Ellen Pompeo Net Worth: ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Makes Highest Paid TV Actress List, Demands Salary Increase For Season 13
Ellen Pompeo is one of the highest paid actresses on television. The Grey’s Anatomy star reportedly has a net worth of over $30 million, bringing home $11.5 million in 2015 alone.
According to Vanity Fair,Ellen Pompeo is the fourth-highest paid TV actress in the U.S., earning $300,000 per episode on Grey’s Anatomy. She, however, recently re-upped her contract with ABC. The outlet predicted that she could take the top spot away from Modern Family‘s Sofia Vergara and The Big Bang Theory‘s Kaley Cuoco. After all, Grey’s Anatomy was named as the No.1 drama on ABC, after its ratings experienced a renaissance following Derek Shepherd’s (Patrick Dempsey) death.
Entertainment Weekly reported that Grey’s Anatomy Season 12 had a six percent jump in ratings in the 18-49 demographic. The series also impressively scored a double-digit increase among women in the 18-34 demographic.
Since Grey’s Anatomy is already in its 13th season, Vanity Fair pointed out that it is only a matter of time before the series runs its course. Cast members of both Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory also previously hinted that these shows may go on for only a couple of years tops. It is, however, rare to find such shows that consistently received high ratings. It does not come as a surprise that its stars have the power to negotiate such high salaries. They held that ABC will do everything in its power to hold on to Grey’s Anatomy, and Ellen Pompeo, as long as they possibly can.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 12 ended with Meredith (Pompeo) hooking up with Riggs (Martin Henderson), which will put her in an awkward and terrible position with her half-sister Maggie (Kelly McCreary). There is clearly going to be a lot of tension between Meredith and Maggie when the ABC series returns this fall for Season 13.
Even after finding out that Maggie has a huge crush on Riggs, Ellen Pompeo believed that it would not stop Meredith from sleeping with him again.
“Riggs isn’t something anyone can know about, so it’s very safe for Meredith, because there’s no danger there of ever betraying the one great love of her life and falling in love with him.”
Ellen shared that she is looking forward to what will happen in Grey’s Anatomy Season 13. Given that she has not been with anyone for so long, the coming episodes is going to be very exciting for Meredith. Ellen added that she is actually quite thrilled to be involved in a love triangle.
In a separate interview with the publication, Ellen Pompeo shared that she felt upset with how some Grey’s Anatomy fans attacked Shonda Rhimes following Patrick Dempsey’s surprising exit from the show. The actress explained that the series creator was left with no choice except to kill McDreamy to move the story forward.
“She’s explained why the character has to end that way, because if the character rides off into the sunset on a white horse, why would he ever leave Meredith? Then that love story is ruined. If he were just to walk away gracefully, he’s no longer the knight in shining armor.”
Pompeo added that if Derek Shepherd ended up surviving, Grey’s Anatomy fans would have only wanted him to come back to the show. The actress admitted that she cannot help but feel disappointed with how the fans reacted, blaming Rhimes like it was her fault.
“I felt pretty protective of her in that moment and I was pretty disappointed that she got the blame for something that really wasn’t her fault at all.”
What are you most looking forward for when Grey’s Anatomy Season 13 returns this fall? Let us know in the comments below.
[Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images]
