Amelia Shepherd

"I am not fragile. I'm a drug addict. I've fallen off the wagon twice and I've gotten back on it. That doesn't make you fragile, Derek, that makes you very freaking strong."

- 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 three, and became a regular in season four. She made a visit to Seattle in Grey's Anatomy season seven and again in season eight.

Early Life
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.

Derek Needing a Nerve
Meredith ordered Heather Brooks to call all of Derek's sisters to ask them to donate a nerve. Heather mentioned she left Amelia a message, but it's unknown if she ever returned the call. ("Love Turns You Upside Down")

Personality
Amelia has spunk and is always very outspoken and charismatic. She is that "badass" type of girl who doesn't let anything or anyone get in her way. She seems to have slight trust issues also, because of her troubled past.

Romantic
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 is the mother of any of the 9 nieces and 5 nephews that Derek had referred previously.

Ryan Kerrigan
In season five, Amelia does however, get serious with the new character, Ryan, whom 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 Oceanside 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 wakes 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.

She discovers it quite late, because she assumed the symptoms were withdrawal symptoms. When Addison gave Amelia her first ultrasound, she discovered her baby boy was anencephalic, meaning he would be born without a brain. During the pregnancy, Amelia decided to donate her baby's organs to save other babies all over the country. After some difficulties with St. Ambrose Hospital's lawyers and an ethical disagreement with Sam, the baby's organs were donated.

Addison Forbes Montgomery
She is very close to her former sister-in-law, Addison Forbes 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 shut out Addison when Addison informed her that her baby had no brain.

Career
Amelia graduated at the top of her class at Harvard Medical School, completed her surgical residency at Johns Hopkins, and followed up with a neurosurgical fellowship. 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 and Trivia

 * Although she mentioned Derek is the only one who can call her Amy, Meredith calls her Amy and has her in her phone address book under the name Amy as well.

Notable Episodes
These episodes are Amelia-centric or otherwise very informative about her life.
 * Good Fries Are Hard to Come By