The television shows “Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Private Practice,” among others, were created, executive produced and written mostly by Shonda Lynn Rhimes.
Early Years:
On January 13, 1970, Shonda Lynn Rhimes was born in Chicago, Illinois. The youngest of six kids, she is. Marian Catholic High School was Shonda’s alma mater. She volunteered in a hospital while still in high school, which sparked her interest in healthcare settings. She studied cinema studies while attending Dartmouth College.
In 1991, Shonda received her BA. Shonda relocated to San Francisco to work for an advertising business after finishing her undergraduate studies. She relocated to Los Angeles in order to enroll in the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ MFA program. She excelled in her USC class and concentrated on screenwriting.
Career:
Like so many other recent college graduates, Rhimes was a jobless screenwriter in Hollywood after receiving her degree from USC. She contributed to the 1995 Peabody Award-winning documentary “Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream,” which she worked on.
The 1999 HBO film “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge” was written by Rhimes. Rhimes wrote “Crossroads,” Britney Spears’ first movie, in 2001. The sequel to “The Princess Diaries” was Rhimes’ next writing project. The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which was published in 2004, was written by Rhimes, who has frequently gushed about the fantastic experience. Working with Julie Andrews was a particular highlight for her. In 2003, Rhimes created her first TV pilot for ABC, but the network rejected it.
Rhimes began working on a new project in 2003. “Grey’s Anatomy” was that undertaking. In 2005, ABC scheduled it as a midseason replacement after purchasing it on a pitch. In March 2005, “Grey’s Anatomy” had its midseason debut. “Grey’s Anatomy” drew 20 million viewers each week by the end of the first season. Grey’s Anatomy would move to Thursdays to serve as the network’s Thursday night anchor, ABC said in May 2006.
The “Grey’s Anatomy” spin-off series “Private Practice” was created and produced by Rhimes in 2007. “Private Practice” was picked up by ABC in May 2012 for the 13-episode television season that will air in 2012–13. On January 22, 2013, the series’ conclusion aired.
ABC picked up Rhimes’ “Scandal” pilot script for a full season in May 2011. In the role of political crisis management specialist Olivia Pope, Kerry Washington starred. The first episode of “Scandal” debuted in April 2012, and the final episode aired in April 2019. “How to Get Away with Murder,” a new Rhimes series, received an ABC pilot order in December 2013.
In February 2014, actress Viola Davis was cast as the main character. On May 8, 2014, it was formally ordered into a television series. The sixth and final season of the show was picked up by ABC in May 2019, and it debuted on September 26, 2019.
All of Shonda Rhimes’ upcoming productions will be Netflix Original shows, according to a development agreement Netflix revealed with her on August 14, 2017. In addition to the fact that the streamer has already purchased the U.S. streaming rights to all prior episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Scandal,” the agreement is an exclusive, multi-year one.
In June 2018, Netflix revealed that the first project under the agreement would be an adaptation of Jessica Pressler’s article from New York Magazine titled “How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People.” Rhimes’ adaptation of the tale will be called “Inventing Anna” and will be a 10-part television series featuring Anna Chlumsky from “Veep” as a journalist (perhaps based on Pressler) who is looking into a German heiress, who will be played by the talented Julia Garner from “Ozark.”
Laverne Cox from “Orange Is the New Black” and Katie Lowes from “Scandal” also star. According to reports, “Inventing Anna” began filming in October 2019, therefore the production likely had time to conclude before the coronavirus pandemic halted motion picture and television production (and everything else).
Rhimes revealed to E! in 2017 that she and “Grey’s Anatomy” star Ellen Pompeo (Meredith Grey) have an established agreement to continue working on the series for as long as Pompeo desires. “Ellen [Pompeo] and I have an agreement that I’ll do the show as long as she does the program, too. Therefore, the show will continue for as long as we both desire to do it. We will stop if she requests it.
I, therefore, have no idea if we will see 600, but I want to keep it feeling new. We’re in as long as there are new tales to be told and as long as we’re both fired up about them. We’ll see where that leads us, then. Although the coronavirus pandemic is anticipated to cause a delay, “Grey’s Anatomy” is currently set to run through the 2020–2021 season.
As of the 2020–21 season, Kim Raver, Kevin McKidd, and Camilla Luddington all have three-year deals with “Grey’s Anatomy.” Fans are speculating that Rhimes and Pompeo have a three-year plan for ending “Grey’s Anatomy” as a result of this. There is no concrete proof to support this rumor.
The second “Grey’s Anatomy” spinoff series created by Shondaland, “Station 19,” debuted on ABC in 2018. It concerns a group of firefighters and emergency medical technicians from Seattle who have connections to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and several “Grey’s Anatomy” cast members.
The Rhimes-produced “Bridgerton” will make its Netflix debut in 2020. Rhimes and Julie Andrews are reunited in the series. It is based on Julia Quinn’s best-selling novels about the cutthroat London high society of the Regency era.
Private Life:
In June 2002, Rhimes adopted her first daughter; in February 2012, she adopted a second girl. Rhimes gave birth to her third daughter through a surrogate in September 2013.
Cristin Milioti Husband, Career, Net Worth: Who Is She Dating Right Now?
Rhimes delivered the commencement speech at Dartmouth College, where she also earned an honorary doctorate, in 2014.
Rhimes revealed she has shed 117 pounds through fitness and diet in September 2015.
Shonda always cries when she hears the Snow Patrol song “Chasing Cars.” It was the tune that Patrick Dempsey’s character Derek Shepherd (of “Grey’s Anatomy”) died to while the episode was playing. And it was planned that way. “How To Save a Life” is the title of the episode (Season 11, Episode 21), which is also the name of a song by The Fray.
Right before it was scheduled to run, Rhimes changed the song that was playing when Derek died to “Chasing Cars.” The cast of the production had no idea if the song could be altered. We weren’t aware that it would occur until it aired on the East coast, according to Rhimes. The entire post-production crew was gathered around the small monitor down the hall that displays the East coast feed, listening and anticipating what would happen.
A cheer could be heard when it did. Meredith sat by Derek’s side as the hospital staff removed his life support while “Chasing Cars” was playing.
Highlights of Pay:
Rhimes agreed to a four-year contract with Netflix in 2017 for an estimated $100 million. The long-running shows Shonda has produced during her time at ABC have added to her wealth. She does not simply receive payment for each episode of each of the series that she creates; Grey’s Anatomy alone has more than 317 episodes. She further received $10 million per year from ABC from 2015 to 2018 as well as at least 10% of the profits from the syndication or sale of her shows to streaming providers. For Rhimes, that works up to around $1 million every episode.
Richard Williams Net Worth 2022: Income, Salary, Ex-wife, William Daughters and More
Real Estate
Shonda spent $4.6 million on a Tudor-style house in the Hancock Park section of Los Angeles in 2017. Rhimes has lived in this house three times. The house is a little under 5,000 square feet in size and contains four bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms.
Additionally, Rhimes has an 8,292-square-foot estate she purchased from Beck in 2010 for $5.6 million and an 8,398-square-foot Mediterranean property she acquired from Patricia Heaton in 2014 for $8.8 million. In addition, Rhimes has a duplex she paid $1.66 million for in 2007 just west of Hancock Park.
The net worth of Shonda Rhimes:
An American director, writer, producer, and author with a net worth of $140 million is Shonda Rhimes.
