11 pieces of excellent career advice you can learn from Ellen Pompeo

Meredith Grey just became the highest paid female character on television
Getty Images

If you stopped watching Grey’s Anatomy years ago – or just heard the title and thought to yourself, “is that still going?!” – then you are missing out.

The long-running (14 seasons and 300 episodes to be exact) hit medical drama has spawned a star out of its head honcho, Ellen Pompeo, and was the beginning of Shonda Rhimes' reign as the Queen of Television.

Pompeo, who plays Meredith Grey, just became the highest paid actress on a primetime drama, earning $20million (£14.5million) a year – roughly $575,000 (£414,000) an episode.

The 48-year-old recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and did not hold back. Pompeo revealed what it’s like for a woman to realise her own power and the quotes are bona fide career advice for all of us.

Here are 11 of the most inspirational.

1. On knowing how good you are

“I'm 48 now, so I've finally gotten to the place where I'm OK asking for what I deserve, which is something that comes only with age. Because I'm not the most ‘relevant’ actress out there. I know that's the industry perception because I've been this character for 14 years. But the truth is, anybody can be good on a show season one and two. Can you be good 14 years later? Now, that's a f*ckin' skill.”

2. On the gender pay gap

“For me, Patrick [Dempsey] leaving the show [in 2015] was a defining moment, deal-wise. They could always use him as leverage against me — "We don't need you; we have Patrick" — which they did for years. I don't know if they also did that to him, because he and I never discussed our deals.

“There were many times where I reached out about joining together to negotiate, but he was never interested in that. At one point, I asked for $5,000 more than him just on principle, because the show is Grey's Anatomy and I'm Meredith Grey. They wouldn't give it to me.”

Shonda Rhimes and Ellen Pompeo in 2015
Getty Images

3. On women empowering other women in the workplace

“In Shonda finding her power and becoming more comfortable with her power, she has empowered me.”

4. On women promoting and mentoring other women in the workplace

“She [Rhimes] got to a place where she was so empowered that she was generous with her power. Now, what did that look like? It looked like her letting me be the highest-paid woman on television, letting me be a producer on this show, letting me be a co-executive producer on the spinoff and signing off on the deal that the studio gave me, which is unprecedented.”

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5. On why women should never feel ‘too greedy’

“A guy wouldn't have any problem asking for $600,000 an episode. And as women, we're like, ‘Oh, can I ask for that? Is that OK?’

“But CAA compiled a list of stats for me, and Grey's has generated nearly $3 billion for Disney. When your face and your voice have been part of something that's generated $3 billion for one of the biggest corporations in the world, you start to feel like, ‘OK, maybe I do deserve a piece of this.’”

Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo on Grey's Anatomy
ABC

6. On chasing something you’re passionate about

“Producing is something I really enjoy. That's my creativity now. Acting, to me, is boring. An actor is the least powerful person on set, so I don't care about chasing roles.”

7. On the Time's Up movement and becoming financially empowered

“Sitting in rooms full of Oscar-winning actresses listening to how they've been preyed upon and assaulted is frightening. And it confirmed that my path really was the right one for me, because I've chosen to financially empower myself so that I never have to be ducking predators and chasing trophies.”

8. On why more women should have powerful roles

“I don't believe the only solution is more women in power, because power corrupts. It's not necessarily a man or a woman thing. But there should be more of us women in power, and not just on Shonda Rhimes' sets.”

9. On surrounding young people in your life with strong female figures

“My 8-year-old daughter gets to come here and see fierce females in charge. She's growing up in an environment where she's completely comfortable with power. I don't know any other environment in Hollywood where I could provide that for her.”

10. On why she doesn’t need a man to lead her own show

“So, what does it look like when he [Patrick Dempsey] leaves the show? First, it looks like a ratings spike, and I had a nice chuckle about that … I couldn't believe how fast the studio and the network felt like they had to get a penis in there. We brought in Martin Henderson, but they didn't love the storyline, so that ended.”

11. On knowing your worth

The best piece of advice Rhimes gave Pompeo was this: "Decide what you think you're worth and then ask for what you think you're worth. Nobody's just going to give it to you."

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