Every Thursday, Patrick Dempsey, 40, sends hearts aflutter as Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy, ABC’s emotionally drenched medical soap opera. Playing the role of a romantically conflicted brain surgeon, the once-struggling actor has not only resuscitated his career (he considered becoming a professional home remodeler before his Grey’s audition), but he’s made the word McDreamy part of the national lexicon.
No wonder more than 25 million fans tuned in to the third season premiere on September 21, when McDreamy professed his love for his intern, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). “Patrick has always been an incredibly down-to-earth, kind person,” Debra Messing, his onetime Will & Grace costar, tells Us. “He has been around for a long time and has his head on his shoulders. I could not be more thrilled for him.”
Dempsey’s offscreen life is also booming. He and his wife of seven years, celebrity makeup artist and former hairstylist Jillian Dempsey, 40, are expecting twin boys. (The couple have a daughter, Tallulah, 4.) “I’m really thrilled,” Patrick said on Ryan Seacrest’s L.A. radio show September 20. “My wife looks great, we¹re excited, my daughter’s happy and we’re going to have a very big family very soon.”
Indeed, Dempsey’s marriage is the stuff McDreamy can only, well, dream of. “I value my relationship even more now,” Dempsey told Us in March. “It’s made me successful, and I am very fortunate that I don¹t lose sight of that.”
What learning disability did Dempsey have to overcome in order to become a successful actor? What’s in store for Dempsey’s career? What plot twists are up next on Grey’s Anatomy? For more details on the actor’s early rise and fall, his career comeback, and once turbulent love life, check out the current issue of Us, on newsstands this week.
