The following is a partial list of characters from the television series Grey's Anatomy:

• Nurse Olivia Harper: (Sarah Utterback) A nurse at the hospital. She had relationships with George and Alex. Alex gave her syphilis which she then unknowingly gave to George after breaking up with Alex (which was part of a hospital-wide syphilis epidemic among the doctors and nurses). After that, Alex began a relationship with Izzie, who then found him cheating on her with Nurse Olivia. The female interns occasionally insultingly refer to her as "Syph Nurse." She was also in the club 'Nurses United Against Mark Sloan' which implies she has had sexual relations with him.

• Nurse Tyler: (Moe Irvin) Nurse Tyler is one of the members of the nursing staff at Seattle Grace. He attended the nurse strike in season 2.

• Patricia: (Robin Pearson Rose) Patricia is Richard Weber's assistant/secretary and had previously worked as a nurse. She has been in the show since season 1.

• Dr. Sadie Harris (Melissa George) An intern and former friend of Meredith's.

• Dr. Sydney Heron: (Kali Rocha) A fifth-year general surgery resident at Seattle Grace, known for her extremely perky personality. She initially appeared as Bailey's substitute when Bailey was on maternity leave and clashed with Cristina, who finds Sydney's positive attitude unbearable. She later served as Izzie's peer counselor and revealed that her perky persona actually originated from a nervous breakdown she suffered after losing a patient of her own. She was also in the running to become chief resident, but lost to Callie, who was later replaced by Bailey. Sydney also went on one date with Dr. Shepherd, but dumped him when she decided he wasn't ready for the kind of relationship she needs.

• Dr. Colin Marlow: (Roger Rees) A professor at Stanford University and brilliant cardiothoracic surgeon (noted for pioneering a procedure called the Marlow transplant), Colin Marlow had a three-year relationship with Cristina Yang before she graduated and began her residency at Seattle Grace. He appeared months later as a candidate for Chief of Surgery.

• Dr. Norman Shales: (Edward Herrmann) An elderly Surgical Intern assigned to second year resident Dr. Alex Karev. Dr. Shales is a former pharmacist who because of his age is often mistaken by patients as the senior physician. He has since transferred into Psych.

• Nurse Rose: (Lauren Stamile) A nurse at the hospital. She works often with Dr. Derek Shepherd. She has been the attending nurse on over 30 of Dr. Derek Shepherd's surgeries, as Rose stated in "Forever Young" (Episode 8, Season 4). Derek and Rose shared a kiss and were dating, much to Meredith's distress as she tried to get over him. Despite their seemingly happy relationship, Rose was soon bothered by comments made by hospital personnel about Meredith and Derek's breakup only being temporary. For example, Addison Montgomery sarcastically called Rose the "McRebound," ignorant that Rose was in the room. Her prediction proved correct when in the season finale, "Freedom," Derek and Meredith make up and share a kiss. Derek abruptly leaves this kiss to break up with Rose, signaling the end of their relationship.

• Dr. Katharine Wyatt: (Amy Madigan) A psychiatrist at the hospital, she was Meredith's and Erica's therapist.

• Ryan Spalding: (Brandon Scott) A surgical intern who first appeared in "Life During Wartime". In the episode "In The Midnight Hour" Ryan was one of the surgical interns operating on Sadie. He was left on his own in OR, whilst the others went to get help. He was put on probation with the other interns, after Sadie nearly died in the operation.

• Dr.Virginia Dixon: (Mary McDonnell) A new cardiothoracic attending surgeon and the Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery with Asperger's syndrome.

• Dr. Arizona Robbins: (Jessica Capshaw) A new pediatric attending surgeon and the Head of Pediatric Surgery.

• Dr. Raj Sen: (Anjul Nigam) A surgeon in Seatlle Grace. He has a minor role in the show, he sometimes gives the doctors the blood samples they have ordered, and sometimes he is asked for a medical consult. He has been part of show since the episode two of the second season.

• Walter: (Jack Yang) He is Joe's boyfriend. Walter since now had appeared in 5 episodes in which he is played by Jack Yang except in the episode Let it be, where he is played by Brian Reid.

Meredith's family:

• Thatcher Grey: (Jeff Perry) Thatcher is Meredith Grey's father and the ex-husband of Ellis Grey. They were married for about seven years before his wife began having an affair with Richard Webber. Eventually, Ellis's affair and time away from home put too much strain on their marriage, and Thatcher left. Meredith was a small child at the time of the divorce, and roughly twenty years would pass before they saw each other again. Thatcher blames Ellis somewhat for his estrangement from Meredith, saying Ellis was "cold" and wouldn't let him get to know his daughter. After the disintegration of his first family, Thatcher married his second wife, Susan, and had two more daughters, Lexie and Molly. Susan constantly encouraged him to renew his relationship with Meredith. However, Susan died very suddenly at Seattle Grace Hospital, following a rare complication from a routine procedure to treat her hiccups and acid reflux problems. Meredith had been the intern on Susan's case, so Thatcher lashed out at Meredith and blamed her for Susan's death, slapping her in the face at one point. He later forbade Meredith to come to Susan's funeral service. In the episode "Physical Attraction, Chemical Reaction," Lexie and Alex find Thatcher extremely drunk. Alex humiliates Thatcher by offering to buy a drink for him. Lexie tells Alex to keep this a secret from Meredith. Thatcher later comes in the ER looking for Meredith, and she actually enjoys his company as a drunk more than his sober state. Later, as Lexie and Meredith talk, Meredith suggests Lexie watch him more, prompting Lexie to lash out at her.
• Molly Grey Thompson: (Mandy Siegfried) Molly is 22 years old and the half-sister of Meredith Grey. She and her older sister, Lexie, are Thatcher Grey’s daughters by his second wife, Susan. She proposed to her husband, Eric, before he was shipped out by the military to be stationed in Iraq. Originally a patient at Mercy West, Molly transferred to Seattle Grace at 32 weeks pregnant, and Addison operated to repair a congenital diaphragmatic hernia on Molly’s baby. She later gave birth to a baby girl, whom she named Laura. Her mother, Susan, died after rare complications after a simple surgery. Molly can be seen with her father at the hospital, before attending her mother's funeral.
• Lexie Grey

Cristina's family:

• Helen Rubenstein: (Tsai Chin) Cristina's highly traditional mother. Helen remarried to Dr. Saul Rubenstein, an oral surgeon, when Cristina was three, raising Cristina in the Jewish faith. Cristina's father died later in a car accident when she was nine. On the day of her daughter's wedding, she comments that she had supposed her daughter to be too emotionally stunted for marriage, but was happy to be apparently proven wrong.

Dr. Webber's family:

• Adele Webber: (Loretta Devine) The outspoken wife of Dr. Webber, Adele has been shown to perceive much more than her husband might expect — whether it is about the past of her own marriage, or the current state of the Shepherds'. She endured her marriage silently and without complaints, but she finally had enough when Richard put his other hospital patients above her dying niece. When Richard failed to return home on the night of the prom, she made an appointment to see him at the office, but was blown off because of another hospital emergency. It proved one too many, however, and she gave him an ultimatum: her or the hospital. Richard tried to avoid making the choice, but Adele was tired of his indecision, and left him. When Dr. Richard Webber quits his job as the Head Of Surgery, he returns to Adele to find out that she has moved on and appears to be involved with another man. She is in the process of divorcing Richard when she was involved in a small car accident, and was hospitalized. She revealed to Addison that she is pregnant. After being released, she fainted in a bathroom and was found by Richard. It is discovered that she is having complications with the pregnancy and will have to undergo surgery. Despite the fact that he believes that he is not the baby's father, Dr. Webber stays at his wife's side even when she tells him to leave her be. This support eventually brings them back together. After the surgery, Adele lost the baby and tells Richard that the baby was indeed his and that there was never any other man in her life.

George's family:

• Harold O'Malley: (George Dzundza) The father of George O'Malley and two other sons, Jerry and Ronnie, the O'Malley patriarch was a truck driver with a passion for vintage cars. He was married for 40 years to his wife, Louise, and took great pride in all his sons. In addition to taking his sons turkey hunting every Thanksgiving, Harold also took the boys on frequent camping trips during their childhood. His diagnosis with esophageal cancer which had spread to his stomach, in addition to a leaking aortic valve, was a huge blow to the O'Malley clan. Harold underwent surgery to replace his aortic valve, and later underwent a second surgery to determine the extent of the cancer. Prior to the second surgery, he had asked Drs. Webber and Bailey to remove the tumor regardless of the risk in order to give him a chance to fight the cancer. The surgery proved too much for his body, and after several days, he went into multi-system organ failure, which prompted the family to take him off life support.
• Louise O'Malley: (Debra Monk) Louise was married to her husband Harold for 40 years before his death, and they have three sons: Jerry (Greg Pitts), Ronny (Tim Griffin), and George. Louise is a teacher and a devoted wife and mother. She has shown an intense interest in her youngest son's life, even asking Izzie for details on George's personal relationships. George seems to find her a little overbearing, and is often embarrassed by her good-natured gestures, such as setting out breakfast for the interns during rounds and offering to iron his scrubs.

• Joe the Bartender: (Steven W. Bailey) The owner of the Emerald City Bar - across from the hospital - where the doctors often go for a drink, and is also where Derek and Meredith met. Derek and Burke performed a stand-still surgery to clip an aneurysm in Joe's brain. Joe and his boyfriend Walter (Jack Yang) also attended the Thanksgiving Izzie hosted at Meredith's house, and went on a camping trip with Dr. Shepherd, Burke, Webber, Karev and O'Malley. During this trip, Joe revealed during a discussion with the Chief that although he and Walter had been "on-and-off" for about ten years, they were now committed and considering the possibility of children. They are one of two couples being considered as adoptive parents for a young mother's twins.

• Dr. Finn Dandridge: (Chris O'Donnell). The former veterinarian of Meredith, Derek, and Addison's dog, Doc. He was also the newest love interest for Meredith for some time before she broke up with him for Derek. His wife, Liz, died in a car accident. The interns have given him the nickname "McVet", in accordance with Derek Shepherd's nickname, McDreamy. He dated Meredith throughout the end of the second season, and the beginning of the third season. He competed with Derek Shepherd for Meredith's heart. Meredith realized that he may be the "best guy", but he wasn't "her guy." After she told him this, he replied by saying "He'll break your heart again, and when he does, I won't be here" and walked out for the last time.

• Rebecca Pope or "Ava": (Elizabeth Reaser) Dr. Alex Karev found a semi-conscious pregnant woman crushed under a cement pylon, suffering from several severe injuries, after the ferry accident. Upon arrival at Seattle Grace, the Jane Doe was submitted to a battery of tests and surgeries to evaluate her condition and that of her baby, as well as treat her injuries. Eventually, Dr. Mark Sloan presented Jane Doe with options for her facial reconstruction; Alex helped her with the decision by assigning each face a name and identity. Jane Doe chose the face Alex called "Ava", and adopted the moniker for herself following the surgery. Due to his involvement with her rescue and medical care, Ava developed a close friendship with Alex Karev, who helped her through an emergency c-section to deliver her daughter after Ava developed pre-eclampsia. Dr. Derek Shepherd operated to resolve some bleeding in Ava's brain; during the surgery, it was discovered that Ava could speak four languages (English, Spanish, German, and French). The surgery also held a chance that "Ava" would regain her memory, but it failed to do so immediately; however, several days later, "Ava" woke up with her memory completely restored, but pretended to still suffer from amnesia to avoid returning to her life and unhappy marriage. After Alex realized she had regained her memory, he tried to convince her to tell the authorities so that her family could be located; although she initially refused, she eventually confessed that her real name was Rebecca Pope. This finally led her husband, Jeff Pope, to reunite with her, and though Rebecca pleaded with Alex to "give me a reason to stay", he refuses and tells her to stay with the better guy, only to regret his decision later, but it was too late: Rebecca and her daughter have left with Jeff, leaving Alex to stare at an empty room. Rebecca reappears in Episode 5 of Season Four: "Haunt You Everyday". Rebecca explains to Alex that in her town at Halloween, all the mothers dress up. She confesses that the only person she would want to be was Ava. Alex kisses Rebecca and the two proceed to an On-Call Room. Alex makes a move to have sex, but Rebecca stops him, telling him he's a 'chicken' and 'didn't come looking for her'. She tells him that she 'had to come looking for him'. The two eventually have sex, and Rebecca alludes to the fact she no longer loves her husband. Elizabeth Reaser was nominated Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series at the 2007 Emmy Awards for her role on the show.

A while later, in Episodes 9 and 10 of the fourth season ("Crash Into Me, Parts 1 and 2"), Rebecca returns to see Alex. She invites him to have coffee, but he turns her down due to a surgery. Rebecca begs him to let her watch it, and she dresses as a medical student to have Alex sneak her into the gallery, where Lexie meets her and finds out about Alex's "other girlfriend," and both Izzie and Mark discover her. Alex is suspended from the O.R. for two weeks and later in his bedroom as Rebecca kisses him, he yells at her, telling her that she is only at Seattle Grace "to play dress up" and that she should go back to her life so he could get on with his. However, after this angry speech he continues to kiss her and it is implied that they sleep together.

About six weeks later in episode 13 "Piece of My Heart," Rebecca comes back to Seattle Grace once again with news for Alex--she is pregnant. Alex is reluctant at first to have anything to do with her or the baby, but eventually he accepts it and excitedly begins to build a new life for him, the baby, and Rebecca, who left in episode 14 to tell her husband she is leaving him. However, Izzie discovers that she is not actually pregnant, and although Alex refuses to believe this she and Mark discover that there may be a deeper problem--Rebecca momentarily forgot that she already had a baby, and she asked for a breast enhancement surgery, saying her face did not match her body, which could stem from trauma due to her extensive facial reconstruction surgery and the stress from the ferry accident. Alex eventually sees that Rebecca indeed is not pregnant, and becomes slightly worried when she doesn't hear him and instead insists that she lost the baby. He takes her home and decides to take care of her, disregarding Izzie's observations that Rebecca "isn't looking very good." In the season finale, "Freedom," Rebecca has sunken into depression since learing that "she lost the baby" and Alex is adamant that he can take care of her. However, when he is in another room she attempts to cut her wrists with a kitchen knife. Alex brings her to the ER and gets even angrier at Izzie when she tries to get Rebecca a psych consult so she can be admitted. Izzie finally stands her ground and gets Rebecca a psych consult. Later Alex calls Jeff Pope and discovers that a month ago he took the baby girl and left Rebecca. He also discovers from the psych ward that Rebecca has underlying borderline personality disorder. He relays this information to her and regrettedly tells her that she will have to be transferred to a psychiatric facility. Rebecca tearily tells him that she had tried to "be better" for him, and that she had wanted to be someone he could depend on; she apologized for not being able to become that person.

• Ellis Grey: (Kate Burton) Ellis is the mother of surgical resident Meredith Grey and a former surgeon herself. During their residency, she had an affair with current SGH Chief of Surgery, Dr. Richard Webber. She was married about 30 years ago to Thatcher Grey, who left the family when Meredith was young, partly as a result of Ellis's affair. After her divorce and break-up with Richard, Ellis moved with Meredith to pursue a position at Boston General. In season 4 it is revealed that Ellis tried to kill herself after the love of her life (Richard) left her. It was revealed in an unaired scene from season three, that her specialty was general surgery. Her distinguished career included tenures at the Mayo Clinic and for the U.N., and she is noted for pioneering an operation called the laparoscopic Grey Method. She was suffering from Alzheimer's and resided at the Roseridge Home for Extended Care. Her case was advanced, and she most often thought she was still completing her residency. As a result, she seldom recognized her daughter, but delighted in visits from Richard Webber. When Richard decided to salvage his marriage to Adele, Meredith was forced to break the news to Ellis that he would not be visiting anymore, which caused her to relive their initial break-up. She briefly became lucid ("Wishin' and Hopin'") and had a fight with Meredith, which was the last thing she remembered. While Meredith's life lingered in the balance after drowning, Ellis flatlined and was unable to be revived. And though her relationship with Meredith hadn't always been strong (she told her daughter that she was just 'ordinary' after finding out about Derek in her one day of lucidity), everything was set right and Meredith's feelings were fine with her mother's death when, as Meredith was hanging between life and death, she saw her mother's spirit who told her she was 'anything but ordinary.' She was later cremated, put into a beautiful urn, and for a time was "hanging out in the back of Meredith's closet." Her ashes were later washed down the surgical sink at Seattle Grace Hospital by Meredith and Richard, who saw it as a fitting tribute for her final resting place to be so closely associated with the hospital.

• Dennison "Denny" Duquette, Jr.: (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) Denny first enters the hospital in the middle of Season 2, in the episode "Begin the Begin", hoping to get a heart since he is on the National Donor List. He leaves after he doesn't get it, but not before flirting with Izzie. He asks her personal questions, like if she is dating Alex Karev, a fellow intern at Seattle Grace Hospital, and when she says she is not, he gives her reasons to go out with him, instead of Alex. When Denny leaves the hospital, Izzie looks back at him and the look conveys her feelings for Denny. Denny returns to the hospital a few episodes later, causing Izzie to break up with her now boyfriend, Alex. As Denny is in the hospital, he and Izzie get much closer as each day goes on. Izzie spends the majority of her time with Denny, on and off duty. Later on in Season 2, an opportunity arises where Denny has the chance to get a heart from another hospital, Mercy West. However, there are two claims to the heart and Preston Burke, head of cardiothoracic surgery at Seattle Grace, finds out that Denny is 17 seconds behind the other person on the donor list. In an attempt to ensure that Denny gets the heart, Izzie cuts his LVAD wire hoping that Denny's condition worsens to the point that Denny gets the heart, but Burke is shot on his way back to check on Denny. Denny proposes to Izzie and Izzie agrees to marry him. Denny gets the heart because he was moved up to 1A status (the trick with the LVAD wire worked), after which Izzie offers him a chance to take back the proposal, because "you thought you were dying, and I was the one saving you, so..." but Denny tells her that his possible death wasn't why he proposed. He said that he finally had a choice, and he chose Izzie to be his wife because he was in love with her. However, Denny dies of a stroke shortly after Izzie accepts his proposal. Izzie does not know this at the time, but Denny happens to be a millionaire. A few episodes later, she finds out that he left her $8.7 million. Izzie listens to a message left by Denny on his parents' answering machine, asking his parents to "get on the next plane down here and meet my girl," "the wonderful, talented, and incredibly stubborn Dr. Isobel Stevens, who's getting me a new heart and has agreed to marry me." After a long debate on what to do with the money, Izzie uses it to start the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic in honor of her dead fiancé. Denny returns as a ghost that only Izzie can see, and while she is, at first, scared and unable to believe he is real, she eventually accepts that he's real and they share a kiss and some mind-blowing sex. As time goes by, she starts a relationship with Alex, in which Denny is jealous about. They suddenly argue all the time about their relationship. They come to an agreement for Denny to return to heaven, and he shares a final kiss to her before "leaving".

• Dylan Young: (Kyle Chandler) During the bomb scare at Seattle Grace, Dylan was the commanding officer of the responding Seattle PD bomb squad who helped Meredith calm her nerves as she held the bomb located in a living body. His sharp words annoyed her, but Meredith grew to understand what his scary job required him to do. Once he calmed her down, and she was able to take the bomb out of the patient, she handed it to Dylan. On his way out the door, the bomb explodes, killing Dylan in the process. When Meredith "dies" after a fall into Elliot Bay, she wakes up in "the afterlife" and sees Dylan and Denny (Izzie's late fiancé).

• Bonnie Crasnoff: (Monica Keena) Bonnie has appeared in two episodes of the show. We were first introduced to her in Season 2, Episode 6: Into You Like A Train. Bonnie is admitted into Seattle Grace Hospital after she is the victim of a train crash. She is presented into the hospital attached to another victim, Tom, by a metal pole speared through the two of them. When she arrives in the hospital, Bonnie is cracking jokes, and seems to be in no pain. We later learn that her body is supplying itself with adrenaline, which is keeping her from feeling the full extent of her pain. As time progresses, the doctors at Seattle Grace decide they must come to a decision quickly about how to proceed with Bonnie and Tom. They quickly realize one of them must be pulled off the pole which speared them together. Whichever patient is removed from the pole has a very slight chance of surviving the trauma. After deliberation, the doctors decide Bonnie must be pulled off the pole, because she has a very little chance of surviving either way. When Bonnie is told about this, she is strong, and even though Tom insists they remove him, Bonnie tells them she is ready. She is put to sleep, and slowly removed form the pole. Directly after being removed, the doctors begin to operate, in an attempt to save her life. Too much damage has been done, and she soon dies. Monica Keena reprises her role as Bonnie in Season 3, on Episode 17: Some Kind of Miracle. This time, Bonnie is in a kind of semi-afterlife, which the main character, Dr. Meredith Grey, finds herself in after drowning. Bonnie does not seem as sweet this time around, as she insists that they should have tried harder to save her. She tells them she should not have been able to make that life or death decision while drugged on painkillers. Another change in Bonnie is that she is visibly healthy. The audience is led to believe the damage of the pole is gone. However, at times, Bonnie begins to bleed where the pole was, and goes through the pain over and over.

• Susan Grey: (Mare Winningham) Susan was the second wife of Thatcher Grey, and had two children, Lexie and Molly. She was Meredith Grey's stepmother. Meredith often refered to her as her "surrogate mother". Susan was always aware of Thatcher's first wife and daughter, and had reached out to Meredith, offering to include her in their family and encouraging her to develop a relationship with Thatcher. At first, Meredith was resistant to Susan's desire to mother her, but she later became accepting of it and the two became friendly. She died suddenly, following a rare complication from a routine procedure to treat her hiccups and acid reflux problems.

• Official blog of Joe the bartender
• Official blog of nurse Debbie