, as he had been married to Addison for eleven years. He eventually chose Addison and Meredith was left heartbroken. Addison stayed at Seattle Grace and Meredith was left alone and the centre of attention at Seattle Grace. After avoiding each other, they attempted friendship but on the night of the Seattle Grace prom, they made love in an exam room despite the fact that Meredith was dating Finn Dandridge and Derek was married to Addison. The next day, Addison found Meredith's panties in Derek's pocket and realised her marriage was over. After Derek caught Addison and Mark Sloan together again they both admitted their relationship was finished. He told Meredith that if she wanted they could date and that he loved her. Meredith tried to choose between Derek and Finn but couldn't so they agreed to both date her at once until she decided. After Derek decided to be a better person and let her go and be with Finn, she realised she wanted Derek and broke up with Finn. She didn't tell Derek immediately because he was going through his divorce with Addison but when she finally did, he didn't care because he was suffering from Addison's secret about her and Mark.



They started dating again but Derek later complained that she was constantly leaving him and that she should be worried that the highlight of his week was meeting another girl at Joe's. When Cristina and Burke called off their wedding, she didn't think relationships could work and broke up with Derek. They tried to stay apart but began having break-up sex and S&M (sex and mockery). Later, Derek kissed a nurse in the scrub room and when Meredith found out, she severed all ties with him. Derek and Meredith started a clinical trial but Derek began dating Rose and her feelings for him started to come back as the clinical trial continued. After their last clinical trial patient survived from surgery, Meredith and Derek celebrated and she showed him a house of candles she made. He kissed her and they got back together. Trying to take steps forward, Meredith asked him to move in and he accepted. They stayed together and after his mother's visit, Derek decided to propose. Meredith originally thought he was avoiding her because of a conversation they had about babies but he insisted that he wanted to have all her babies. Derek's plans to propose left his mind after he accidentally killed a patient. Richard told Meredith about the ring but Derek threw it into the woods. He apologised and she forgave him and he proposed properly to her later. They planned a wedding but when they realised that Izzie was extremely sick ,they gave their wedding to Izzie and Alex. With very little time to get married, they went to the locker room, found some post its, wrote down their vows and "married" each other. After their post-it marriage they continued to refer to each other as husband and wife and in the days immediately after their wedding, they had sex frequently.

Cristina Yang


Cristina bonded with Meredith instantly and their relationship grew, resulting in Cristina and Meredith becoming best friends and each others person. They bonded over a case on their first day but there relationship was put to the test after Meredith was chosen for a surgery instead of Cristina. However they overcame the obstacle and their friendship grew. After Meredith and Derek's break-up, Cristina protected Meredith by asking Derek to stay away. Outside the hospital they would screw boys like whores on tequilla and dance problems away and in the hospital they would help each other wherever possible. When Addison came to Seattle Grace, Izzie and Cristina stole a patient from psych to make her feel better and when Meredith was put on Erica Hahn's service, Cristina gave Meredith lots of advice on how to impress Hahn, giving her all her best material.



They had their first big fight after Richard Webber blamed Cristina for knowing of the interns' secret meetings and Meredith did not defend her. Although Meredith at first refused to believe Cristina was ignoring her, she eventually accepted it. The two spoke to each other as little as possible and when they did they would argue with each other, Meredith even insulted Cristina by saying that to some people things came naturally but Cristina was one of the people that had to practice. However, after Meredith broke down after attending the execution of a murderer, Derek brought her to Cristina and they made up. They began to bond over Meredith's mother's old diaries and Meredith found herself comparing Cristina to her mother. After the news that Meredith was getting married, they found themselves growing and, they hugged.

George O'Malley


From the moment George O'Malley met Meredith, he fell in love with her. Meredith however, was in love with Derek Shepherd so she never really thought about George as more than a friend. Only a patient and George's best friend Izzie knew how he felt about Meredith. After a small push from Izzie, George decided to tell Meredith how he felt. Meredith had had a very bad day at work so when George confessed his feelings for her, she thought that maybe George was her guy and she had just overlooked him. They proceeded to kiss but during sex, knowing it wasn't right, Meredith burst into tears. George was humiliated and furious and for weeks he refused to speak to her. Eventually he accepted her apology but admitted that he was partly to blame too, he had known how she felt about Derek and knew she didn't love him. Their friendship continued and he moved back to her house. When George discovered that he had to repeat his intern year, he drew away from his group of friends but things soon went back to normal and Meredith an George's friendship continued, and was strengthened as she was his resident. On George's last day at Seattle Grace, he was hit by a bus and nobody could recognize him. Meredith was his doctor and although she didn't communicate with him often, she defended him in front of some of the other doctors and after he traced the word "007" on her hand, she realised it was him and had him rushed into the O.R. George later died, and she and the other doctors at Seattle Grace attended his funeral.

Izzie Stevens


Meredith formed a close bond with Izzie, Cristina and George on her first day and her relationship with Izzie grew more so when Izzie and George moved in with her. When George and Meredith were fighting, Izzie told Meredith she would be siding with George if they had to choose sides but fortunately, Meredith and George's issues were soon resolved. Izzie felt close enough to talk to Meredith about her relationship with George and how he pecked her like a chicken and when she discovered that Izzie and George were dating she supported them. After Izzie was diagnosed with cancer and Meredith was told, she and Derek gave their wedding to Alex and Izzie. However, after Izzie left Seattle Grace when she was fired, Izzie refused to answer calls from any of her friends and only returned when a former teacher of hers was sick and at Seattle Grace. She returned later on after Meredith called her and told her Alex might be moving on, the same night that aLex slept with Lexie. Meredith decided that they should keep it between the three of them.

Alex Karev


Alex and Meredith have a sibling like relationship. Meredith originally disliked Alex after he insulted her by calling her a nurse but when he became Bailey's intern and Izzie made friends with him, Meredith bonded with Alex too. After discovering that Alex failed his board exams, Meredith helped him to study and they occasionally have heartfelt and meaningful conversations. When Izzie was revealed to be quite sick, Meredith offered her wedding to Izzie and Alex and Alex made her his best man for the wedding. When Izzie left the hospital after being fired, Meredith became a source of support. She rang Izzie to tell her to come back because Alex might be moving on after witnessing Alex and Reed flirting and the next morning she found Lexie and Alex in bed together but advised them to keep it secret.

Miranda Bailey


Miranda Bailey was Meredith's resident and had earned the nicknamed "the Nazi" before Meredith had started at Seattle Grace. She rarely got involved with people and their problems unless it affected their work. When Bailey found out about Derek and Meredith's relationship she didn't speak to Meredith and would punish her somehow to even the playing field when Derek would favour her. However, after their break-up when Derek tried to talk to Meredith, Bailey grew protective and told him not to, that Meredith was hurt and he would just make it worse. Bailey taught Meredith and the interns with a tough love method but as Meredith's intern year progressed Bailey became friendlier to the interns, while still managing to maintain her fearsome reputation.

Addison Montgomery


When Addison came to Seattle Grace although she wanted Derek back, she was civil to Meredith and even defended her in front of a mislead patient. In a scrub room, Addison told Meredith that if there was even a chance that Derek still loved her then she wasn't leaving Seattle but she would if he didn't. Derek chose Addison but when Derek and and Meredith decided to be friends, Addison tried to be friends too. The three stayed friends, even taking in Meredith's dog but Addison sometimes felt tension between the two and realised that everybody knew Derek loved Meredith except for Derek and Meredith. She and Derek eventually, divorced but after a short while she managed to have a friendship with both of them. The relationship was proven when she came back to Seattle for a visit and hugged Meredith, although she was quite annoyed that Meredith was letting Derek go off with Rose.

Richard Webber


Meredith Grey and Richard Webber had a very strained relationship for a very long time. He was the main cause behind her parents' divorce and because of him, she was always cast aside. Upon coming to Seattle Grace, they acted civil but there were issues under the surface. Because he had been so close to Ellis, he felt close to Meredith, and he was close to her as a child and she thought that he thought he was her father. After she started disregarding his authority, Richard realised that although he was not a bad man, he was the bad man in her story. Richard started becoming frustrated with Meredith and even more so when he looked at her and was frustrated to see Ellis Grey inside her, the woman who he loved but had almost ruined his marriage. He never looked Meredith in the eye and eventually Derek Shepherd spoke to them both. He told Richard that he was the most professional man except for when it came to Meredith Grey, who he didn't always treat as a colleague. Richard apologised to Meredith for his actions in the past, he had been aware that she had grown up alone but never tried to stop it. The two forgave each other and it was proven by his fatherly behaviour towards her during her solo surgery and her offering him the diaries of her mother.

Lexie Grey


Although Meredith originally hated Lexie, she quickly realised that although she had reason to hate the idea of her, she had no reason to hate Lexie herself. Initially, she didn't like the way Lexie followed her or spoke to Derek about her. She claimed that Lexie was someone she never wanted to know, even denying that Lexie was her sister. However, after Bailey explained that Lexie probably thought she hated Susan, and after a traumatic day when Cristina brought Lexie home with her, Meredith made an effort to bond with her and they danced and drank tequila. The next morning, Meredith even tried to make breakfast for her and Lexie was so enthusiastic that she ate it, despite knowing she would have an allergic reaction. Lexie and Meredith didn't get too close, both having two different sets of friends, but they did eventually become friends which was made easier with the presence of George O'Malley who was good friends with both of them.

Ellis Grey


Ellis Grey was the mother of Meredith Grey. Their relationship was strained due to Ellis's devotion to Richard Webber and her work, often forgetting about Meredith. Meredith was a rebellious teenager and she drank excessively and partied during college. However, while travelling in Europe, she received a call and was told that her mother had Alzheimer's. Meredith was made look after Ellis and keep her secret. Ellis would rarely recognize Meredith but one day she woke up and was lucid, but it wouldn't last long, she found herself very disappointed in her daughter who was no longer driven, just "happy". However, before she died Meredith saw Ellis in a vision and Ellis hugged her and told her she was extraordinary and to continue being extraordinary. Later, Meredith found her mother's old diaries and used them to get to know who her mother was and she realised that she liked her and her mother was quite similar to her best friend, Cristina Yang.

Thatcher Grey


Due to Ellis and Richard's affair, Thatcher left Ellis and Meredith when Meredith was very young. Ellis asked him not to visit and Meredith did not meet him until she was in her thirties and she discovered he had another family. His wife Susan persisted in trying to get them to bond and they began to but when Susan died in a surgery, Thatcher blamed Meredith and asked her not to attend the funeral. Weeks later he arrived back at Seattle Grace and told her he was sorry and so proud of her but Lexie later informed her that he only said it because he was drunk and he did it all the time. Thatcher went into a programme and he started making amends. He asked Meredith and Lexie to forgive him, Lexie hugged him and Meredith congratulated him and said good luck and then left the office they were in.

Susan Grey
Susan Grey was the wife of Meredith's father Thatcher. After Ellis Grey died, Susan reached out to Meredith and after a rough start, Susan and Meredith bonded. Susan would wash her clothes and make dinner for her and was like a surrogate mother to her. However, she came to Seattle Grace with the hiccups and she died during a relatively easy procedure.

Sadie Harris


Sadie Harris was Meredith's childhood best friend and she too hated Ellis. Following her graduation from college, when Meredith was in her twenties, she left to go travelling around Europe for two months with Sadie where they partied and drank frequently and experienced some of the adventures of "Death and Die". They had a big fight in Amsterdam and although they made up and stayed best friends, their friendship never truly recovered and they were never as close again. When Meredith received a call about her mother, she left Europe and went back to Seattle. Years later, Sadie made a surprise visit at Meredith's house and became an intern at Seattle Grace. Sadie and Meredith picked up their friendship as though no time had passed, causing Cristina to be extremely jealous. However, when George alerted the chief that Sadie did not seem to have much medical knowledge, she quit and asked Meredith to leave with her but Meredith said she had a life now and could no longer be sleeping her way through Europe. Sadie told Meredith that the hospital had changed her and left.

Doc


Doc was Meredith's dog. She and Izzie rescued him from a shelter and brought him back to their home. Doc was very playful but he became too much for Izzie and George who quickly demanded that he leave. Being friends with Derek, Derek and Addison agreed to take him in. After taken to a vet, Doc was diagnosed with bone cancer. He was put down and Meredith and Derek agreed to bury him on his favourite spot on Derek's land.

Finn Dandridge


Finn Dandridge was Doc's (Meredith's dog) vet. He met Meredith when she brought Doc to the vet and he asked her on a date and she soon agreed, despite her and Izzie being celibate. They started dating seriously but although they had sleepovers they never had sex. At the Seattle Grace prom Finn revealed that he had plans for him and Meredith and their future and Meredith was genuinely happy and trying to make her relationship work, but Derek did not help. After an argument with Derek they ended up having sex. Finn was annoyed but wanted to work past it. However, Meredith couldn't choose between Derek or Finn and they both agreed with dating her at the same time until she chose. After a fierce competition, Derek decided to let Meredith go and be with Finn but as soon as he did Meredith realised she wanted to be with Derek. She broke up with Finn and h left but warned her first that Derek wasn't good for her.

Callie Torres


Although Callie and Meredith are friends, they were never great friends. Meredith allowed Callie to move into her house for a while and Callie saved her from embarrassment at work and gave her advice about her dog but Meredith was better friends with Izzie who disliked Callie so she often sided with Izzie in arguments. After George and Callie divorced, Callie moved in with Meredith's best friend Cristina so she and Callie bonded a bit more and both protected her from Owen Hunt when they thought he might hurt Cristina.



Mark Sloan
When Mark first met Meredith he flirted with her and she privately called him McSteamy but when he asked her out she said no because she loved Derek. When Derek forgave Mark for breaking up his marriage and they resumed their friendship with him, Meredith too became friendly towards him, although Mark still threatened her, only half-jokingly, on her wedding day.

Preston Burke
Because Preston was dating Cristina, Meredith and Derek were often invited over to their house for dinner and vice versa. However, Burke left Cristina on the day of their wedding and there was no contact between them again. Except once, for Derek to to tell Cristina about his notice when he never showed up to SGH.



Erica Hahn
When Erica Hahn was hired at Seattle Grace, she almost immediately assigned Meredith to her service in order to see if Meredith had any of her mother's skill. She was impressed by Meredith but when Meredith lied and said she had performed a certain surgery when she hadn't, Hahn told her that if she did it again she'd never let her operate in her operating room again.

Owen Hunt
Meredith liked Owen Hunt but after he strangled Cristina in her sleep, she gave him the cold shoulder and along with Callie, she kept him away from Cristina whenever possible. However, Cristina and Owen soon got together again and Meredith and Callie stopped.

April Kepner
When april first came to seattle grace, Meredith did not approve of her. When April came back after being fired, Meredith liked her even less, because she was way to friendly to Derek. Later, when Derek gets shot, Meredith says that April do not have the right to cry because of Derek, but she tells Meredith that Reed, her best friend died. Meredith ends up comforting April, creating some kind of bond.

Career
After attending medical school, Meredith secured a spot at Seattle Grace Hospital as a surgical intern and moved from Boston to her mother's house in Seattle.

Because of her mother's reputation, Meredith was often treated differently from other doctors, sometimes favoured and sometimes disliked. Meredith showed promise as an intern, she made a difficult diagnosis on her first day and during the rest of her internship she assisted in several advanced procedures, particulary neurological cases.

After correctly diagnosing a patient with a brain tumor she approached Derek Shepherd with the idea of a clinical trial. On their thirteenth patient they had success and the clinical trial was published in a medical journal and named The Shepherd Method.

Soon after, Meredith discovered numerous journals belonging to her mother, while she learned more about her and also picked up some surgical skills and even a doll from her past, Anatomy Jane, which helped her save a young girl.

On her wedding day she was awarded a colon and given her first solo surgery. Without any intervention from other doctors, she successfully completed the surgery and Richard Webber informed her that her mother would have been proud.

Memorable Quotes

 * Meredith Grey: The Game. They say a person either has what it takes to play, or they don't. My mother was one of the greats. Me on the other hand... I'm kinda screwed. I can't think of any one reason why I'd want to be a surgeon. But I can think of a thousand reasons why I should quit. They make it hard on purpose. There are lives in our hands. There comes a moment when it's more than just a game. And you either take that step forward or turn around and walk away. I could quit, but here's the thing... I love the playing field. –A Hard Day's Night


 * Meredith Grey: Okay, here it is, your choice... it's simple, her or me, and I'm sure she is really great. But Derek, I love you, in a really, really big pretend to like your taste in music, let you eat the last piece of cheesecake, hold a radio over my head outside your window, unfortunate way that makes me hate you, love you. So pick me, choose me, love me.


 * Derek Shepherd: Ok. What do we wanna promise each other?
 * Meredith Grey: That you'll love me... even when you hate me.
 * Derek Shepherd: To love each other, even when we hate each other. No running. Ever! Nobody walks out. No matter what happens.
 * Meredith Grey: No running.
 * Derek Shepherd: What else?
 * Meredith Grey: That we'll take care of each other, even when we're old, and smelly, and senile. And... if I get Alzheimer's and forget you...
 * Derek Shepherd: I will remind you who I am, every day. To take care when old, senile, and smelly. This is forever. Sign.
 * Meredith Grey: This is our wedding. A post it?
 * Derek Shepherd: Mhmmm. If you sign it.
 * Meredith Grey: Now what?
 * Derek Shepherd: Now I kiss the bride. (They kiss)
 * Meredith Grey: Married.
 * Derek Shepherd: Married. –Now Or Never

Appearances
Meredith Grey