Ellen Pompeo won’t let 10-year-old watch Grey’s Anatomy, isn’t ready for her to see her in her underwear on TV

Ellen Pompeo won't let 10-year-old watch Grey's Anatomy, isn't ready for her to see her in her underwear on TV

Ellen Pompeo believes Grey's Anatomy is not for everyone, especially when it comes to her own children.

"My 15-year-old has seen it. And now my 10-year-old wants to see it, which, she's not ready," the actress told the host on Thursday's episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live. "But a lot of kids in her class have seen it."

Pompeo, who has played Dr. Meredith Grey for 20 years on the Shonda Rhimes-produced medical drama, responded when Kimmel asked about young people discovering the show on streaming—years after it first aired.

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While Pompeo doesn't judge other parents, she's not comfortable with the idea of all her kids watching it right now — for a very specific reason.

"I don't want my daughter to see me in my underwear on television just yet," Pompeo said. "But all her classmates have. So, that makes for great conversation at pick-up."

Watch the full interview below.

The actress and her husband, music producer Chris Ivery, whom she married in 2007, share three children: 15-year-old Stella Luna, 10-year-old Sienna May, and 8-year-old Eli Christopher.

When Kimmel noted that Hollywood is a strange place — his son's Little League coach was Bryan Cranston — Pompeo agreed.

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"It is a super weird place in that way, but also a really incredible place at the same time because these kids look all around them and they see a bunch of people whose dreams came true," said the actress, who's also appeared in movies such as Old School and Catch Me If You Can. "And they believe that their dreams, too, can come true."

When Kimmel asked if she still gets emotional rewatching the show she’s starred in since 2003, Pompeo simply said no. Having stepped back from her role as a series regular in February 2023 to spend more time with her family, she admitted that revisiting the early days of Meredith Grey doesn’t stir nostalgia.

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"No, because I don't remember half of it," she said. "No, because I'm just like, 'When did that happen?'"

In a 2024 video for Variety, Pompeo told former Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl that she initially enjoyed the watch. Some episodes she was seeing for the first time. Then things took a turn.

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"At first I was like, 'Oh, this is so amazing, and we're going to watch it together,'" Pompeo said. "Then it was episode after episode after episode, and I was like, 'I don't have the stamina for this!' I filmed all these episodes; I can’t now go back and watch it again."

Pompeo's latest project is the Hulu series Good American Family, which is available to stream March 19.

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