Ellen
Pompeo

Life imitated art too closely when the 2019-20 season of “Grey’s Anatomy” was cut short by the pandemic. She’s the titular star of the highest-rated drama on ABC, now in its 17th season and the longest-running medical drama in television history. She is also the highest-paid woman on TV, which she has no problem speaking publicly about in order to normalize the narrative for equal pay and gender equality in the workplace. Her onscreen character Dr. Meredith Grey has inspired thousands of women to go to medical school as she remains a pivotal player for the series, with ABC repeatedly saying the show will end whenever Pompeo, whose current deal wraps after this season, wants out. Pompeo also serves as producer on “Grey’s” and as co-executive producer for its fire department spinoff, “Station 19.”