‘Grey’s Anatomy’: How Old Is Meredith Grey? It Turns Out No One Has a Good Answer
Grey’s Anatomy has been on the air for a long time for a good reason: it features great dialogue and interesting characters.
But one somewhat confusing element of the show is the show’s timeline. Fans can sometimes get confused over when events are happening because so much has happened over the course of its run. That begs a question: exactly how old is Meredith Grey?
There’s no clear answer, but some fans have made a great attempt at a guess.
How long has Grey’s Anatomy been on the air?
TV shows rarely last very long. For the hundreds of shows that seem to come out each year, only a select air for multiple seasons. Even fewer air enough episodes for syndication. A smaller club makes it to a decade. Shows like The Simpsons and Law and Order are among that group.
According to IMDB, Grey’s Anatomy debuted in 2005. That makes this past entry the show’s 17th season on the air. That’s a remarkable achievement for a network TV show.
In an era when limited series and short-run streaming shows are all the rage, Grey’s Anatomy feels like a throwback to a different era. Fans of the show have kept it going strong due to their love of Ellen Pompeo’s depiction of Meredith.
How old is Ellen Pompeo?
Pompeo plays Meredith and has for the show’s entire run. In that time, fans have been able to watch her grow along with the events of the show. It’s a rare occasion in TV when fans get to see an actor stay in a role for a decade-plus.
The show’s still insanely popular, and a lot of that is due to Pompeo’s ability to continue playing a compelling lead.
As far as Pompeo’s age, according to IMDB, she was born on November 10, 1969. That currently makes her 51. Of course, Meredith isn’t Pompeo – she’s a character that Pompeo portrays. So while knowing Pompeo’s age may give viewers a general idea of how old Meredith is, it still doesn’t answer the question that the show has seemingly been unable to answer.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’: How old is Meredith Grey?
The answer to the question of how old Meredith is doesn’t have a conclusive answer. Some fans of the show took to Reddit to discuss the issue, and one poster came up with an educated guess:
“Meredith- Sep 8, 1978- she’s almost 29 at the start”
Another poster used an event from the show to gauge Meredith’s age:
“When they introduced Maggie, they said she was born in November 1983, and Meredith was 5, so that would mean she was born in 1978.”
If Meredith truly was 29 at the show’s outset, that would mean she’s now 42. What’s more interesting is how the show has finally caught up to real life. Because of the way the show works, fans never can truly be sure what year it is within the show’s timeline.
After being on the air for well over a decade and a half now, the show has had plenty of subplots throughout its run. Now it has a chance to mirror the real-life headlines by addressing what’s going on with the COVID-19 pandemic. Fans know exactly when the events of this season are taking place: in the present day, 2020-2021.
It’s unclear how old Meredith is, but one thing is for sure: the show will likely continue going strong as it deals with the fallout of a global infectious disease outbreak.
