Shonda Rhimes is an American television producer, screenwriter, and author. She is best known as the showrunner, creator, head writer, and executive producer of the television medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, its spin-off Private Practice, and the political thriller series Scandal. She has also served as the executive producer of the ABC television series Off the Map, How to Get Away with Murder, and The Catch. In 2007 she was named one of TIME magazine’s 100 People Who Help Shape the World. In 2015, she published her first book, a memoir called Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person. But let’s answer my question: What made her the great author she is today? Rhimes was born on January 13, 1970 in Chicago, Illinois …show more content…
The film never made it, but it did lead to her writing the 2002 feature film Crossroads, starring Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana, and Taryn Manning. Having completed the teleplay for HBO’s Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, starring Halle Berry, also elevated Rhimes status in the entertainment business. During this period of her life, Rhimes made a short film, Blossoms and Veils, starring Jada Pinkett-Smith and Jeffery Wright; which is her only credit as a film director. After 9/11, Rhimes found herself thinking more and more about being a mother than working on movies, so within a year she had adopted a baby girl named Harper Lee. The new mom took in a lot of TV while staying home with her infant, motivating her to take a crack as writing a pilot. The result was Grey’s Anatomy, a drama about a bunch of attractive young doctors in a Seattle hospital. Some of her inspiration for writing a medical show came from her enjoyment of watching real-life surgeries on TV and spending her time as a candy stripper in high school. Premiering in 2005, the show is on its 14th season this year and has won a Golden Globe for Rhimes for Best Television