Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Dempsey
Birth name	Patrick Galen Dempsey
Born	January 13 1966 (age 42) Lewiston, Maine
Spouse(s)	Jillian Fink Dempsey (1999 - present) 3 children Rocky Parker (1987 - 1994) (divorced)

Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor. He first became prominent in Hollywood during the late 1980s and is also known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. During the 2000s, he also appeared in several film roles, including The Emperor's Club and Freedom Writers.

Biography

Early life

Dempsey, an Irish American,^[1] was born in Lewiston, Maine and grew up in Turner, Maine, the youngest of three children born to Amanda and William Dempsey. Dempsey attended St. Dominic Regional High School, where his mother worked as a secretary, but dropped out before he graduated. He was an adept juggler, tying for second in a national juggling competition.^[2]

Early career

Dempsey was discovered by an agent and invited to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. Dempsey's audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in San Francisco. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and The Subject was Roses, which showed at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 in the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson. In 1989, he had the lead role in the film Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater. Although the teen comedy and romance roles led to Dempsey being somewhat typecast for a time, he was able to avoid playing the same character as his career progressed.

1990s & early 2000s

Dempsey made a number of featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. His first major television role was a recurring role as Will's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, on Once & Again. Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 2004, he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as one of the suitors for Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama. He also had a role as Detective Kincaid on Scream 3. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2007 Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers where he reunites with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He also voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear 2.

Grey's Anatomy

Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd in the drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to landing the role of Derek Shepherd, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Robert Chase on another medical show, House. Initially a midseason replacement, the show was very well received and has become a highly rated program. Media attention has been focused on Dempsey's character Derek, often referred to as "McDreamy", and the character's romance with intern Meredith Grey (played by Ellen Pompeo).

The intense media attention appears to have led to some backstage friction. News reports surfaced in October 2006 that Dempsey was involved in an argument with co-star Isaiah Washington that appears to have become a physical altercation. News reports have also stated that this argument may have been initiated over Washington referring to T.R. Knight as a faggot.^[3]

Dempsey was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama at the 2007 Golden Globes for the role.

Personal life

Dempsey has been married twice. From 1987 to 1994, he was married to actress Rocky Parker. When the couple married, much was made in the media of the age difference between the two (and its parallels to Dempsey's film Loverboy); at the time, Dempsey was 21 years old, while Parker was 48. Because of the age difference in his first marriage, his stepson Corey Parker was actually one year his senior. The two remain friends.

Dempsey remarried on July 31, 1999; his second wife is a noted make-up artist and founder of Delux Beauty, Jillian Fink Dempsey. The couple has three children: a daughter named Talula Fyfe, born on January 2002, and twin boys Darby Galen and Sullivan Patrick, born onFebruary 1, 2007.^[4]

Dempsey enjoys racecar driving in his spare time. On June 27, 2004, he participated in race #2 of the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, driving a Panoz GTS race car. In 2007 he will race in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Patrick is an avid racing enthusiast and has participated in the Panoz Series and the Pro Miata series. Dempsey has recently joined other celebrities in their quest to conquer the Baja 1000. He has raced Baja in 2005 and 2006, and plans to race again in 2007. He is currently the co-owner of Indycar Series team Vision Racing.

Selected Filmography

Footnotes

Wikipedia information about Patrick Dempsey This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Patrick Dempsey". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.