Patrick Dempsey Through the Years: ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ Movies, Marriages and More
Patrick Dempsey is best known for his portrayal of Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd — the neurosurgeon with the perfect head of hair — on Grey’s Anatomy.
However, Dempsey’s career began two decades before the medical drama premiered. He got his first major movie role at age 21 in the 1987 film In the Mood. Dempsey played real American teen Sonny Wisecarver, who became infamous in the 1940s for his affairs with older women
The actor went on to play numerous heartthrobs and leading men over the years. Despite Dempsey’s reputation as one of the most handsome stars in Hollywood, he wasn’t always seen as “McDreamy” by his peers.
“I was really a small guy growing up and so I was ‘the amoeba.’ That was my nickname,” Dempsey shared during a 2016 appearance on Nightline. “It’s not your normal nickname. But I was a late bloomer.”
Keep scrolling for a look back at Dempsey’s life and career over the years:
1987
The same year that In the Mood hit theaters, Dempsey starred alongside Amanda Peterson in the teen romantic comedy Can’t Buy Me Love. When Peterson died at age 43 in 2015, Dempsey paid tribute to his former costar via X (formerly Twitter).
“In my memory, she will always be vibrant and young,” he wrote at the time. “Gone too soon. Sending my thoughts and prayers to Amanda’s family.”
Dempsey also wed his first wife, Rochelle “Rocky” Parker, in 1987 when he was 21 and she was 48. Parker was Dempsey’s manager and acting coach before they became romantically involved.
1994
Dempsey and Parker divorced after nearly seven years of marriage. During a 2006 sit-down with Barbara Walters, Dempsey reflected on the age gap between him and Parker.
“I think I needed a mother,” the Sweet Home Alabama actor said. “There were a lot of negative things that I’m still undoing from it.”
Parker died at age 74 in 2014.
1999
Dempsey wed makeup artist Jillian Fink after two years of dating. The couple went on to welcome daughter Talula in 2002 and twin sons Darby and Sullivan in 2007.
During a 2019 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Dempsey admitted that his kids aren’t impressed by his heartthrob status. “Oh, yeah, they make fun of me,” he shared. “They don’t let me take myself too seriously.”
2001
The Made of Honor star received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Aaron Brooks in the ABC family drama series Once and Again.
2005
Audiences were introduced to Dr. Derek Shepherd for the first time when Grey’s Anatomy premiered in March. For the next 11 seasons, Dempsey’s onscreen romance with Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey would grip viewers.
In fact, the duo’s chemistry was so steamy that Pompeo’s real-life husband, Chris Ivery, struggled to watch their intimate scenes.
“I remember in the beginning, it was really hard for [Chris],” Pompeo shared during a 2020 appearance on the “Ladies First With Laura Brown” podcast. “He was like, ‘This is not what I signed up for. You go to work and make out with that. I like Patrick and everything, he’s a good dude, but like, really?’”
2007
Dempsey played divorce attorney Robert Philip in the musical movie Enchanted, which launched his costar Amy Adams to superstardom.
2015
Fink filed for divorce after 15 years of marriage in January, but the pair reconciled later that year. They called off their divorce in November 2016.
During a November 2022 interview with Fatherly, Dempsey said therapy helped him and Fink get back on track.
“Individual therapy, and then I think couples therapy, is important,” he told the outlet. “What I have learned is that I will hear things differently in a therapist’s office just because we have a little bit of an emotional detachment. There’s room and space to come in and go, ‘Oh, OK. Now I understand where you’re coming from. OK, that’s what you’re feeling. I don’t want you to feel like that,’ and then you try to work on it.”
2015
Dempsey stepped back from Grey’s Anatomy after 11 seasons when his character was killed off during an April episode.
“Shepherd is a beloved character. People don’t want to lose him,” Dempsey told Entertainment Weekly after the controversial episode aired. “I’m anxious to see what the response will be.”
2021
Years after hanging up his scrubs, Dempsey returned to Grey’s Anatomy as a recurring character in season 17. His character appeared to Meredith on several occasions while she was in a coma due to COVID-19 complications.
“Patrick and I have this chemistry, where I think, even from when we first met, for some reason it just felt like we’ve known each other for a hundred years, and it’s just the same feeling [now],” Pompeo told Deadline in November 2020 of working with Dempsey again. “It’s like riding a bike, we just have a chemistry and a dynamic that’s always served us well, and I think we have a genuine affection for each other.”
Dempsey, meanwhile, told Variety in April 2021 that he thought his return to the show was “a beautiful way to close” Derek and Meredith’s love story.
“The intention was to really give people some hope, because they are such an iconic couple. We’ve lost so many people this year, the thought that we’d have angels hovering around us taking care of us is a good message to send out in such a bleak world that we’re living in,” he told the outlet. “So, for all of us, it was a beautiful ending to this story. I’m so grateful that I did it and happy that the fans really loved it.”
2022
Dempsey and Adams both returned for the Enchanted sequel, Disenchanted, which hit Disney+ in December. Dempsey got to sing in the follow-up film, which he didn’t do in the OG installment.
“It was a joy. That whole process of going through, finding your voice, working with the coach, learning the lyrics and the dance was an extraordinary experience and something I’d never done before,” he told the website Ashley & Company in November 2022. “It’s an extraordinary feeling you get when you sing. The vibration, it’s something very intoxicating about it. So, it’s nice to get a taste of that. It was nice to be in the fairy tale world for a while.”
2023
Dempsey was named People’s 2023 Sexiest Man Alive in November after previously ranking second on the outlet’s “Sexiest Men Alive” list in both 2005 and 2006.