After 12 seasons, it would make sense that Grey's Anatomy has had many main characters leave the show. Sometimes it's been over behind-the-scenes drama and creative differences. Other times, though, it was simply the actor wanting to move on from the show. So, where are our former doctors and minor characters now? Here is what all of the actors are up to after breaking our hearts.
The first episode of the show starts the morning after Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey sleep together for the first time. Our lives were never the same again. Sadly, all good things must come to an end. After marriage, children, and a whole lot of drama, the actor left the show. Derek dies after a car accident in season 11. So what is Dempsey up to now?
Dempsey's exit is one of the most recent ones, so he only has two projects under his belt. One is being one of the many loves of Bridget Jones in her newest movie, Bridget Jones's Baby. He'll also appear in the TV show Micronesian Blues.
Cristina Yang is an original who knows who she is from day one. She works hard to be the best, and sometimes that affects her personal life. Either way, we love that Meredith is her person, and that she gives great life advice. After 10 seasons, Sandra Oh finally called it quits.
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Now, the actress has kept her options open to things other than television. She has a regular part in Refinery29's webseries, Shitty Boyfriends. She will also star in a movie called Catfight, which comes out this August.
Dane played Mark Sloan, the hot doctor is also known as McSteamy. He falls in love with Lexie Grey and fathers a daughter with Callie Torres. Sadly he dies in the first episode of season nine, after that bonkers plane crash. So, where is the actor now?
The actor is now on The Last Ship, where a crew is trying to survive after a pandemic kills off most of the earth's population. He plays commanding officer Tom Chandler, who usually calls the shots on the ship.
Before med school, Izzie was a model, but she comes determined to be taken seriously as a doctor. Along the way, she has many love interests, including George O'Malley and Alex Karev. She has a health scare with a brain tumor. Heigl's exit from the show came from off-camera drama between her and Shonda Rhimes. Her character ended up divorcing Karev and leaving Seattle in season six.
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The actress went on to starring in her own show, State of Affairs. However, it didn't make it past season one. She has been acting in movies throughout her time after the show, her latest being Jenny's Wedding with Alexis Bledel.
On Grey's, we watch George O'Malley go from an unsure intern to a surgical resident. Along the way, his heart breaks from not passing his intern exam and not having his love returned by Meredith. Sadly his character bit the dust from jumping in front of a bus to save a woman in season six.
Since the show, the actor has been working steadily. He was Jordan Karahalios on The Good Wife for a few episodes. He then moved on to playing Johnny Clayton in the miniseries 11.22.63 with James Franco.
The cardio surgeon was basically Cristina's mentor and ended up falling in love with her. The two were very close to walking down the aisle before it all crumbled. The actor's use of a homophobic slur behind the scenes also ruined his chances of staying on the show. His character was written out and Burke left in season three. However he does return for one episode in season 10 to help with Cristina's exit.
Addison walks onto the show with a bang. She drops the bomb that she's married to Derek while he is hooking up with Meredith. Addison tries to redeem herself and becomes the main character to the spin-off show Private Practice. The last time we see her character is in season eight.
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After that, Walsh has moved on to Fargo and Bad Judge. She has also acted in some movies in between, including 2013's Any Day. This year, you can catch her in the Selena Gomez-produced Thirteen Reasons Why.
Erica Hahn transfers to Seattle Grace and basically replaces Dr. Burke. She therefore mentors Cristina, which starts off rocky. Hahn falls for Callie Torres, and the two start dating. In the end, Hahn leaves Seattle Grace in season five.
Lexie Gray was Meredith's half-sister, whom she met later in life. She becomes a resident at Seattle Grace and falls in love with Mark Sloan. Sadly, she also dies from the plane crash in season eight.
Right after her exit, Leigh played Detective Caitlyn Sullivan in Taxi Brooklyn. The show, however, ended after one season, so she moved on. Now she's Alex Danvers, a bioengineer on Supergirl.
Cardio surgeon Teddy Altman met Owen in Baghdad, where the two served in the army. She also transfers to Seattle Grace and ends up working with Cristina. Her relationship with Owen throughout the show is up and down, but in the end, Owen fires her. She takes a job elsewhere in season eight.
Shane is one of the newer interns in season nine. He works closely with Derek Shepherd, but that doesn't always go so smoothly. When Cristina leaves for Switzerland, Shane asks her to take him and she agrees.
Leah Murphy arrives in season nine and eventually sleeps with Arizona Robbins. The whole thing backfires, and she files a sexual harassment claim against her. By the second year of residency, she gets fired for screwing up too many times.
We may not have gotten much of Adele, but when we did, it was memorable. She's the wife of Dr. Richard Webber, even after his affair with Meredith's mother, Ellis. Adele's a dedicated wife, so it's pretty heartbreaking to see her struggle with Alzheimer's. Her character dies in season nine.
The actress has been keeping busy since the show. She worked on The Client List, The Doc Files, Doc McStuffins, and Being Mary Jane. Now, you can catch her on The Carmichael Show.
We all remember how hard Izzie falls for that charming heart patient named Denny Duquette. The two get engaged, but he sadly dies from a stroke after getting a heart transplant, which Izzie compromises her entire career to help him get. This also leads to weird ghost sex, which had Katherine Heigl blasting the show's writing publicly.
Since the show, Morgan has acted in a few movies, but has done more work on TV. He has been in Magic City, Texas Rising, Extant, and The Good Wife. Now, he's curdling blood as Negan on The Walking Dead.
