Shonda Rhimes
For fourth-place ABC, Rhimes has become so valuable that the network's entertainment president, Paul Lee, has entrusted her with the entire Thursday lineup, the most lucrative night of programming on TV.
-
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Mary Rozzi -
A Four-Year Deal
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Mary Rozzi In May, ABC Studios announced it had signed Rhimes to a new four-year deal. The pact is said to bring her eight figures a year, plus advances against her backend, easily one of the richest deals in television.
-
“Write About Her Vision”
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Mary Rozzi "Shonda is a black woman, and I understand that that's a part of what people want to write about when they write about her," says How to Get Away With Murder actress Viola Davis. "But here's the thing: After you write about that, write about something else. Write about her vision, write about her courage, write about her talent, write about the fact that she's been able to achieve something that very few people have been able to achieve."
-
The Trade-off
Image Credit: Photo Credit: Mary Rozzi "If I am at home sewing my kids' Halloween costumes, I'm probably blowing off a rewrite I was supposed to turn in. If I am accepting a prestigious award, I am missing my baby's first swim lesson. If I am at my daughter's debut in her school musical, I am missing Sandra Oh's last scene ever being filmed at Grey's Anatomy. If I am succeeding at one, I am inevitably failing at the other. That is the trade-off," Rhimes said during her Dartmouth commencement address, this past spring.
-
‘Crossroads’ (2002)
Rhimes says she still hears from fans of her early Britney Spears screenplay, Crossroads.
-
‘Princess Diaries 2’ (2004)
When producer Debra Martin Chase hired Rhimes to write Princess Diaries 2, one of the first decisions the women made was to add a black princess (Raven-Symone) to the cast.
-
2007 Golden Globes
"As every single intern at Seattle Grace Hospital would say, 'Seriously?' " Rhimes joked in her 2007 Golden Globes acceptance speech for best drama series.
-
Viola Davis
Although Murder’s leading law professor was open to all races, with white and nonwhite actors considered, casting director Linda Lowy zeroed in on Davis, who, initially uninterested in TV, reconsidered after reading the script. “I no longer had to be in the background,” says Davis.
-
“She’s an Actor”
“All the Scandal cast told me that she’s an actor, which worries me to no end,” jokes Rhimes of her daughter, Harper, now 12.
-
“Absolutely Changed My Life”
Scandal’s Kerry Washington says that working “for her and with her has absolutely changed my life.” Before Rhimes' Washington-led Scandal, a black woman hadn't headlined a network show since Teresa Graves fronted Get Christie Love! in 1974.
-
Her Voice
"She’s so plugged in to her voice," says since-departed Grey’s star Sandra Oh of Rhimes (pictured on set).