Shonda Rhimes

Although she is best known as the Creator and Executive Producer of ABC's popular medical drama Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice, Rhimes is a versatile writer, who had already achieved a significant level of success before the show was conceived. Most notably, Rhimes wrote the screenplay for the HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge. This TV movie was nominated for numerous awards and earned Halle Berry a Golden Globe and an Emmy for Best Actress in a Miniseries for her portrayal of Dandridge. Rhimes has also written the screenplays for several teen oriented films. These include Crossroads, starring Britney Spears and Zoe Saldana, and the Disney feature film Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement, starring Julie Andrews.



A versatile talent, Rhimes served as research director on the documentary, Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream. This documentary was nominated for an Emmy and an Academy Award and won a Peabody Award and the NAACP Image Award.



Shonda attended Marian Catholic High School, Dartmouth College. In 1991, she graduated from Ivy League Dartmouth College in New Hampshire with a a BA in English Literature. While a student, she was active in the theater community, serving as director of the Black Underground Theatre and Arts Association. She later received her MFA from the USC School of Cinema-Television, where she was awarded the prestigious and coveted Gary Rosenberg Writing Fellowship.