--- 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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It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=0d25d440-4204-4e03-8370-20da7484246a&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1) ## 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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