Early life

Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine, and grew up in the nearby towns of Turner and Buckfield. He has two sisters. His mother, Amanda (née Casson), was a school secretary, and his father, William, was an insurance salesman.

He attended Buckfield High School and St. Dominic Regional High School.

In his youth, Patrick Dempsey participated in juggling competitions. In 1981 he achieved the second place at the International Jugglers' Association Championship in the Juniors category, just behind Anthony Gatto, who is considered to be the best technical juggler of all time.

Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age twelve. He told Barbara Walters on her 2008 Oscar special that he thinks dyslexia made him what he is today. "It's given me a perspective of—you have to keep working," Dempsey told Walters. "I have never given up."

Acting career

Early career

Dempsey was discovered by an invitation to audition for a role in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. His audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in Philadelphia. He followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey has also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and as Timmy (the Martin Sheen role) in a 1990 Off-Broadway revival of The Subject Was Roses co-starring with John Mahoney and Dana Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 with Beverly D'Angelo in the movie In The Mood, the true World War II story about Ellsworth Wisecarver whose relationships with older married women created a national uproar. He then co-starred in the third instalment of the comedy classic Meatballs III: Summer Job, alongside Sally Kellerman in 1987. This was followed by the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson and Some Girls with Jennifer Connelly in 1988. In 1989, Dempsey had the lead role in the films Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater.

1990s and 2000s

Dempsey made a number of featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy. However he received good reviews as he portrayed real-life mob boss, Meyer Lansky in 1991, when Mobsters was put on the screen. His first major television role was a three-episode stint as Will Truman's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks on Once & Again. Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 1993, he played a young John F. Kennedy in the two-part TV mini-series JFK: Reckless Youth. In 2000, he played Detective Kincaid in Scream 3.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as the fiancé of Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama (2002). In 2004, he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. He also appeared as special guest star in The Practice for its three-episode finale season (8x13-8x15).

In 2007, Dempsey starred in the Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers where he reunited with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank. He also voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear 2. Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2008 film Made of Honor as Tom and the 2010s romantic comedy Valentine's Day; the latter film follows five interconnecting stories about Los Angelinos anticipating (or in some cases dreading) the holiday of love.

Universal Pictures acquired the rights to the prize-winning novel The Art of Racing in the Rain in July 2009, for Dempsey to star in. The project has not been able to find a director. He starred as Dylan Gould in Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).

In 2013, Dempsey starred in the romantic comedy Wonderful Tonight opposite Amanda Seyfried.

Grey's Anatomy

Main article: Grey's Anatomy

Dempsey has received significant public attention for his iconic role as Dr. Derek Shepherd (McDreamy) in the drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to landing the role of Derek Shepherd, Dempsey auditioned for the role of Dr. Chase on another medical show, House. Initially a midseason replacement, Grey's Anatomy was well received and has become a highly rated program. Dempsey also appeared in two episodes of the Grey's spinoff Private Practice, playing the same character as in Grey's Anatomy. In January 2014, Dempsey signed a two-year contract to remain on Grey's Anatomy (then in its tenth season) that would ensure his presence for potential 11th and 12th seasons. Dr. Shepherd later died in Season 11 due to a horrible car crash leaving Meredith Grey in sadness.

Dempsey was nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series-Drama at the 2006 Golden Globes for the role. His success on the show has led to his becoming a spokesman for Mazda and State Farm Insurance. BuddyTV ranked him #1 on its list of "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011".

Following his departure from Grey's Anatomy, Dempsey was working on two small-screen projects: a drama The Limit for SundanceTV and a travelogue spy thriller called Fodors. He also said: "I would love to do something else. I’m going to take the rest of the year off to develop. I would like to be a producer. I would commit to a show that is 10 to 12 episodes. But 24 again, I don’t know if I would do that. It's a very hard life. It's financially rewarding but there comes a point where how much is enough, really? I’m focusing now on developing and racing and being a father to my children."

Promotional work

He has been the face of L'Oreal and Versace and was featured in ads for Serengeti sunglasses. In November 2008 he launched an Avon fragrance named Unscripted, and due to its success, a second fragrance named Patrick Dempsey 2 was launched in October 2009. On September 29, 2012, Mexican cable company Cablemás, Megacable and Mexico city's Cablevisión launched an advertising campaign featuring Patrick Dempsey as the love interest of a domestic worker who comes across his profile on an online dating site. Starting in 2013, Patrick Dempsey is the face of Silhouette, promoting eyewear fashion from Austria.

Auto racing

In 2014, Dempsey told Reuters in the Hockenheimring support paddock at the German Grand Prix that motor racing was not just a hobby, and had become as much a part of who he is as acting. He said, "It's all-consuming in many ways. I couldn't imagine not racing right now. It really keeps me motivated. It's all I think about on a daily basis."

Dempsey, who maintains an extensive sports and vintage car collection, has enjoyed auto racing in his spare time for several years, and declared before the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2013 that he would like to compete full-time, telling Eurosport:

I would like to make that a complete priority and just focus on this full-time. If I could just walk away from acting, I think I could do that very easily, and just focus on the driving, I would love that more than anything else.

He has competed in prestigious pro-am events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, and Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race. He was a co-owner of the Vision Racing IndyCar Series team and current owner of Dempsey Racing, which is presently racing two Porsche 911 GT America's in the Tudor United Sports Car Series . He participated in this series as often as his schedule allowed, although insurance restrictions kept him from driving competitively while also filming a motion picture. In 2009, he raced a Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans's GT2 class, and finished ninth in class.

Dempsey announced he would race the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona along with other races throughout the season in a Mazda RX-8.

Dempsey finished in third place in the GT Class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. In 2012, Dempsey competed in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Racing-Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which, after five successful racing seasons in Europe, was to make its debut on American tracks. He formed the Dempsey Racing team to compete in the American Le Mans Series. The team fielded a full-time Oreca FLM09 in the Prototype Challenge class as well as a Lola B12/80 coupe in the Prototype 2 class from Laguna Seca onward.

After debuting at the 2009 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dempsey returned to France four years later and competed in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR at the 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance race. Dempsey and his co-drivers finished 29th overall and fourth in-class.

Telling Porsche Newsroom: "Not much changes in my TV work, but everything changes constantly in motor racing - every lap, every bend and every moment."

In 2015, Dempsey is focusing on participating in the FIA World Endurance Championship with his own Dempsey Racing-Proton team in the GTE-Am class in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR, teamed with Patrick Long and Marco Seefried.

Racing records

Career summary

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2004	Panoz Racing Series (GT class)	TBA	2	0	0	0	0	9	9th
2006	Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race (Pro class)	TBA	1	0	TBA	TBA	1	N/A	2nd
2007	Rolex Sports Car Series (GT class)	Hyper Sport	1	0	0	0	0	21	82nd
2008	Rolex Sports Car Series (GT class)	Hyper Sport	9	0	0	0	0	143	30th
2009	Rolex Sports Car Series (GT class)	Dempsey Racing	7	0	0	0	0	143	20th
	24 Hours of Le Mans (GT2 class)	Advanced Engineering Team Seattle	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	9th
2010	Rolex Sports Car Series (GT class)	Dempsey Racing	4	0	0	0	0	89	29th
	Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (ST class)	Freedom Autosport	1	0	0	0	0	9	90th
2011	Rolex Sports Car Series (GT class)	Dempsey Racing	11	0	0	0	1	226	11th
2012	Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (GS class)	Multimatic Motorsports	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
	Rolex Sports Car Series (GT class)	Dempsey Racing	9	0	0	0	0	138	24th
	American Le Mans Series (LMP2 class)	Dempsey Racing	5	0	0	0	2	53	3rd
	Maserati Trofeo World Series	TBA	2	0	0	0	0	0	NC
2013	American Le Mans Series (GTC class)	Dempsey Racing/Del Piero	10	0	0	0	3	87	7th
	24 Hours of Le Mans (GTE Am class)	Dempsey Del Piero-Proton	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	4th
2014	United SportsCar Championship (GTD class)	Dempsey Racing	8	0	0	0	1	134	18th
	24 Hours of Le Mans (GTE Am class)	Dempsey Racing-Proton	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	5th
	Porsche Supercup	Porsche AG	1	0	0	0	0	0‡	NC‡
2015	FIA World Endurance Championship (GTE Am class)	Dempsey Racing-Proton	7	1	1	0	2	116	6th
	24 Hours of Le Mans (GTE Am class)	Dempsey Racing-Proton	1	0	0	0	1	N/A	2nd
	Porsche Supercup	Porsche AG	1	0	0	0	0	0‡	NC‡
	United SportsCar Championship (GTD class)	Wright Motorsports	1	0	0	0	1	31	33rd

‡ Not eligible for points.

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2009	Advanced Engineering Team Seattle	Don Kitch, Jr. Joe Foster	Ferrari F430 GT2	GT2	301	30th	9th
2013	Dempsey Del Piero-Proton	Joe Foster Patrick Long	Porsche 997 GT3 RSR	GTE Am	305	29th	4th
2014	Dempsey Racing-Proton	Joe Foster Patrick Long	Porsche 911 RSR	GTE Am	329	24th	5th
2015	Dempsey-Proton Racing	Patrick Long Marco Seefried	Porsche 911 RSR	GTE Am	330	22nd	2nd

Complete Rolex Sports Car Series results

(key) (Results are overall/class)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	Rank	Points
2007	Hyper Sport	GT	Mazda RX-8 GT	Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor	DAY	MEX	HOM	VIR	LGA	LIM	WGL	MDO	DAY	IOW	BAR	MON	MIL	82nd	21
2008	Hyper Sport	GT	Mazda RX-8 GT	Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor	DAY	HOM	MEX	VIR	LGA	LIM	WGL	MDO	DAY	BAR	MON	NJ	MIL	30th	143
2009	Dempsey Racing	GT	Mazda RX-8 GT	Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor	DAY	VIR	NJ	LGA	WGL	MDO	DAY	BAR	WGL	MON	MIL	HOM		20th	143
2010	Dempsey Racing	GT	Mazda RX-8 GT	Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor	DAY	HOM	BAR	VIR	LIM	WGL	MDO	DAY	NJ	WGL	MON	MIL		29th	89
2011	Dempsey Racing	GT	Mazda RX-8 GT	Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor	DAY	HOM	BAR	VIR	LIM	WGL	ELK	LGA	NJ	WGL	MON	MDO		11th	226
2012	Dempsey Racing	GT	Mazda RX-8 GT	Mazda 2.0L 3-Rotor	DAY	BAR	HOM	NJ	BEL	MDO	ELK	WGL	IMS	WGL	MON	LGA	LIM	24th	138

† Did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.

Complete Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge results

(key) (Results are overall/class)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2010	Freedom Autosport	ST	Mazdaspeed3	C	DAY	HOM	BAR	VIR	LIM	WGL	MDO	NJ	TRO	MIL	90th	9
2012	Multimatic Motorsports	GS	Aston Martin Vantage	C	DAY	BAR	HOM	NJ	MDO	ELK	WGL	IMS	LGA	LIM	NC‡	0‡

‡ As Dempsey was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete Maserati Trofeo World Series results

(key)

Year	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	DC	Points
2012	JAR 1	JAR 2	ALG 1	ALG 2	ALG 3	IMO 1	IMO 2	IMO 3	LEC 1	LEC 2	SON 1	SON 2	SON 3	SHA 1	SHA 2	NC‡	0‡

‡ As Dempsey was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete American Le Mans Series results

(key) (Results are overall/class)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	Tyres	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Rank	Points
2012	Dempsey Racing	LMP2	Lola B12/87	Judd-BMW HK 3.6 L V8	M	SEB	LBH	LGA	LIM	MOS	MDO	ELK	BAL	VIR	ATL	3rd	53
2013	Dempsey Racing/Del Piero	GTC	Porsche 997 GT3 Cup	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	Y	SEB	LBH	LGA	LIM	MOS	ELK	BAL	AUS	VIR	ATL	7th	87

† Did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.

Complete United SportsCar Championship results

(key) (Results are overall/class)

Year	Entrant	Class	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	Rank	Points
2014	Dempsey Racing	GTD	Porsche 911 GT America	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	DAY	SEB	LGA	BEL	WGL	MOS	IMS	ELK	VIR	AUS	ATL	24th	153
2015	Wright Motorsports	GTD	Porsche 911 GT America	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	DAY	SEB	LGA	BEL	WGL	LIM	ELK	VIR	AUS	ATL		33rd	31

† Did not complete sufficient laps in order to score points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete Porsche Supercup results

(key)

Year	Team	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	DC	Points
2014	Porsche AG	ESP	MON	AUT	GBR	GER	HUN	BEL	ITA	USA	USA		NC‡	0‡
2015	Porsche AG	ESP	MON	AUT	GBR	HUN	BEL	BEL	ITA	ITA	USA	USA	NC‡	0‡

‡ As Dempsey was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points.

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Year	Entrant	Class	Car	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Rank	Points
2015	Dempsey Racing-Proton	LMGTE Am	Porsche 911 RSR	Porsche 4.0 L Flat-6	SIL	SPA	LMS	NÜR	COA	FUJ	SHA	BHR	6th	116

Tully's Coffee

In January 2013, Dempsey announced that his company (Global Baristas) had secured the winning bid to purchase Seattle-based Tully's Coffee, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October. Dempsey's bid of $9.15M was enough to secure Tully's over the bids of six others including Starbucks. Dempsey's company will control 47 Tully's locations in the Seattle area, but not the online business which had been purchased by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in 2009.

Following a legal dispute with investor group Global Baristas owner Michael Avenatti, Dempsey left the group, in effect officially leaving his managerial positions with Tully's. Dempsey filed a lawsuit on behalf of Global Baristas, claiming Avenatti borrowed $2 million against Tully's assets without informing Dempsey, rather than fully financing the coffee chain as was promised, calling the 15 percent interest rate on the loan "exorbitant" and sued for Avenatti to fund Tully's operations and meet its working capital needs, as well as for any damages owed the company. Soon after, Avenatti's office issued a second statement saying the partnership was dissolved and that Dempsey wished the lawyer and the company "all the best". Avenatti has stated the dispute was a "misunderstanding" and will continue operating with other investors and new management.

Personal life

Dempsey was diagnosed with dyslexia at age 12. As a result, it is necessary for him to memorize all his lines in order to perform, even for auditions where he was unlikely to get the part.

Entertainment Weekly put Dempsey's hair on its end-of-the-decade "best-of" list, saying, "What made Grey's Anatomy a mega-medi-hit? It could have something to do with creator Shonda Rhimes' scalpel-sharp writing…or McDreamy's impossibly luxurious man hair. Just saying." In 2005, People magazine ranked him second in its annual list of "Sexiest Men Alive" and again in 2006.

Dempsey has been married twice. In 1987, he married his manager and mother of his best friend, actress and acting coach, Rochelle "Rocky" Parker, when he was 21 and she 48. She appeared with Dempsey in the film In the Mood. The couple divorced in 1994. She died in 2014.

On July 31, 1999, Dempsey married hairstylist and makeup artist Jillian Fink. The couple have three children, daughter Talula Fyfe (born February 20, 2002), and twin sons Sullivan Patrick and Darby Galen (born February 1, 2007). In January 2015, Fink filed for divorce, but reconciled later in the year.

Cancer-research philanthropy

In 1997, Dempsey's mother, Amanda, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which subsequently relapsed five times. On March 24, 2014, she died in Lewiston, Maine, aged 79. In response to his mother's bouts with cancer, Dempsey helped start the Patrick Dempsey Center at Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. In October 2009, when Dempsey introduced the first Dempsey Challenge, registration was closed after reaching the goal of 3,500 cyclists, runners and walkers. The event raised more than $1 million for the cancer center. His mother had been in the crowd as Dempsey finished his 50-mile ride. The Challenge has since become an annual October event presented by Amgen in the Lewiston-Auburn area.

Filmography

Film
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	The Stuff	Underground Stuff buyer #2	Uncredited
	Heaven Help Us	Corbet
1986	A Fighting Choice	Kellin Taylor
	Meatballs III: Summer Job	Rudy Gerner
1987	Can't Buy Me Love	Ronald Miller	Young Artist Award for Best Young Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy
	In the Mood	Ellsworth 'Sonny' Wisecarver
1988	Some Girls	Michael
1989	Loverboy	Randy Bodek
	Happy Together	Christopher Wooden
1990	Coupe de Ville	Robert 'Bobby' Libner
1991	Mobsters	Meyer Lansky
	Run	Charlie Farrow
1993	Bank Robber	Billy
1993	Face the Music	Charlie Hunter
1994	With Honors	Everett Calloway
1995	Outbreak	Jimbo Scott
1997	Hugo Pool	Floyd Gaylen
1998	Denial	Sam
1998	Jeremiah	Jeremiah
1998	The Escape	Clayton
2000	Scream 3	Det. Mark Kincaid
2002	Sweet Home Alabama	Andrew Hennings
	The Emperor's Club	Older Louis Masoudi
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	Ben Weissman
2006	Brother Bear 2	Kenai	Voice Direct-to-video
2007	Freedom Writers	Scott Casey
	Enchanted	Robert Philip	Nominated-MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (with Amy Adams) Nominated—National Movie Award for Best Performance — Male
2008	Made of Honor	Tom Bailey
2010	Valentine's Day	Harrison Copeland
2011	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	Dylan Gould	Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
	Flypaper	Tripp	Also producer
2016	Bridget Jones's Baby	Jack Qwant	Filming

Television

Television
Year	Title	Role	Notes
1986	Fast Times	Mike Damone	7 episodes
	Disneyland	Kellin Taylor	Episode: A Fighting Choice
1989	The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!	The Plant	Voice Episode: Super Plant/The Pied Koopa
1993	JFK: Reckless Youth	John F. Kennedy	Miniseries
1996	A Season in Purgatory	Harrison Burns	Miniseries
1997	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Pierre Arronax	Movie
1998	Jeremiah (de)	Jeremiah	Movie
1998	Crime and Punishment	Raskolnikov	Movie
2000; 2001	Will & Grace	Matthew	3 episodes
2000; 2002	Once and Again	Aaron Brooks	4 episodes Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
2001	Blonde	Cass	Movie
2003	Lucky 7	Peter Connor	Movie
	Karen Sisco	Carl Wilkens	Episode: Blown Away
2004	Iron Jawed Angels	Ben Weissman	Movie
	The Practice	Dr. Paul Stewart	3 episodes
2005-2015	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Derek Shepherd	236 episodes Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Drama Series People's Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Star Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Drama Series Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Male TV Star Won—People's Choice Award for Favorite Dramatic TV Actor
2009; 2012	Private Practice	Dr. Derek Shepherd	2 episodes

Charities

Patrick Dempsey supports the following charitable causes: Cancer, Dyslexia.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]