Shonda
Rhimes

Self-described as naturally shy and more comfortable behind her keyboard as a writer, Rhimes nonetheless built ShondaLand, her thriving production company that’s behind five prime-time series airing on ABC during the 2016-17 TV season. Smart, sophisticated female characters and a penchant for multi-ethnic casts are hallmarks of Rhimes’ creations.

Rhimes had been under a multiyear overall deal at ABC Studios for 15 years, but recently announced a groundbreaking move to Netflix under a rich package allowing her more creative freedom.

An English and film studies major at Dartmouth College, Rhimes earned a master’s from the USC School of Cinematic Arts before breaking into screenwriting with the 1999 HBO movie “Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.” That was followed by the script for the 2001 Britney Spears vehicle “Crossroads” and 2004’s “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.”

But it was “Grey’s Anatomy” and its follow-ups (spin-off “Private Practice” along with “Scandal” and “How to Get Away with Murder”) that made Rhimes a producing star. Prior to her tribute as Mipcom Personality of the Year in October, Rhimes told reporters in Cannes, France, that the secret to her successful shows isn’t much of a secret: “I get asked a lot how I manage to create such smart and strong heroines. But I don’t know any dumb and weak women. I’m writing heroines who talk like my mother, my friends. I never felt that what they said was wild.”

In November 2015, Rhimes published her first book, “Year of Yes,” which became a New York Times bestseller. Her next series, legal drama “For the People,” is slated for a midseason premiere on ABC. She also has a spinoff of “Grey’s Anatomy” in the works at the Alphabet.