--- title: Ellen Pompeo on How She Negotiated Her Grey's Anatomy Salary description: The longtime 'Grey's Anatomy' actor shares some very candid advice about gaming your way to the top in Hollywood and any industry. canonical: https://time.com/5106134/ellen-pompeo-on-negotiation/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-01-17T17:45:35.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:22.444Z og:title: Ellen Pompeo Has Some Frank Career Advice for Women og:description: "I've finally gotten to the place where I'm OK asking for what I deserve" og:url: https://time.com/5106134/ellen-pompeo-on-negotiation/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ellen Pompeo Has Some Frank Career Advice for Women twitter:description: "I've finally gotten to the place where I'm OK asking for what I deserve" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # _Grey's Anatomy's_ Ellen Pompeo Has Some Frank Salary Advice for Women > Sponsored content. 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Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Shonda Rhimes By The Numbers [Watch (HLS stream): Shonda Rhimes By The Numbers](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/j5fbYDXH.m3u8) (1:51)  _Published 2017-04-28. TGIT!_  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 17, 2018 5:45 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 17, 2018 5:45 PM UTC After fourteen seasons as the star of [_Grey’s Anatomy_](http://motto.time.com/4306632/ellen-pompeo-greys-anatomy-without-mcdreamy/), Ellen Pompeo is [discussing](http://time.com/3836967/ellen-pompeo-mcdreamy-twitter/) defining her value. In an interview [with _The Hollywood Reporter_](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/ellen-pompeo-tvs-20-million-woman-reveals-her-behind-scenes-fight-what-i-deserve-1074978), Pompeo shared that she’s signed a contract to make an impressive $20 million a year for the next two seasons of the medical serial, which continues to draw nearly 12 million viewers and is a multi-billion-dollar franchise. Thanks to her relationship with showrunner [Shonda Rhimes](http://time.com/4928930/firsts-nancy-gibbs/item/the-showrunner-shonda-rhimes/), Pompeo said, she gained the confidence over the years to negotiate for what she’s worth. The most important thing: ask for what you want. “I’m 48 now, so I’ve finally gotten to the place where I’m OK asking for what I deserve, which is something that comes only with age,” she told the _Reporter_. “Now, maybe it’s my Irish Catholic upbringing, but you never want to \[be perceived as\] too greedy. Or maybe it’s just that as women, that’s our problem; a guy wouldn’t have any problem asking for $600,000 an episode. And as women, we’re like, ‘Oh, can I ask for that? Is that OK?’ I’d call Shonda and say, ‘Am I being greedy?’ But ultimately, Pompeo said she felt she deserved a piece of the pie, noting that the change Hollywood is seeking will come from women having financial power. “\[Shonda Rhimes\] got to a place where she was so empowered that she was generous with her power,” Pompeo explained about the now-infamous [TV creator](http://time.com/4898933/netflix-shonda-rhimes-shondaland/). “Now, what did that look like? It looked like her letting me be the highest-paid woman on television, letting me be a producer on this show, letting me be a co-executive producer on the spinoff and signing off on the deal that the studio gave me, which is unprecedented.” Pompeo’s story has won her support on social media, too. > [](https://twitter.com/shani%5Fo/status/953649249878716416) > [](https://twitter.com/AlannaBennett/status/953655398757781504) > [](https://twitter.com/KristinaLopez/status/953626910931800064) > [](https://twitter.com/MarkHarrisNYC/status/953652707952418819) > [](https://twitter.com/natasharothwell/status/953647300215062529) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5106134/ellen-pompeo-on-negotiation/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5106134/ellen-pompeo-on-negotiation/"},"headline":"Grey's Anatomy's Ellen Pompeo Has Some Frank Salary Advice for Women","datePublished":"2018-01-17T17:45:35.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:47:22.444Z","description":"\"As women, we're like, 'Oh, can I ask for that? 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