Shonda Rhimes
Shonda Rhimes | |
---|---|
Born | Shonda Lynn Rhimes January 13, 1970 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Alma mater | |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1995–present |
Children | 3 |
Shonda Lynn Rhimes,
She has served as the executive producer of the ABC thriller series
In 2017, she was inducted as a Chair's Appointee of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences‘s executive committee.[5][6] She is also part of the USC Film Concil and the Writers Guild Inclusion Committee.[7][8]
In 2007, 2013, and 2021, Rhimes was named by Time to the Time 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.
Early life and education
Rhimes was born in
Rhimes lived in Park Forest South (now University 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 a hospital volunteer, which inspired an interest in hospital environments.[16]
Raised Catholic, Rhimes attended Marian Catholic High School in Chicago Heights, Illinois.[17] At Dartmouth 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 at
While at USC, Rhimes was hired as an intern by
Career
Career beginnings: 1995–2004
After graduation, Rhimes was an unemployed scriptwriter in Hollywood.
In 2001, Rhimes wrote Crossroads, the debut film of pop singer Britney 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 movie The Princess Diaries (2001). Although The 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]
Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, Scandal and other projects with ABC
Rhimes is the creator and currently executive producer and head writer of Grey'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), in Seattle, Washington. The series features an ensemble cast with Ellen Pompeo serving as titular character Meredith Grey, who provides narration for a majority of the series' episodes.[26]
In 2007, Rhimes created and produced the Grey's Anatomy spin-off series Private 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, including Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs among others. The first season was shortened because of a writers' strike; it has nine episodes. In May 2012, ABC picked up Private Practice for the 2012–13 television season with 13 episodes. The series finale aired January 22, 2013.[27]
In 2010, Rhimes created a new pilot for ABC called Inside 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.[28] It was not picked up by the network.[29]
In 2011, Rhimes served as executive producer for the medical drama, Off the Map, which was created by Grey's Anatomy writer, Jenna Bans. It focuses on a group of doctors who practice medicine at a remote clinic in the Amazon jungle.[30] The series was officially cancelled by the ABC network on May 13, 2011.[31]
In May 2011, ABC ordered Rhimes' pilot script
In 2012, Rhimes developed a pilot for a period drama, Gilded Lillys, but it was not picked up to series.[35][36]
In December 2013, ABC ordered a pilot for a new Rhimes series, How to Get Away with Murder.[37] Actress Viola Davis joined the cast as the lead character in February 2014.[38] It was officially picked up to series on May 8, 2014.[39]
In March 2016, ABC premiered
Netflix deal
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 be Netflix Original series. The service had already purchased U.S. streaming rights to past episodes of Grey's Anatomy and Scandal. Chief Content Officer Ted 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".[41]
Of the deal, Rhimes said that
[Sarandos] understood what I was looking for—the opportunity to build a vibrant new storytelling home for writers with the unique creative freedom and instantaneous global reach provided by Netflix's singular sense of innovation. The future of Shondaland at Netflix has limitless possibilities.[41]
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.[41]
As of October 2020, she was working on more than 12 projects for Netflix, including the period drama Bridgerton.[42]
Personal life
Rhimes adopted her first daughter in June 2002 and adopted another daughter in February 2012.[43] In September 2013, Rhimes welcomed her third daughter via gestational surrogacy.[44]
In 2014, Rhimes gave a commencement address at her alma mater, Dartmouth College, where she received an honorary doctorate.[45]
In September 2015, Rhimes revealed she had lost 117 pounds (53 kg) via exercise and dieting.[46][47]
Activism
In April 2017, Rhimes joined the national board of Planned Parenthood.[48] Later that same year, Rhimes and Katie McGrath co-founded Time's Up, and both of them donated the funds to hire its first seven employees.[49]
In 2019, Rhimes joined the organization When We All Vote as a co-chair.[50] This organization was founded to get out the vote prior to the 2020 general election.
Shondaland
Shondaland is the name of Rhimes's production company.[51] Shondaland and its logo also refer to the shows Rhimes has produced[52] and to Rhimes herself. Shows included in Shondaland are:
- Grey's Anatomy (2005–present)
- Private Practice (2007–2013)
- Off the Map (2011)
- Scandal (2012–2018)
- How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020)
- The Catch(2016–2017)
- Still Star-Crossed (2017)
- For the People (2018–2019)
- Station 19 (2018–present)
- Bridgerton (2020–present)
- Inventing Anna (2022)
Filmography
Year | Title | Credited as | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Creator | Director | Writer | Producer | ||
1995 | Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream | No | Yes[53] | 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–present | 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 |
TBA | Notes on Love[54] | TBA | TBA | Yes | Yes |
Bibliography
- Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person, November 2015. New York: Simon & Schuster. OCLC 1026348497.
Essays and reporting
- "Scoop Dreams". Work for Hire. The New Yorker. Vol. 92, no. 32. October 10, 2016. p. 64.[55]