WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 16 actors who were killed off of 'Grey's Anatomy' (2024)

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Kirsten Acuna

Updated

2020-08-26T00:24:00Z

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 16 actors who were killed off of 'Grey's Anatomy' (1)

"Grey's Anatomy" has killed many doctors and patients off across its 16-season run.
From most of Meredith Grey's family to fan favorite Denny Duquette, many cast members have gone on to other successful roles.
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If you're a "Grey's Anatomy" fan, you know more than anyone that watching just one episode of the series is a roller coaster of emotions. But nothing leaves a fan more rattled than the death of a major character.

Though many of the people that have been killed off of the series on episodes past are alive and thriving in real life today, we still cried real tears while watching some of their last moments on the show.

Keep reading to see what some of your favorite "Grey's" characters have been up to since their on-screen deaths.

Danielle Jackson contributed to a previous version of this story.

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George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) was the first major casualty of the series.

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After telling his fellow doctors at Seattle Grace he'd be leaving the hospital to join the army, George died at the very beginning of season six after jumping in front of a bus to save a young woman.

Since leaving the show, Knight has had guest roles on episodes of "Law and Order: SVU" and CBS's "The Good Wife."

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Knight appeared on Hulu original series "11.22.63" and National Geographic's anthology miniseries "Genius."He's set to appear on HBO Max's "The Flight Attendant" with Kaley Cuoco.

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Kate Burton made recurring appearances on the series as Ellis Grey, Meredith’s no-nonsense mother who was basically a legend in the medical world.

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Ellis suffered from Alzheimer's Disease and died of a heart attack on season three.

Burton has also made the jump over to "Scandal" as Sally Langston, the fire-spitting news anchor we all love to hate. She most recently appeared on another popular show.

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Burton has appeared on "This Is Us" as Kevin's therapist and "13 Reasons Why" as a doc. Once a doctor, always a doctor.

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Dr. Craig Thomas (William Daniels) was Cristina Yang's mentor throughout the series.

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He died in the operating room after suffering a heart attack on season nine.

Daniels has since appeared in the "Boy Meets World" spin-off, "Girl Meets World."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 16 actors who were killed off of 'Grey's Anatomy' (10)

He reprised his role as Mr. Feeny. The Disney Channel show was canceled after three seasons.

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Meredith's half-sister Lexie (Chyler Leigh) was introduced on season three and stayed on for five seasons until her death in season eight's unforgettable plane crash.

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Lexie was crushed by debris from the plane. And in a heartbreaking moment, died from her injuries after Mark professed his love for her.

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Following the season eight finale, Leigh admitted to E! News that her exit from the series was a joint decision made between herself and Shonda Rhimes.

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The 34-year-old actress gave astatement to E! Newsabout her decision to leave the show.

"I met with Shonda and we worked together to give Lexie's story appropriate closure. I am very lucky to have worked with this amazing cast and crew for five seasons," Leigh said. "My experience on 'Grey's Anatomy' is something that I will treasure for the rest of my life. I want to take this time to say thank you to the fans. Your unconditional love and support have made these last five years very special for me. I look forward to my next chapter and I hope you will continue to follow me on my journey."

Leigh currently plays Alex Danvers on "Supergirl." She has also appeared on "Legends of Tomorrow" and "The Flash" playing Supergirl's sister.

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Susan Grey (Mare Winningham) was Lexie's mom, Molly Grey-Thompson, and died from a bad case of the hiccups.

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Her death resulted from a complication to a routine procedure to treat acid reflux and her non-stop hiccups.

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Winningham most recently appeared on HBO's "The Outsider."

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Winningham plays Detective Ralph Anderson's wife, Jeannie, in the Stephen King adaptation.

Previously, Winningham appeared on Showtime's "The Affair" and several seasons of "American Horror Story."

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Jeff Perry played Meredith's father, Thatcher Grey.

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After a battle with alcoholism and a successful liver transplant, Grey died of cancer while patching things up with his estranged daughter.

Perry appeared on the true crime anthology "Dirty John."

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He played Debra's council, Michael O'Neil, on the series.

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Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) started off as a guest star, but Derek Shepherd's best friend quickly became a series regular as head of plastics.

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Mark also died at the beginning of season nine after the tragic plane crash that injured half the cast.Later as a tribute to Lexie and Mark, Seattle Grace was renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

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Dane was most recently seen on HBO's "Euphoria."

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Dane played Nate's father, Cal, who was living a double life on the HBO series. Previously, he starred and produced "The Last Ship" during its five-season run on TNT.

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In one of the show's most shocking deaths, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) died after a severe car accident toward the end of season 11.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 16 actors who were killed off of 'Grey's Anatomy' (19)

After saving two teenagers involved in a car accident, Derek was hit by a semi-truck as he attempted to drive away from the scene. A trip to the hospital and one bad call from a few doctors later and Derek was declared brain dead during surgery.

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Dempsey said his decision to leave the show was a joint decision with creator Shonda Rhimes.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 16 actors who were killed off of 'Grey's Anatomy' (20)

"I think after a certain period of time, no matter how much money you make, you want control out of your own schedule," he told People. "It had been long enough. It was time for me to move on with other things and other interests. I probably should have moved on a couple of years earlier. I stayed a bit longer than I should have."

Since leaving "Grey's," Dempsey starred alongside Renee Zellweger in "Bridget Jones' Baby." More recently, he was seen playing CEO Dominic Morgan in the international TV series "Devils," which follows millionaire bankers.

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Jeffrey Dean Morgan's character, Denny Duquette, was a transplant patient who died of a stroke shortly after receiving a new heart on the second season.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 16 actors who were killed off of 'Grey's Anatomy' (21)

After surviving a few of Izzie's bad judgment calls, Denny sailed through his eventual transplant surgery. But his romance with Izzie came to a tragic end when he later died from a post-surgery blood clot.

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The actor joined "The Walking Dead" at the end of season six to play the show's bat-wielding villain, Negan.

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Morgan went from playing one of the nicest guys on TV to one of the most despised (for a while anyway). He killed off a fan favorite the moment he joined the longtime zombie series.

Morgan also appeared on the seventh season of "The Good Wife" and played Bruce Wayne's dad in "Batman v Superman."

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Henry (Scott Foley) died on season eight due to complications from a very rare condition.

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After discovering that Henry, suffering from a life-threatening condition, was no longer able to pay for medical care, Teddy married him so he'd be able to use her insurance. Unfortunately, shortly after revealing she had plans to divorce him, Henry succumbed to his condition.

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Since leaving "Grey's," Foley has starred on other series, including the short-lived "Whiskey Cavalier."

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After "Grey's" Foley stayed in the Shondaland family, playing Jake Ballard on "Scandal." He played one of the series' main characters, Jake Ballard, the director of the NSA before landing his own short-lived series, "Whiskey Cavalier."

Before his run as the trained-assassin-turned-vice-presidential-candidate on the political drama, he also appeared on season five of HBO's "True Blood."

ABC/Nick Ray

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Loretta Devine made guest appearances on over 20 episodes of the series as Richard's wife, Adele.

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Adele, having been recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, died from a heart attack after surgery halfway throughthe ninth season.

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Devine later played Cynthia Carmichael on "The Carmichael Show" and has also appeared on "Supernatural."

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She also nabbed a recurring role as Cece on BET's "Being Mary Jane" back in 2015.

More recently, Devine has appeared on episodes of "Black-ish" and "P-Valley."

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Robert Baker joined the cast on the show's sixth season as Dr. Charles Percy, after Seattle Grace merged with Mercy West.

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Charles died at the end of the season during Gary's shooting rampage that also injured Alex and Derek.

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Baker has guest starred on episodes of "Grace and Frankie," "Modern Family," and more shows.

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You may have noticed him more recently on CW's "Riverdale" or "Longmire." He appeared on Netflix's second season of "Santa Clarita Diet."

Above, you can see Baker on "Supergirl."

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Heather Brooks was electrocuted when she went searching for Richard during the super storm in season 10.

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Brooks was introduced as one of the new interns on season nine. She died during surgery due to swelling in her brain.

Tina Majorino joined CBS's "Scorpion" before it was canceled.

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Majorino joined the CBS show's fourth and final season as a chemist who helps the team out with cases from time to time. Previously, she appeared on TNT's short-lived crime drama "Legends."

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Wilmer Valderrama briefly appeared on "Grey's" as Kyle, a musician suffering from multiple sclerosis.

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After some heavy flirtation led to a short-lived romance with Stephanie, Kyle was successfully treated for a hand tremor twice, but died during a later surgery after being infected with meningitis.

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Valderrama is currently playing Special Agent Nick Torres on "NCIS."

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He appears on Netflix's "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series" and "The Ranch."

More recently, he voiced a minor character in Pixar's "Onward."

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Kyle Chandler was featured on a handful of episodes as Dylan, the bomb squad leader who was called into the hospital during a bomb scare.

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After a patient was brought to Seattle Grace with a bomb stuck in his chest, Dylan tried, to no avail, to remove the shell from the man's body without harming others in the hospital. The bomb was successfully removed, eventually, but it exploded in Dylan's hands shortly after.

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You may recognize Chandler from his role as Coach Eric Taylor on "Friday Night Lights."

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He starred on the Netflix series, "Bloodline," as Detective John Rayburn and appeared in Warner Bros.'s "Game Night."

More recently he appeared in Hulu's "Catch-22" and "Godzilla: King of the Monsters." He'll be back in the sequel, "Godzilla vs. Kong," next year.

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Mandy Moore's character, Mary, was originally brought into the hospital for a colostomy bag reversal surgery.

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But her surgery had to be postponed due to Gary's shooting spree. She returned for the surgery six months later while the hospital employees were being filmed by a documentary crew, but she unfortunately never woke up from the anesthesia.

She's now playing Rebecca, the matriarch of the Pearson family on NBC's new hit show, "This Is Us."

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She also starred in Disney's "Tangled" as Rapunzel, and voices the character on the animated series.