Actress Ellen Pompeo’s legacy is now a part of Hollywood history.
On Tuesday morning, she received the 2,809th star on the illustrious Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Pompeo is a fan favorite on “Grey’s Anatomy,” starring as Meredith Grey since the show premiered in 2005. Since then, she’s picked up the title of executive producer and also helmed the spinoff series “Station 19.”
The show’s creator, Shonda Rhimes, and “Grey’s Anatomy” costar Debbie Allen emceed the ceremony.
“For season after season, fans have adored Meredith. They spent Thursday nights with Meredith. They’ve wept, laughed and loved with Meredith and that means Meredith Grey is who the world sees when they see Ellen’s face, and Ellen wears Meredith Grey quite well,” Rhimes told the crowd. “But for all the Meredith we see, for those of us who have the honor of knowing her, the person we see is Ellen and that is the most important role she can play. She’s at her best when she’s simply herself.”
The Shondaland owner described Pompeo as fierce, funny, thoughtful and caring.
When it was Pompeo’s time to talk she urged the crowd to “keep Hollywood Boulevard clean” and get the Arclight theather reopened.
While it’s taken her some time to receive her star, she revealed she’s been surrounded by stars “the entire time.”
“This doesn’t happen overnight and it doesn’t happen easily. It takes a village,” she explained. “I have been so lucky to be surrounded by a lot of stars who do their thing every day and who do it brilliantly in this town. The people who don’t get any attention, who don’t get shoutouts, who don’t get their photos taken. But my team that works for me every day, for years and years, I’ve had the same people. None of this would’ve been possible without them lifting me up and supporting me and getting through the hard days.”
In 2007, she received the Golden Globe nomination for best performance by an actress in a television series –drama. That same year, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for outstanding performance by an ensemble in a television drama.
She has also launched her own production company and starred in a number of other television shows and movies.
Her star is located on Hollywood Boulevard near the Te’Kila mexican restaurant.
