Shonda Rhimes | |
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.jpg) Rhimes in 2016 | |
| Born | Shonda Lynn Rhimes (1970-01-13)January 13, 1970 (age 56) |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
| Children | 3 |
Shonda Lynn Rhimes[1] (born January 13, 1970)[2] is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production companyShondaland. Inducted into theTelevision Hall of Fame andNAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame,[3] Rhimes became known as the firstshowrunner–creator,head writer, and executive producer–of the medical dramaGrey's Anatomy (2005–present), its spin-offPrivate Practice (2007–2013) and the political thrillerScandal (2012–2018), becoming the first African American woman to create three television dramas that have achieved the 100 episode milestone.[4]
Rhimes has served as the executive producer of the ABC thriller seriesHow to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020), theNetflix period seriesBridgerton (2020–present) andQueen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023), and dramaInventing Anna (2022). She has been nominated five times for aPrimetime Emmy Award, won aGolden Globe Award and aDaytime Emmy Award, and received special honors at theBritish Academy Television Awards andInternational Emmy Awards.
In 2017, she was inducted as a Chair's Appointee of theAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences‘s executive committee.[5][6] She is also part of theUSC Film Council and the Writers Guild Inclusion Committee.[7][8]
In 2007, 2013, and 2021, Rhimes was named byTime to theTime 100, their annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[9][10] As of 2023, she is one of the richest women entertainers in America, with a net worth of $250 million.[11] In 2015, she published her first book, a memoir,Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person. In 2016, Rhimes formed The Rhimes Family Foundation whose mission is to support arts, education, and activism.
Rhimes was born in Chicago, Illinois, the youngest of six children. Her mother, Vera P. (née Cain), was a college professor who earned a PhD in educational administration in 1991 while raising the family.[12][13] Her father, Ilee Rhimes Jr., served as a university administrator and later became the chief information officer at theUniversity of Southern California, a position he held until 2013.[14]
Rhimes lived in Park Forest South (nowUniversity Park, Illinois), with her two older brothers and three older sisters. She has said she exhibited an early affinity for storytelling.[15] While in high school, she served as ahospital volunteer, which inspired an interest in hospital environments.[16]
RaisedCatholic, Rhimes attendedMarian Catholic High School inChicago Heights, Illinois.[17] AtDartmouth College, she majored in English and film studies and earned her bachelor's degree in 1991.[18][19] At Dartmouth, she joined the Black Underground Theater Association. She divided her time between directing and performing in student productions, and writing fiction.[18] She also wrote for the college newspaper.[20]
After college, she relocated to San Francisco with an older sibling and worked in advertising atMcCann Erickson.[21] She subsequently moved to Los Angeles to attend theUniversity of Southern California and study screenwriting.[15] Ranked at the top of her USC class, Rhimes earned the Gary Rosenberg Writing Fellowship.[21] She obtained aMaster of Fine Arts degree from theUSC School of Cinematic Arts.
While at USC, Rhimes was hired as an intern byDebra Martin Chase. Rhimes credits her early success, in part, to mentors such as Chase, a prominent African-American producer. Chase later again served as a mentor to Rhimes onThe Princess Diaries 2. Rhimes also worked atDenzel Washington's company, Mundy Lane Entertainment.[22]
After graduation, Rhimes was an unemployed scriptwriter in Hollywood.[15] To make ends meet, Rhimes worked at a variety of day jobs, including as an office administrator and then a counselor at a job center that taught job skills to people with housing instability and mental illness. During this period, Rhimes worked as research director on the documentaryHank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995), which won the 1995Peabody Award.[15][21] In 1998, Rhimes made a short film,Blossoms and Veils, starringJada Pinkett-Smith andJeffrey Wright, which is her only credit as a film director.[15]New Line Cinema purchased a feature script of hers. Rhimes received an assignment to co-write theHBO movieIntroducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), which earned numerous awards for its star,Halle Berry.[15][21]
In 2001, Rhimes wroteCrossroads, the debut film of pop singerBritney Spears.[23] Despite being panned by critics, the film grossed more than $60 million worldwide.[24][25]
Rhimes next worked on writing Disney's sequel to its popular movieThe Princess Diaries (2001). AlthoughThe Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) did not score as well at the box office, Rhimes later said that she treasured the experience, if only for the opportunity to work with its star,Julie Andrews.[15] In 2003, Rhimes wrote her first TV pilot for ABC about young female war correspondents, but the network turned it down.[21][22]
Rhimes is the creator and currently executive producer and head writer ofGrey's Anatomy. The series debuted as a mid-season replacement on March 27, 2005. The series features the surgical staff at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital (later to be named Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital), inSeattle, Washington. The series features an ensemble cast withEllen Pompeo serving as titular characterMeredith Grey, who provides narration for a majority of the series' episodes.[26]
In 2007, Rhimes created and produced theGrey's Anatomy spin-off seriesPrivate Practice, which debuted September 26, 2007, on ABC. The show chronicles the life of Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) as she leaves Seattle Grace Hospital for Los Angeles to join a private practice. The series also features an ensemble cast, includingTim Daly,Amy Brenneman,Audra McDonald andTaye Diggs among others. The first season was shortened because of a writers' strike; it has nine episodes. In May 2012, ABC picked upPrivate Practice for the 2012–13 television season with 13 episodes. The series finale aired January 22, 2013.
In 2010, Rhimes created a new pilot for ABC calledInside the Box, a female-centric ensemble drama set in a Washington, D.C. network news bureau. The lead character is Catherine, an ambitious female news producer who, with her colleagues, pursues "the story" at all costs while juggling their personal animosities and crises of conscience.[27] It was not picked up by the network.[28]
In 2011, Rhimes served as executive producer for the medical drama,Off the Map, which was created byGrey's Anatomy writer,Jenna Bans. It focuses on a group of doctors who practice medicine at a remote clinic in the Amazon jungle.[29] The series was officially cancelled by the ABC network on May 13, 2011.[30]
In May 2011, ABC ordered Rhimes' pilot scriptScandal to series.Kerry Washington starred asOlivia Pope, a politicalcrisis management expert. The character is partially based on formerBush administration press aideJudy Smith.[31][32] The series debut aired on April 5, 2012.[33]
In 2012, Rhimes developed a pilot for a period drama,Gilded Lilys, but it was not picked up to series.[34][35]
In December 2013, ABC ordered a pilot for a new Rhimes series,How to Get Away with Murder.[36] ActressViola Davis joined the cast as the lead character in February 2014.[37] It was officially picked up to series on May 8, 2014.[38]
In March 2016, ABC premieredThe Catch, a comedy-drama led by Rhimes based on a treatment by British authorKate Atkinson. It starsMireille Enos andPeter Krause.[39] Later that month,Scandal,How to Get Away with Murder andGrey's Anatomy were respectively picked up for their sixth, third and 13th seasons. The following year, it was announced thatScandal would conclude after its upcoming seventh season, whileThe Catch was cancelled after its second.[40]
On August 14, 2017,Netflix announced that it had entered into an exclusive multi-year development deal with Rhimes, under which all of her future productions will beNetflix Original series.[41] The service had already purchased American streaming rights to past episodes ofGrey's Anatomy andScandal. Chief Content OfficerTed Sarandos described Rhimes as being a "true Netflixer at heart" since "she loves TV and films, she cares passionately about her work, and she delivers for her audience".[40] The deal was considered to be a coup for Netflix due to Rhimes' prominence at ABC; it was also considered to be a counter toward the effort by Disney, ABC's parent company, to reduce the availability of their content on Netflix in favor of a planned subscription streaming service of their own.[40][42]
As of October 2020, she was working on more than 12 projects for Netflix. In July 2021, Rhimes extended her deal with Netflix.[43] The first production wasBridgerton, which was released in 2020 and became the most-watched series ever on the platform,[44] leading to the production of four seasons by 2026.[45] In 2021, Rhimes produced the drama miniseriesInventing Anna.[46] In April 2022, the production ofQueen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story conceived by Rhimes was announced, as a spin-off ofBridgerton.[47]
Rhimes won her first competitiveEmmy Award at the52nd Daytime Creative Arts & Lifestyle Emmy Awards, where she took home theDaytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Arts and Popular Culture Program forBlack Barbie: A Documentary (2023).[48]
Rhimes adopted her first daughter in June 2002 and adopted another daughter in February 2012.[49] In September 2013, Rhimes welcomed her third daughter via gestationalsurrogacy.[50]
In 2014, Rhimes gave acommencement address at her alma mater,Dartmouth College, where she received anhonorary doctorate.[51]
In September 2015, Rhimes revealed she had lost 117 pounds (53 kg) via exercise and dieting.[52][53]
In April 2017, Rhimes joined the national board ofPlanned Parenthood.[54] Later that same year, Rhimes and Katie McGrath co-foundedTime's Up, and both of them donated the funds to hire its first seven employees.[55]
In 2019, Rhimes joined the organization When We All Vote as a co-chair.[56] This organization was founded to get out the vote prior to the 2020 general election.
Shondaland is the name of Rhimes's production company.[57] Shondaland and its logo also refer to the shows Rhimes has produced[58] and to Rhimes herself. Shows included in Shondaland are:
| Year | Title | Credited as | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creator | Director | Writer | Producer | ||
| 1995 | Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream | No | No[59] | No | No |
| 1998 | Blossoms and Veils | No | Yes | Yes | No |
| 1999 | Introducing Dorothy Dandridge | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2002 | Crossroads | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2004 | The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement | No | No | Yes | No |
| 2005–present | Grey's Anatomy | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2007–2013 | Private Practice | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2009 | Inside the Box | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2009 | Seattle Grace: On Call | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| 2009 | Seattle Grace: Message of Hope | Yes | No | No | Yes |
| 2011 | Off the Map | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2012 | Gilded Lilys | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2012–2018 | Scandal | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2014–2020 | How to Get Away with Murder | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2016–2017 | The Catch | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2017 | Still Star-Crossed | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2018–2019 | For the People | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2018–2024 | Station 19 | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2020–present | Bridgerton | No | No | No | Yes |
| 2022 | Inventing Anna | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2023 | Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| 2025 | The Residence | No | No | No | Yes |
Winner of theGolden Globe Award for Best Television Series – Drama in2006 forGrey's Anatomy, Rhimes won theInternational Emmy Founders Award and the Special Award at theBritish Academy Television Awards. She also received special honorees for her works at theCostume Designers Guild Awards,Directors Guild of America Award,ICG Publicists Awards,Writers Guild of America Award andProducers Guild of America Awards.[61]
...TV producer Shonda Rhimes in 1970 (age 51)…
Seven full-time staff members were hired with seed money from two of the co-founders, television producer Shonda Rhimes ("Grey's Anatomy") and producer Katie McGrath
