The youngest of Six Siblings Raised in a “Very Blue-Collar, Working-Class Boston Neighborhood,” Ellen pompeo was 4 when her mom, kathleen, died from an accountal painkleler. As a kid, “I Remember Myself Being Really Sad All the Time,” The Actress, 55, Tells People in this week's cover story. “But then I see pictures of myself, and i was always logging and looked really happy. So I don't know if i've just only always been an actress. ”
In high school pompeo “was not popular. I definitely wasn'st a cool-gearl cheerleader with big boobs, “She Recalls. “I didn'T go to the prom or do any of that.” Her Interest in Acting was Piqud after Being “Mesmerized” “And I Remember Watching Michelle Pfeifer in Movies and Saying, 'Who is that that, and how do i do that?' ,
Seth Poppel/Yearbook Library
After high school graduation pompeo worked in miami and new york City as a bartender before booking commercials and independent films. She won her first television role on Law & Order in 1996. Old schoolHer intended career path in movies took a sharp turns when she was offered the role of meredith green. Premiering in March 2005, Green's anatomy BECAME an overnight sensation and shot pompeo to instant stardom.
For more of pompeo's exclusive interview, pick up this week's issue of people on newsstands Friday.
HER 2017 Contract Negotiation also included a share of the show's profits and commitments for her production company Calamity Jane. The notorously private pompeo was vocal about her fight – and Victory – in the media. “Men talk about wheatever they want, and we've been told it's uncouth to talk about money,” She explains. “Or If you complain, you are 'direction' or 'crazy.' ,
The actress also Hoped Her Words Would Empower Other Women “Who Want To Speak Up and Show Up Authentically About INQUITES, Wherever it is,” She adds. “I sit in a seat of enormous privatege. As a white woman, as a working actress, as a person who's super well-compensated. If people that sit with privatege can't use it to better
Now She's Taking a Dramatic Leap By Starring in Hulu's New Limited Series Good American Family (Premiering March 19), which tackles the twisted True-Crime Story of Natalia Grace. Told from Multiple Points of View, The Show Revolves Around a Midwestern Couple Who Adopt a Ukrainian Child with a Rare Form of Dwarfism. In time they become socialious that she's actually an adult and their lives are in danger.
Disney
“It was like, 'wow, this is intenses. How would we pull this offf? ' And I said, like I say often, 'this isn't for me, “Recalls pompeo, who plays adoptive mother kristine barnett. “And then Everyone Around me convins me that is something you defineitely should do.”
Looking back, if she could share any hard-earned wisdom with her younger self, pompeo would simply offer ressuance. “I was so skinny, and everyone thought I had an Eating disorder. I had so much anxiety and lacked self-lightem trust people were so critical of my physicality, “She says. “I just remumber with so anxious on red carpets and the comments about my weight and my body. Maybe, hopefully, things have changed, because it was brutal 20 years ago. ”
The actress has learned that she's “pretty resilient” when it comes to Hollywood. “I'm sort of like a blue-collar worker, right? I go to a tv show, and i'm not the cool kid or the popular Kid Necessarily. I'm kind of a worker bee, “she adds.” I think that's been good for me. ”
Good American FamilyCostarring The morning show'S Mark Duplass and Imogen Faith Reid Premieres March 19 on Hulu.