Family Tragedy, a Chaotic Childhood and Her Fight for Representation: Inside Ellen Pompeo's Private World

Most devoted Grey's Anatomy fans can rattle off any number of facts about the show's title character Meredith Grey: grew up the daughter of brilliant, but austere, surgeon Ellis Grey, married former boss Derek Shepherd on a Post-it Note, considers Cristina Yang as her person, almost died from a bomb explosion, hypothermia, a plane crash and a rogue gunman. But far less is known about the woman who deftly embodies her each week. Asked to name some details about Ellen Pompeo, your average viewer would probably know that she's a mom (she and music producer husband Chris Ivery, 51, share daughters Stella, 9, and Sienna, 4, and 21-month-old son Eli) and that she brilliantly negotiated her way to becoming the highest-paid actress on a TV drama. Other than that, well...she seems pretty cool.