Ellen Pompeo Has a Good Monetary Motive to Not Depart ‘Gray’s Anatomy’

Ellen Pompeo is not prepared to wash out of “Gray’s Anatomy” simply but.

“That might make no sense, emotionally or financially. The present was streamed greater than a billion instances in 2024. Greater than a billion instances,” Pompeo advised El País in an interview revealed on Sunday.

The studios and streaming platforms behind the medical drama generate vital income from the actors’ likenesses, voices, and appearances, she mentioned.

“If I had been to stroll away utterly, everyone will get to earn money from my onerous work for 20 years and I would not make any cash,” Pompeo mentioned. “To me, it would not make any sense that everyone will get to revenue off of my onerous work.”

Not solely that, the present — which has 21 seasons — holds a particular place within the hearts of many viewers, she added.

“I need to have an angle of gratitude towards the present,” she mentioned.

Pompeo believes that girls within the trade must proceed to work collectively and converse out about pay fairness.

“I believe that it takes all of us girls standing up for one another and supporting each other. I’ve had so many ladies be so form to me and supportive of me, and I’ve tried to do the identical for different girls,” she mentioned.

The pilot episode of “Gray’s Anatomy” aired on March 27, 2005. Pompeo, who performs protagonist Meredith Gray within the drama, stepped again from her function starting in Season 19, which ran from 2022 to 2023.

Though she lowered her onscreen appearances, Pompeo nonetheless serves because the collection’ main narrator.

This resolution was partly on account of her need to spend extra time along with her children.

“I have been doing it for 20 years, so it was time to step away. I’ve three kids, and I really like spending time with them, and I really like being concerned of their lives,” Pompeo mentioned.

Advocating for pay fairness

Pompeo has at all times been candid about her journey towards attaining pay fairness on “Gray’s Anatomy.”

In 2018, Pompeo advised The Hollywood Reporter she managed to barter a deal value over $20 million a 12 months, together with a wage of $575,000 per episode and a seven-figure signing bonus.

“I am 48 now, so I’ve lastly gotten to the place the place I am OK asking for what I deserve, which is one thing that comes solely with age,” Pompeo mentioned, including that it takes “talent” to nonetheless be good on a present 14 years in.

Not solely that, she felt affirmed in her resolution to prioritize her monetary independence when negotiating her contract.

“And I am going to inform you, sitting in rooms filled with Oscar-winning actresses listening to how they have been preyed upon and assaulted is scary,” Pompeo mentioned. “And it confirmed that my path actually was the appropriate one for me, as a result of I’ve chosen to financially empower myself in order that I by no means should be ducking predators and chasing trophies. It isn’t for everybody. You need to be extra occupied with enterprise than you might be in appearing.”

In February, Pompeo advised Folks that “the very best factor” about being on “Gray’s Anatomy” was monetary safety.

“It has been actually profitable, and I believe monetary safety will not be one thing that each actress is afforded, so I am very grateful for that,” she mentioned.

Throughout an look on “Name Her Daddy” in March, Pompeo advised host Alex Cooper that she did not need to be a part of a TV collection as a result of she wished to be a film star. Nevertheless, she ended up auditioning for “Gray’s Anatomy” as a result of she was broke.

Outdoors Hollywood, the gender hole exists in lots of different industries as effectively.

Payscale’s 2025 Gender Pay Hole Report, which surveyed over 369,000 individuals within the US, discovered that girls earn simply 83 cents for each greenback males make.

In 2024, the Chamber of Commerce compiled knowledge from the Census Bureau to create a map of what the gender pay hole seems like in several US states.

A consultant for Pompeo didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark despatched by Enterprise Insider.