About Shonda Rhimes
Country of Birth
United States
Industry
Television production and screenwriting
Top achievements
Shonda Rhimes is an American writer and producer. She is best known for creating, writing, and producing the popular medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, its spin-off Private Practice, and the political series Scandal. Rhimes also produced the murder mystery How to Get Away with Murder, the Netflix hit Bridgerton, and the drama miniseries Inventing Anna. In addition to her success in the television industry, Rhimes is part of the national board of Planned Parenthood and co-chair of When We All Vote — an initiative to change the voting culture in the United States.
Early life and education
Rhimes was born on January 13, 1970, in Chicago, Illinois. She is the youngest of six siblings. Her parents both worked in academia — her father as a university administrator and her mother as a college professor. Rhimes excelled in her studies as well; she earned her bachelor’s degree in 1991 from Dartmouth College, where she majored in English and film studies, and later moved to Los Angeles to study screenwriting at the University of Southern California (USC). At USC, she ranked at the top of her class and earned a writing fellowship.
Early Career
After graduating, Rhimes lived in Hollywood and took part in several films. In 1998 Rhimes made a short film, Blossoms and Veils, which is her only credit as a film director. She also sold her first screenplay, Human Seeking Same. Though the film never got made, it led her to co-write HBO’s Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), which won numerous awards. In 2001, she wrote Crossroads, a film about Britney Spears, which grossed more than $60 million worldwide. Next, Rhimes wrote The Princess Diaries 2 (2001), where she worked with well-known individuals in the industry.
Achievements
Rhimes is the first African American woman to create and produce a Top 10 network series — Grey’s Anatomy.
Recognition
Rhimes’s hard work and efforts have not gone unrecognized. In 2007, and 2021, Rhimes made the Time annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. She has also received a number of industry awards including a GLAAD Media Award and several NAACP Image Awards for her depiction of important issues in terms of race and sexuality, a Producers Guild of America Award, a DGA Diversity Award, two Writers Guild of America Awards, and a Golden Globe award. On top of her long list of wins, Rhimes has been nominated for many additional awards.
Additional facts:
- In 2005, Rhimes established her own production company Shondaland, which has credit for producing many successful television series.
- In 2014, Rhimes received an honorary doctorate from Dartmouth College.
- In 2015 Rhimes published her first book Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand in the Sun, and Be Your Own Person, a memoir.
- In 2017, Rhimes signed a multi-year contract to produce new projects for Netflix.
