TV & Movies

27 Celebs You Forgot Were On Grey's Anatomy

From Demi Lovato to Millie Bobby Brown.

by Brad Witter
Updated: 
Originally Published: 
Demi Lovato in 'Grey's Anatomy'
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Across more than 350 episodes and over 17 seasons, Grey's Anatomy has had more than its fair share of celebrity guest stars. So many, in fact, that even the most diehard Grey's fans would be forgiven for forgetting some of the famous faces who have popped up at Grey Sloan Memorial. Among the A-listers who have roamed the hospital's halls since the series premiere in 2005 are Demi Lovato, Mandy Moore, and Sarah Paulson. And even after so many years on the air, there's plenty of time for that list to grow.

Camilla Luddington, who plays Dr. Jo Wilson, even has a particularly major celeb on her wish list for a future appearance: noted super fan Taylor Swift, who loves Grey's so much she named one of her cats Meredith after Ellen Pompeo's character. "I know she loves the show. I feel like she should just do one episode," the actor recently told BuzzFeed. "I don't know how it would happen, as a patient or she's a doctor. I think that she deserves to come on."

While fans wait to see if her dream comes to fruition, look back on 27 of the biggest stars who have already made Grey's cameos.

1. Demi Lovato

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A then-18-year-old Lovato guested in Season 6 as Hayley May, a teen patient previously misdiagnosed with schizophrenia. After the Grey's docs figured out she actually had a hole in her inner ear that made her sensitive to sound, a relieved Hayley was able to begin her recovery.

2. Mandy Moore

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As young patient Mary Portman, Moore first appeared in a Season 6 episode in which she and Bailey were trapped together during a hospital shooting. Bailey later performed her colostomy bag reversal surgery in Season 7, but Mary failed to wake up from the anesthesia and her husband eventually removed her from life support.

3. Sarah Paulson

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The American Horror Story vet appeared as a younger version of Meredith's mother, Ellis Grey, in '70s flashbacks during Season 6.

4. Keke Palmer

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During Season 10, Palmer played Sheryll Jeffries, a young, pregnant woman with a heart condition that required a transplant. While trying to convince Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) to admit her as part of a clinical trial, she prematurely gave birth to her baby.

5. Rachel Brosnahan

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Before starring in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Brosnahan appeared in Season 9 as a patient named Brian who is transgender. He came to Seattle Grace to have his breasts removed as a part of his gender confirmation surgery.

6. Elisabeth Moss

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Moss appeared in Season 3 as Nina Rogerson, the protective daughter of a patient with a rare bone disorder.

7. Jurnee Smollett

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The Lovecraft Country star had a turn in Season 4 as Beth Monroe, a patient with paralysis caused by an inoperable brain tumor. The character eventually became the first survivor of Derek and Meredith's clinical trial, after her boyfriend died while undergoing the same procedure.

8. Millie Bobby Brown

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Not long before her breakout role as Eleven on Stranger Things, Brown played Ruby in Season 11. In the episode, her character was forced to tend to her sick mother following an earthquake, with the Grey's docs only able to talk her through medical procedures over the phone.

9. Christina Ricci

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Ricci played Hannah Davies, the panicked paramedic whose hand was the only thing stopping a bomb from exploding inside a man's chest, in a two-part Season 2 episode.

10. Jamie Chung

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During Season 7, Chung appeared as Trina Paiz, a trauma patient who lost an ear after falling into a ravine while honeymooning in Seattle with her new husband.

11. Leslie Odom Jr.

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Before winning a Tony award for Hamilton, Odom appeared in a Season 5 episode as P.J. Walling, a man who offered to be his father's kidney donor in exchange for $10,000.

12. Tessa Thompson

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Thompson guest-starred in Season 2 as Richard's niece Camille, a teen who learned her ovarian cancer had returned after passing out while having sex on her prom night.

13. Kyle Chandler

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As the leader of Seattle PD's bomb squad, Chandler's Dylan Young helped avert a hospital bomb crisis but fell victim to the explosive while removing it from the premises in Season 2.

14. Liza Weil

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The Gilmore Girls and How to Get Away With Murder star played a brain tumor patient named Alison Clark, who was undergoing chemotherapy at the same time as Izzie.

15. Neve Campbell

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Campbell played Derek's sister, Liz, who came into the picture when he needed a nerve donor to repair his injured hand in Season 9.

16. Hilarie Burton

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Burton's craniofacial surgeon, Dr. Lauren Boswell, had a brief affair with Arizona in Season 9 while consulting on a case at Grey Sloan.

17. Abigail Breslin

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Breslin played "supergirl" Megan Clover, a young ER patient who couldn't feel pain, in Season 3.

18. Mae Whitman

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The Parenthood alum guested in Season 3 as Heather Douglas, a young woman forced to undergo a risky spinal surgery.

19. Dylan Minnette

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At 11 years old, the 13 Reasons Why actor guest-starred as Ryan, a young boy who was born without external ears. He came to Seattle in Season 4 to enlist Mark Sloan to construct him a pair.

20. Wilmer Valderrama

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In a small handful of Season 12 episodes, Valderrama played Kyle Diaz, a flirtatious musician with multiple sclerosis who briefly dated Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton).

21. Seth Green

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As one of Lexie's patients in Season 4, Green's character Nick Hanscom had an exposed carotid artery following a tumor resection.

22. Sarah Chalke

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The Scrubs alum appeared in Season 9 as Casey Hedges, a waitress and mother who railed against doctors' diagnosis of her son.

23. Zach Gilford

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The former Friday Night Lights star guested in Season 5 as Charlie Lowell, a soldier who wanted an amputation to alleviate phantom leg pain.

24. Constance Zimmer

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The House of Cards and UnREAL star appeared in Season 9 as Alana Cahill, a physician adviser brought in to help the hospital avoid bankruptcy.

25. Nia Vardalos

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Vardalos — who is best known for her role in My Big Fat Greek Wedding — guested in Season 8 as Karen, a woman awaiting a liver transplant from her quarrelsome sister Marcy (Frasier's Peri Gilpin).

26. Alyssa Milano

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Milano and her Charmed co-star Holly Marie Combs reunited in Season 16 as siblings tasked with deciding whether or not to take their sister off of life support.

27. John Cho

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The Star Trek star appeared in Season 2 as Marshall Stone, a surgical intern who caused a car accident after falling asleep at the wheel.

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