20 Little Known Details Surrounding Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo

If there is one show that is equal parts emotional and really entertaining, it would have to be Grey's Anatomy. Those of us who have been watching the show since the pilot where Meredith and Derek met cute in a bar (and then realized that they were working at the same hospital) aren't giving up on the show anytime soon. We're always ready for a new episode and treat the doctors like they're our friends… or at least that fun and dramatic relative that we like living vicariously through. Even if there have been some episodes or seasons or characters that weren't our favorites, we still count ourselves among the many viewers who are always going to tune in with a smile.

Although Grey's is a really popular show (as in really, really popular), the actress who portrays the main character, Meredith Grey, is actually really private. We don't see photos of her splashed across the covers of gossip magazines. We don't read about her very often. And we don't know that much about her. It's definitely time to take a look at her life and career because there are so many cool, interesting facts about the actress.

Read on to find out 20 little-known details surrounding Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo.

20 Money Moves: She Used To Make $200 For Each Grey's Episode

We always think of celebrities as very wealthy. We see them living the high life and going on amazing vacations and they're always decked out in designer gear. Especially when someone is starring on a television show, you would think that they're really raking it in. (No, we're not jealous… )

But Ellen Pompeo used to make $200 for each episode of Grey's Anatomy, according to Useless Daily.

This has definitely changed… and that's an understatement. Recently, the actress made headlines for having a super high salary: she now makes $20 million a year. Isn't that so impressive and inspiring?!

19 So Romantic: This Is How She Got Married

Getting engaged is romantic and exciting. It's also an emotional time filled with questions and many soon-to-be brides get very stressed out while planning their wedding. Sometimes a couple will joke, "Why don't we just elope because it'll be so much easier?" For many couples, this is something that sounds like the best idea ever. They would rather not plan a big thing and they don't want all of the fanfare and stress.

We didn't know that Ellen Pompeo and her husband basically eloped, but it's true. As Women.com reported, when they tied the knot, there were only two people there as witnesses.

18 So Interesting: This Famous Person Was There

When you think of a celebrity wedding, what do you picture? A massive star-studded party? That's most likely what we're all thinking about. After all, many stars are friends with other stars, so it makes sense that those celebrities would make up the guest list. It's pretty impressive to see photos of these events.

It turns out that a famous person was there when Ellen Pompeo got married- and it's probably not who we would expect.

No, it wasn't a fellow cast member on Grey's or even another actress or actor. According to Women.com, Michael Bloomberg was one of the two witnesses on her wedding day.

17 Just A Joke: She Got 'Punk'd Once'

Remember Ashton Kutcher's reality show Punk'd? It started in 2003 and was all about pranking celebrities and the results were usually pretty funny. Maybe you watched every episode and loved it or maybe you've only seen random parts- but you've likely heard of it. It's one of those blast from the past moments that give us a lot of nostalgia.

But did you know Ellen Pompeo was on this show? Yes, this is totally true (and really cool). Fame 10 reported this. Who wants to dig up this episode and watch it? All of us, right?

16 Tough Times: She Had A Childhood Tragedy

One thing about Grey's Anatomy that has stuck with fans is how tragic Meredith Grey's life has been. It all began during her childhood when she was dealing with her difficult mother and when she felt ignored and isolated. The sad times didn't stop there, though, and it seems like every season, Meredith is dealing with a new tough situation.

And Ellen Pompeo has her own tragedy: according to Wet Paint, her mom passed away when she was four.

She has losing a mother in common with her famous character, although Meredith's mom passed away when she was quite a bit older.

15 Bar Beginnings: She Had This Job

Also thanks to Wet Paint, we know that before she was playing the beloved Meredith, Ellen Pompeo was working as a bartender.

We often hear about celebs who used to have jobs like bartenders or servers. It seems very popular for those trying to break into the acting business to take a job at a bar or restaurant. It must be because the hours are so different from a typical 9-to-5: you can audition during the day and chase your Hollywood dreams, then work at night in a bar or restaurant. It definitely seems like a very logical plan.

14 Family Life: She Had Her Second Child Through Surrogacy

There are many different ways to have children and start a family. Yes, we immediately think that if a woman is expecting a child, then she's pregnant and having the baby that way, but there are so many other options. Adoption and also surrogacy are two ways to start a family.

According to Heavy.com, when Ellen had her second child, she did it through surrogacy.

You might not know this fact because the actress is very private and we don't know a lot about her or her personal or family life. It's a little-known fact that is also really interesting.

13 Meet Cute: This Is How She And Her Hubby Met Each Other

In the movies, couples meet in really adorable and sometimes random ways. You might not think that happens in IRL but it totally does. Ellen Pompeo met her husband, Chris Ivery, in a supermarket, according to Useless Daily.

Of course, Meredith had an amazing and magical love story with Derek (and, no, we're not over him being gone). So what does Ellen think about love? As Fame 10 reported, Ellen once said, "I guess you fall in love and you think he's the guy right away. Right when you fall in love, you think he's the guy. You don't sort of fall into a relationship thinking it's only going to be temporary."

12 So Emotional: She's This Type Of Person

Do you consider yourself to be an emotional person? If you're nodding yes, then you have something in common with our favorite Grey's star.

As Ellen Pompeo told In Style, "I'm already a super emotional person, and life can be quite painful for me sometimes because I feel things so deeply, and I feel things even more deeply now that I'm a parent. And it's hard. You know you worry so much about them, and it's really hard."

We always love when a celebrity gets real and honest.

It's so great when we can share our stories and talk about the difficult times that we all go through in life.

11 IRL Pregnancy: This Explains The Sixth Season Storyline

Sometimes we know that a celebrity is expecting and are super excited to watch them in the next season of their TV show and see all of the ways that they're covering up their baby bump. Whether an actress wears a huge sweater, stands behind a lamp or a table, or is always sitting down, there are various ways to hide a pregnancy.

So did you know that Ellen was pregnant during season six of Grey's Anatomy? According to Buzzfeed, this is why Meredith gave her dad her liver. Therefore, she could stay in the hospital, and it was a great way to work this into the show.

10 Breaking A Sweat: She Loves To Work Out

Exercise is one of those things that people are really into and can't imagine not doing every day… or it's the total opposite. We either adore working out and have a favorite class that we attend a few times a week or we're not interested at all.

But we're always interested in finding out what types of workouts celebrities like to do and what time of day they like to do them- and Ellen lives a healthy, fit lifestyle.

As the Grey's Anatomy star told Into The Gloss, she really enjoys working out. Her morning routine involves using the treadmill or going for a hike. That sounds really inspiring.

9 This Might Be Surprising: Meredith Could Be Her Final Part

We sometimes hear actors or actresses talking about retiring or not wanting to act anymore, but we wouldn't expect that from someone who has starred on a long-running, popular TV series for several years.

Did you know that Ellen Pompeo said that Meredith Grey could be her final role? Most fans probably had no idea about this, but it's definitely true. According to Fame 10, she said, “I definitely feel myself transitioning. I don't find acting terribly empowering."

Now we're hoping that Grey's will last for several more seasons so we can keep watching one of our favorite actresses. And because we love the show so much, of course.

8 Natural Beauty: She's Not A Fan Of Makeup

These days, it's more and more popular to practice self-care and not stress out and stop trying to be such a perfectionist. That includes not feeling pressure to wear tons of makeup all of the time. But you might expect a famous actress to always wear makeup.

Ellen, however, isn't super into makeup.

As she told Into The Gloss, "Because I play a doctor on TV, I don't like the look of makeup-I think it looks ridiculous on screen. Not that doctors can't wear makeup, but I just feel like it takes away from the acting and the character if I have makeup on. I just feel like I look like an actor playing dress-up, so I try to keep it as authentic as possible."

7 The True Story: Landing Her Big Role

Picturing a star landing a certain role usually goes something like this: their agent finds out about an audition, thinks that their client would be absolutely perfect for the role, and the actor or actress impresses everyone at the audition.

That's not the way that it went down with Ellen Pompeo: she didn't actually go to an audition for Meredith Grey, according to Ppcorn.com. This is the other thing that sometimes happens: an actor will be offered a role because the showrunner of a TV show, the director of a movie, or the network or studio knows of them and loves their work.

6 Home Is Where The Heart Is: Home Decor Is Her Thing

Some people love eating healthy and are more interested in kale than junk food… and others would rather eat chocolate and sugar and all kinds of fun food instead (but they eat healthy because it's a good idea). In a similar way, some people love home decor and are all about making their home or apartment look as cute and chic as possible. Others aren't so interested in that and are cool with hand-me-down furniture and objects.

According to Ppcorn.com, Ellen Pompeo loves home decor.

If you do too, then you can be super excited that you have this in common with the actress behind Meredith Grey.

5 Guest Star: She Was On Our Fave Sitcom

It's really fun to look up a favorite sitcom from the 1990's and see all of the famous people who had guest parts. Well, of course, these actors and actresses weren't famous back then, but now it's a totally different story.

Another little-known fact about Ellen Pompeo, according to Useless Daily, is that she had a small part on Friends. In fact, Chandler and Ross decided not to try to date her. Even if you're the biggest expert on this sitcom ever, you might not remember this because there were so many episodes and seasons. Sounds like it's a good time to rewatch the whole series.

4 Childhood Nicknames: These Were Hers

Some names are basically made for nicknames. If we're called Jessica or Nicolas, for example, it's pretty easy to assume that others would call us Jess or Nick. Then there are those childhood nicknames that our parents, siblings, and/or friends call us.

You might even be annoyed by these and wish that everyone would just forget about them…

But since family and friends sometimes love to tease us, you know that they want to keep calling us by these nicknames. In Ellen Pompeo's case, we know, thanks to Wet Paint, that she had two childhood nicknames: "Pencil" and "Stracciatella." How cute are those?!

3 Allergies: This Is Why She Has Poodles

We love finding out as much as we can about the stars that we love. Learning that they have a really cute pet is a fun fact and if we're cat or dog people ourselves, we can feel like we have something in common with one of our favorite celebrities, which is always exciting.

The Grey's actress has really cool pets, and there's also a reason why she does. As Women.com reported, Ellen Pompeo has allergies, which is why she has poodles.

Now that you know some more things about the private Ellen Pompeo, how excited are you for more Grey's Anatomy?

2 Sounds Familiar: Her Dad Had This Career

It's cool when art imitates life and we learn that a movie or novel is based on a true story. It's also cool to find out that an actor or actress has a lot in common with the character that they're best known for playing.

In Ellen Pompeo's case, her dad was a surgeon, which means that the world of hospitals and diagnoses and surgery on the TV show that made her famous definitely hit close to home.

This is a little-known fact about the star that, thanks to Fame 10, we know now, and it's really interesting to find this out.

1 Her Past Self: She Had This Quality

Another little-known fact about Ellen Pompeo is that she used to be a people pleaser.

This is how she described herself when she was interviewed by Real Simple magazine. She said, “I spent most of my life being a real people pleaser. And while I do believe that we should lead with compassion and kindness first, always, I think in our younger selves we're very eager to please."

This is so easy to relate to and chances are, many of us have been there and have learned how to be stronger and stand up for ourselves as we've gotten older.

References: Wetpaint, Women, Instyle, Buzzfeed, Heavy