Grey’s Anatomy has become one of the best and longest-running procedural TV shows. Keeping a devoted audience for four seasons is difficult enough, but Grey’s Anatomy has maintained its audience for 19 seasons. This is thanks to its plethora of interesting medical cases and its large cast of entertaining characters.
With so many original cast members being killed off or leaving the show since its beginning, Grey’s Anatomy must constantly create new characters up to par with the originals. Shonda Rhimes manages this by creating fully fleshed-out backgrounds and story arcs; every character is introduced with an entire universe already inside them, and they blend seamlessly with the characters they’re surrounded by. From the sweet Lexie Grey to the lovable George O’Malley, there is no shortage of great Grey’s Anatomy characters.
10. Meredith Grey
Grey’s Anatomy’s titular character, Meredith Grey, is the thread that ties everyone together. The daughter of a groundbreaking surgeon, Grey was born into surgery. Audiences feel her drive and passion from the first time she opens her mouth and know that she loves few things as much as surgery.
Grey has become one of the show’s most divisive characters. Some fans love her and believe she’s worthy of her position, while others hate her and think Meredith is an unworthy protagonist. While she often complains about her life, she’s an award-winning surgeon, a good friend, and a great mother who helped define a new age of TV where young girls could see a successful woman. Still, she’s not everyone’s favorite.
9. Andrew DeLuca
During Season 11, Andrew DeLuca first appeared on Grey’s Anatomy as an intern. It didn’t take long before DeLuca became adored by his coworkers, thanks to his quick thinking and natural surgical skills. DeLuca had a rough go of it, being physically assaulted by Alex Karev, having a complicated relationship with his father, rejecting help for his bipolar disorder, and later being murdered.
Andrew’s death was sudden and unjust, making it one of Grey’s Anatomy’s saddest deaths. While Rhimes is no stranger to making her characters go through hell and back, DeLuca carries his head high. Even until the end, he died fighting to save a patient who was a victim of sex trafficking.
8. Teddy Altman
A cardiothoracic goddess, Teddy Altman first came to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital after Owen Hunt convinced her to be their new head of cardio. As Teddy was a veteran who served in Afghanistan with Hunt, her arrival was welcomed by her student, Cristina Yang, who believed Teddy to be so talented she was willing to trade her husband for Altman’s teaching.
Compared to other surgeons at Grey Sloan, Altman always seems to keep a level head and has a heart of gold. She’s an incredibly talented surgeon whose slow-burn love story with Hunt kept audiences on the edge of their seats. While Altman made controversial decisions in recent seasons, she remains one of the good ones.
7. Lexie Grey
One of Grey’s Anatomy’s biggest rays of sunshine, Lexie Grey quickly became a fan-favorite thanks to her cheerful personality and constant rambling. During Season 3, Lexie joined the show as an intern, where audiences learned she was one of Meredith Grey’s sisters.
Though Meredith wasn’t a fan of Lexie at first, Lexie quickly made friends in the hospital and earned her reputation as one of the best surgeons in her intern class. Lexie would also go on to be part of one of the show’s most epic romances with Mark Sloan, only to tragically die in a plane crash after admitting they both love each other. She deserved more time on the show and a happy ending.
