15 Astonishing Facts We Swear You Didn’t Know About Meredith Grey From Grey’s Anatomy

Do you think of yourself as the ultimate Grey’s Anatomy fan? Then let us try and ruin that feeling for you by sharing 15 facts about Meredith Grey that we’re certain you didn’t know till you read this article. 😛

Meredith’s birth year is mentioned, but her actual birthday is never disclosed

 

Derek, Meredith, and Zola celebrating a birthday on "Grey's Anatomy."

Meredith was probably born in 1978, based on comments about her age and the timeline provided throughout the show. Despite providing all details about her life, for instance, her true love for Derek, an insight into her childhood, and her struggles, it’s quite strange not to mention her birthday. 

Her real birthdate is never known, even though her birth year is mentioned. Given how many birthday celebrations are shown for other characters throughout the show, it seems unusual that this detail is never mentioned. 

She owed her interest in medicine to her mother, who took her to hospital as a child 

Meredith's Childhood

Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), Meredith’s mother, worked at Seattle Grace while Meredith was a child.

In flashbacks, Meredith is shown going around the hospital with an Anatomy Jane doll (a toy with removable organs) she used to play with. Her interest in medicine began when she was a toddler, as contemplated by these events.

Meredith had intended to sell her childhood house, which she now calls home

Meredith's childhood house

Meredith intends to sell her mother’s house and relocate when she first arrives in Seattle as an intern. She instead rents it out to her coworkers and lives there infrequently throughout the series.

She currently lives there with her children, and it’s tough to imagine the Grey family living anywhere else after viewing the house season after season.

Meredith seemed to have committed more crimes than any of her coworkers at Grey-Sloan

meredith crime

During their careers at Grey-Sloan, an alarming number of surgeons have broken laws governing patient confidentiality and assaulted fellow doctors, among other things.

Meredith is one doctor who has committed the most crimes in the hospital. Manipulation of a clinical trial, abducting Zola from her social worker, and insurance fraud are just a few examples.

Meredith was dismissed, and her medical license was almost revoked as a result of the last act, which was such a major felony.

She’s been a bridesmaid five times for her friend surgeons

Meredith Grey in a brown bridesmaid dress.

Meredith has only been married once, but she’s become a bridesmaid five times for fellow surgeons.

Following couples had her as a bridesmaid in their weddings:

  • Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) and Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington)
  • Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd)
  • April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Matthew Taylor (Justin Bruening)
  • Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl)
  • Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Ben Warren (Jason Winston George)

Only three of the five marriages took place since Burke failed to show up for his wedding to Cristina, and April chose to marry Jackson instead of Matthew.

Throughout the series, she is regularly seen commuting to work, but she rarely drives herself

Meredith, Zola, and Derek in a car.

Meredith has been seen in a car on the show a few times, but she is almost always in the passenger seat.

As early as the first season, Meredith is shown sitting in the cars that her roommates drive. She’s later seen standing next to her husband, Derek (Patrick Dempsey), as he drives the car.

There’s no obvious explanation for her infrequent driving.

Meredith had a hard time deciding on a specialty

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When Meredith was working under Derek, she considered neurology as a surgical specialty.

She was kicked out of Derek’s service when she destroyed his clinical experiment, and she had to look for work in other fields. As a result, she, like her mother, chose general surgery.

At Grey-Sloan, she holds the record for the longest surgery.

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Doctors congratulate Meredith during surgery in Season 15, Episode 14.

Meredith has broken the record for the longest single operation at Grey-Sloan after operating for more than 24 hours straight, according to Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti).

After that, viewers are never shown anyone breaking the mark, implying that Meredith still owns the record.

She carried on her mother’s work

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Meredith looked through her mother’s old diaries to discover more about her life and work. She discovered notes regarding a study project her mother intended to start and decided to start it at the hospital herself.

Meredith had to leave the study at some point, but she did continue her mother’s research for a while.

Meredith has come face to face with the most near-death experiences

The crew of Grey-Sloan is routinely put in perilous situations; however, Meredith comes closer to death more than any other doctor.

She’s held a live bomb, survived a plane crash, given birth in a fatal storm, been badly abused by a patient, and survived COVID-19.

She used to have a reputation for being the meanest student

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Meredith was the most dreaded attending for the new set of interns at the start of season nine.

Bailey was gentler to the interns at the time since she was happily reuniting with Ben, and Meredith treated them with a coldness that intimidated them.

Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton) and Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) both referred to her as “Medusa.”

Meredith and Cristina are still in contact

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Cristina leaves Grey-Sloan and moves to Switzerland to take over Burke’s practice. Cristina can be seen video-chatting with Meredith shortly after she leaves. She hasn’t been seen on television in recent seasons, but she is referenced as checking in on Meredith.

Grey-Sloan was the birthplace of only one of her children

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Zola, Derek Bailey, and Ellis are Meredith’s three children.

Meredith and Derek adopted Zola after she was admitted to Seattle Grace (later known as Grey-Sloan) for surgery at the age of six months.

Meredith gave birth to Bailey at Grey-Sloan during a superstorm, while her youngest child, Ellis, was born while she was in Boston after Derek’s death.

Meredith donated a portion of her liver to her father

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Thatcher (Jeff Perry), Meredith’s father, required a liver transplant due to the damage his alcoholism had caused to his liver.

Meredith donated a portion of her liver after learning that her half-sister Lexie (Chyler Leigh) was not a match.

Though Meredith would have needed more time to heal than is portrayed, this is rarely acknowledged following the episode.

Ellis, Meredith’s mother, didn’t want her to be a surgeon

 

Ellis was brought into the hospital when Meredith was an intern. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease and was only occasionally conscious during her stay in the hospital.

Ellis said during one of her rare moments of communication that she never intended Meredith to become a surgeon as she did. Despite her mother’s reservations, Meredith pursued the career regardless.

Conclusion

Well, that was fun, right? Did you know any of these facts? We hope you enjoyed these facts. Let us know in the comments below if you have any facts we didn’t list. Moreover, if you’re itching to watch ABC outside US to stream Grey’s Anatomy Season 18, then don’t worry; we got you covered! we also recommend you watching ABC iView in USA.

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