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About Shonda Rhimes
American television producer and screenwriter Shonda Lynn Rhimes (Shonda Rhimes), CBE was born on January 13, 1970. She is also the creator of the production business Shondaland. Rhimes, who was inducted into both the Television Hall of Fame and the NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, gained recognition as the showrunner—that is, the creator, head writer, and executive producer—of three television dramas: the political thriller Scandal (2012–2018), the medical drama Grey’s Anatomy (2005–present), and its spin-off Private Practice (2007–2013). Rhimes is the first woman to have created three shows that have reached the 100-episode mark.
Her credits include executive producing the drama Inventing Anna (2022), the period series Bridgerton (2020–present) and Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story (2023) on Netflix, and the suspense series How to Get Away with Murder (2014–2020) on ABC.
Rhimes was included in Time’s annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2007, 2013, and 2021. Her memoir, Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person, was released in 2015. The Rhimes Family Foundation was established by Rhimes in 2016 with the goal of advancing activism, education, and the arts.
Her $250 million net worth places her among the wealthiest American female celebrities as of 2023.
Quick Facts:
- Birth Name: Shonda Lynn Rhimes
- Birth Date: January 13, 1970
- Birth Place: Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
- Gender: Female
- Career: Executive producer and Author/Screenwriter
- Most Known For:Award-winning author and executive producer Shonda Rhimes is the brains behind the popular television series “Grey’s Anatomy” and the courtroom drama “How to Get Away with Murder.” She also created the political thriller Scandal and its spin-off, Private Practice.
Early Life:
The youngest of six children born to university administrator Ilee Rhimes Jr. and college professor Vera P. (née Cain) Rhimes, Rhimes was born in Chicago, Illinois. While raising their six children, her mother went to college and graduated in 1991 with a PhD in educational administration. Her father, who has an MBA, worked as the University of Southern California’s chief information officer (CIO) until 2013.
Rhimes, who was raised Catholic, went to Chicago Heights, Illinois’ Marian Catholic High School. She studied film studies and English at Dartmouth College, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 1991. She became a member of the Black Underground Theater Association at Dartmouth. She split her time between writing fiction and directing and acting in student performances. She contributed to the college newspaper as well.
She moved to San Francisco with an older sibling after graduating from college, where she worked in advertising at McCann Erickson. After that, she relocated to Los Angeles to pursue a screenwriting degree at the University of Southern California. Rhimes, who graduated first in her class at USC, was awarded the Gary Rosenberg Writing Fellowship. The USC School of Cinematic Arts awarded her a Master of Fine Arts degree.
Career:
Early Career (1995–2004):
Rhimes was a jobless Hollywood scriptwriter following her graduation. Rhimes took on a range of day jobs to supplement her income, first as an office administrator and later as a counselor at a career center that provided job skills training to individuals experiencing homelessness and mental health issues.
Rhimes oversaw research for the 1995 Peabody Award-winning documentary Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream while working as research director. The only film credit Rhimes has as a filmmaker is Blossoms and Veils, a 1998 short film starring Jeffrey Wright and Jada Pinkett-Smith. She sold a feature script to New Line Cinema, Human Seeking Same, a screenplay about an elderly Black lady searching the personals for love. The movie was never produced, but it did inspire her to write the screenplays for ‘The Princess Diaries 2’, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, in 2004 and ‘Crossroads’, a 2002 feature film starring Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana, and Taryn Manning.
Rhimes’ standing in the industry was further enhanced by having given the task of co-writing the 1999 HBO film ‘Introducing Dorothy Dandridge’, which was adapted into a 1999 film starring Halle Berry as the lead actress won multiple accolades.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Following the events of 9/11, Rhimes took in Harper Lee as her adopted child and wrote the scripts for Grey’s Anatomy while caring for her at home. On March 27, 2005, the series premiered as a mid-season replacement. The surgical team at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital—later renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital—in Seattle, Washington, is the focus of the television series. With Ellen Pompeo as the title character Meredith Grey, who narrates for most of the show’s episodes, the series has an ensemble cast.
The show, which debuted in 2005 and is currently in its 16th season, was awarded a Golden Globe for Best Television Series—Drama by Ryan Rhimes in 2019. Additionally, it prompted Rhimes to develop the 2007 spin-off Private Practice, which ran for six seasons.
In 2010, Rhimes developed a new ABC pilot ‘Inside the Box’, a female-centric ensemble drama set in a network news bureau in Washington, D.C. In 2011, Rhimes acted as executive producer for ‘Off the Map’ written by Grey’s Anatomy writer Jenna Bans. A medical drama centered on a group of medical professionals who work in an isolated clinic deep into the Amazon rainforest.
‘Scandal’ and Other Series
In 2012, Rhimes welcomed Emerson Pearl into adoption, and on April 5, 2012, she debuted Scandal, another popular show. Kerry Washington starred in the show, which delivered a lot of political and emotional drama while portraying a fixer in a crisis management agency in Washington, D.C. It became a ratings hit and received plaudits for its progressive perspective on social media.
On April 19, 2018, Scandal concluded its seven seasons of twists and turns with its last episode. Rhimes’s efforts have received a great deal of attention, including multiple GLAAD Media and NAACP Image Awards for her courageously addressing significant racial and sexual issues.
Following Scandal’s first success, Rhimes and her production business, ShondaLand, set out to create the ABC series Lawless. Rhimes had more success with How to Get Away with Murder, even if the program hasn’t yet made it to television. Fall 2014 saw the debut of the mystery drama, which starred Viola Davis as Professor Annalise Keating on ABC.
Critics have praised the series, and Davis, who had a pivotal role in it, became the first African American woman to win an Emmy for main actress. Rhimes published Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person in the fall of 2015.
After leaving the network that produced her hits, Grey’s Anatomy, How to Get Away with Murder, and Scandal, in August 2017, Rhimes inked a multi-year pact to produce new programs and projects for Netflix. She was working on over a dozen projects for Netflix as of October 2020, including the historical drama ‘Bridgerton’.
Shonda Rhimesand comedian Amy Schumer have been selected as the honorees for Variety‘s annual Power of Women New York event on May 02, 2024 in New York City.
Personal Life:
In June 2002, Rhimes adopted her first daughter; in February 2012, she acquired a second daughter. Rhimes received her third daughter through gestational surrogacy in September 2013.
Rhimes received an honorary degree from Dartmouth College in 2014, and she also gave a commencement speech there.
Rhimes disclosed in September 2015 that she has used exercise and diets to shed 117 pounds (53 kg).
