Patrick Dempsey

Patrick Galen Dempsey was born on Jan. 13, 1966 in Lewiston, Maine to Irish parents Amanda and William Dempsey. He grew up in Lewiston, attending St. Dominic Regional High School in the nearby town of Auburn. Diagnosed with dyslexia as a teenager, Dempsey struggled with the then misunderstood learning disability, but managed to shift focus from his weaker subjects to his talent for dance and acting. An avid juggler, he developed his own act and toured with the New England Vaudeville Circuit by age 15. Exhibiting a natural gift for performance, Dempsey won the Talent America Contest in 1981, catching the eye of an agent, who offered to audition the gangly youngster for the San Francisco production of "Torch Song Trilogy." Portraying the role of David, Dempsey toured with the company for several months.
Dempsey appeared on ABC family on a show “Overnight Success” by Teri DeSario, where he sings and juggles. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. He went on to perform with the Maine Acting Company in "On Golden Pond" and in a 1990 Off-Broadway revival “The Subject Was Roses” at the Roundabout Theatre in New York. Making his feature film debut at the age of 21 in the movie “In The Mood” which created a national uproar. The said on-screen role began to mirror his personal life. Shocking his fans in 1987 - at the tender age of 21, he married his 48-year-old manager Rocky Parker.
In 1988, Dempsey landed the lead role in the teen comedy “Can't Buy Me Love”, a role which earned him the 1988 Young Artist Award. Following that year, he had the lead roles in the films “Loverboy” and “Happy Together”. He was able to make 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”. Subsequetly, he received good reviews as he portrayed real-life mob boss, Meyer Lansky in 1991, when “Mobsters” was put on the screen. 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 (a role that earned Dempsey an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series) on “Once & Again”. His career on a sudden upswing, he continued to effectively emanate sex appeal as Reese Witherspoon's fiancé in the big screen romantic comedy, "Sweet Home Alabama" (2002). In a less showy part, he appeared as Washington Post cartoonist Ben Weissman opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Houston in the HBO suffragette drama "Iron Jawed Angels" (2004). He also appeared as special guest star in “The Pratice” for 3 episodes finale season. He found the break he was looking for in 2005. Up for leads on two network medical dramas (he auditioned for the role of Dr. Gregory House on Fox's "House," which later went to Hugh Laurie), Dempsey landed the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd on the midseason hit "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ).
Dempsey had a high-profile role as the fiancée of Reese Witherspoon's character in “Sweet Home Alabama. He also had a role on “Scream 3”, in 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”. In 2008, he starred in the film “Made of Honor” as Tom, and appeared in 2010’s comedy “Valentine’s Day”. Dempsey has acquired the rights to the prize-winning novel "The Art of Racing in the Rain”. He starred as antagonist Dylan Gould in the 2011 movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon.