Grey’s Anatomy cast members who have spoken out about their own serious health conditions
The Grey's Anatomy cast are beloved by their fans, but what many people may not know is that some of the main group suffered health issues during their time on the show.
Everyone loves the medical drama, which sees interns turn into surgeons and doctors, and the subsequent dramas and countless deaths that follow.
While they were busy acting out the lives of healthcare professionals, they too were in need of treatment during this time, and here's why.
Kate Walsh
Kate Walsh opened up about the moment she was found to have a 'very sizeable brain tumour' after 'pushing' to get a diagnosis.
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The 57-year-old actress, who plays Dr Addison Montgomery, was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2015 after noticing a number of 'subtle symptoms'.
She spoke on The Kelly Clarkson Show, and talked about how it changed her approach to health.
Walsh said: "It was like, 'Hey, I'm really tired'.
"And then it's like, ‘Oh, the right side of my body is dipping'."
When people dismissed her symptoms, she advocated for herself and finally received her benign brain tumour diagnosis and then underwent surgery to remove it.
Walsh shared: "I know how important it is to advocate for one's own health because people were like, 'You're just depressed.' It was right after [my TV show] Bad Judge got cancelled."
"Your show got cancelled. You're just depressed," she recalled people telling her.
"No, something's off," she responded.
Camilla Luddington
Camilla Luddington lifted the lid on a devastating new health diagnosis.
The actress, who plays Dr Josephine "Jo" Wilson in the medical drama in 2012, launched her own show alongside Grey's Anatomy castmate Jessica Capshaw (Arizona Robins), where she first broke news of a health blow.
"I'm going to talk about something I haven't really talked about before, definitely have not talked about in detail," Camilla began.
After noticing a ringing in her ears, she ‘realised I had something called tinnitus’.
According to the NHS, tinnitus describes when a patient suffers with hearing noises that do not come from an outside source.
"I have to say that I was really devastated over it," she admitted.
Camilla went on to explain: "Right now, right now I don't need a hearing aid, although I'm sure I'll need one at some point, maybe in my 40s, and I'm going to rock that by the way everyone."
Sandra Oh
As part of Variety's Actors on Actors series, Oh spoke with Squid Game’s Jung Ho-yeon and explained how her body reacted to finding fame during her character Christina Yang's time on the show.
She shared: “The thing that I think that is the closest is when Grey’s Anatomy came — my life changed very much. And it’s tricky to imagine, because this is almost 20 years ago, so the context is very different, but the stress is the same — or the confusion is the same.
“And I think that’s why my question to you is, how are you taking care of yourself? Because I feel like, honestly, I got sick. I think my whole body was very, very sick. Even though you keep on working, right? It’s just like, 'Oh, I can’t sleep. Oh, my back hurts. I don’t know what’s wrong with my skin.'”
However, she said that from her pain, she ‘learned that I had to take care of my health first’.
Justin Chambers
On January 31, 2008, it was reported that Justin Chambers, who played Dr Alex Karev on the show was checked into the UCLA Medical Center psych ward for a short time before checking out.
At the time, his representative told TMZ that he ‘was exhausted and suffers from a sleeping disorder’ and that ‘he went in voluntarily to get some help.’
Chambers appeared on the show for 16 seasons before leaving in 2020 in a shock plot twist due to the actor wanting to ‘diversify’ his roles.
Topics: Grey's Anatomy, Health
Britt Jones