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BIOGRAPHY

Patrick Dempsey
	BIOGRAPHY | GALLERY | GOSSIP

Patrick Dempsey, born January 13, 1966, in Lewiston, Maine and grew up in Turner, Maine, is an American actor. He first became prominent in Hollywood during the late 1980s and is also known for his role on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy.

Dempsey attended St. Dominic Regional High School, where his mother worked as a secretary, but dropped out before he graduated. He was an adept juggler, tying for second in a National Juggling Competition. He once said that as a child, one of his main ambitions was to be a supermodel.

Dempsey was discovered by an agent and invited to audition for a role in the stage production of "Torch Song Trilogy." Dempsey's audition was successful, and he spent the following four months touring with the company in San Francisco. 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 "The Subject was Roses", which showed at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

Dempsey's first major feature film role was at age 21 in the teen comedy Can't Buy Me Love in 1987 with actress Amanda Peterson. In 1989, he had the lead role in the film Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley. Although the teen comedy and romance roles led to Dempsey being somewhat typecast for a time, he continued to be featured in film and television roles throughout the 1990s.

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. His first major television role was a recurring role as Will's closeted sportscaster boyfriend on Will & Grace. He went on to play the role of Aaron Brooks, Sela Ward's psychologically unbalanced brother, on Once & Again.

Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron. In 2004 he co-starred in the highly acclaimed HBO production, Iron Jawed Angels, opposite Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston.

Dempsey had a high-profile role as one of the suitors for Reese Witherspoon in Sweet Home Alabama.

Dempsey's most recent roles include the 2007 Disney film, Enchanted. He is also lending his voice for the main character in Brother Bear 2. Dempsey has received signficant public attention for his role as Dr. Derek Shepherd in the drama Grey's Anatomy.