Historical Figure
Shonda Rhimes
b. 1970
American television producer and screenwriter (born 1970)
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Biography
Shonda Lynn Rhimes is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland. Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame, Rhimes became known as the first showrunner–creator, head writer, and executive producer–of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2005–present), its spin-off Private Practice (2007–2013) and the political thriller Scandal (2012–2018), becoming the first African American woman to create three television dramas that have achieved the 100 episode milestone.
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Timeline
The story of Shonda Rhimes, told in moments.
Grey's Anatomy premiered on ABC. Rhimes created, wrote, and executive produced it. The medical drama became a cultural phenomenon and ran for more than 20 seasons, making it the longest-running primetime medical drama in TV history.
Launched Scandal, starring Kerry Washington as a D.C. crisis manager. Washington became the first Black woman to lead a network drama in nearly 40 years. Rhimes now had two hits running simultaneously on the same network.
Left ABC for a deal with Netflix reportedly worth $150 million. Produced Bridgerton, which became one of Netflix's most-watched series. Three times named to Time's 100 Most Influential People list.
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