'Grey's Anatomy' exits: What happened to characters when actors left

As the revolving doors of Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital keep turning, so too do the exits of numerous Grey's Anatomy characters.

Whether for storytelling necessity or a cast member's personal choice, farewells on Shonda Rhimes' medical drama come with a silver lining. While some characters, unfortunately, meet their end on screen, others resurface in later episodes or on the spinoff series Private Practice and Station 19 — giving loyal viewers a peek into their lives beyond Grey-Sloan.

From Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang jetting off Switzerland to the grievous demise of Patrick Dempsey's Dr. Derek Shepherd, let's take a look at where 20 former Grey's Anatomy characters landed after leaving Grey-Sloan.

01 of 20

Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)

Sandra Oh's Cristina Yang saw the hospital through 10 seasons — and its countless name changes — before she left "her person" for a top cardiothoracic job in Switzerland. The cosmic perfection of this job is that she inherited it from her former mentor and former fiancé, Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington).

02 of 20

Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington)

Did Burke deserve a little more of a goodbye? There's an argument to be made there, but at least his goodbye was true to his character — Burke would've just walked away. Not to mention that his final speech was one of the show's greatest, and it gave us the "He's gone" moment, another Grey's classic.

03 of 20

Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl)

Originally, Katherine Heigl's Izzie walked away after she thought that Alex (Justin Chambers) got her fired, but she later returned to tell him about her new job and to show him she was cancer-free. It was a great moment to watch Alex stick up for himself and tell her that he deserved someone who would stay, but it's a bummer that the show made us dislike Izzie toward the end. Izzie's final comment to Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) about this not being home but just some place she worked? Harsh!

04 of 20

Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight)

Did George deserve to be dragged under a bus? Hell no. But we can understand why the writers did it, and it did create one of the single most shocking moments in TV history. As much as T.R. Knight's character deserved more, the chills that come during that "007" moment remind us what a great impact it had. And seeing him in uniform meeting Izzie at the elevator? Love.

05 of 20

Dr. Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith)

Brooke Smith's Dr. Hahn was a talented heart surgeon, and yet the thing that drove her away from the hospital was...romance? Not great. After Hahn's "You can't kind of be a lesbian" speech to Callie (Sara Ramirez), she literally just walked away from everything.

06 of 20

Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh)

Addison's original departure didn't have much flair, other than the convertible she was driving, but her secondary departure was decidedly improved. After returning to Seattle for the first time post-L.A., she gave Meredith a speech about fighting for Derek that remains one of the Kate Walsh character's best moments ever.

07 of 20

Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh)

Lexie's death certainly carried an emotional punch, but aside from Mark's (Eric Dane) speech, it didn't sit well. For starters, there wasn't much of a shock factor because we knew Chyler Leigh was leaving the show, but even putting that aside, her death was a little too violent. There are a number of ways you can kill someone via plane crash. Did she really have to be pinned down and spitting up blood when Mark confessed his love?

08 of 20

Dr. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane)

It sucked to see Mark go, but at least he got an entire episode dedicated to his farewell. We got to spend a little time walking down memory lane, and then we got to cry with Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Callie as they sat by his bedside. Plus, we love that they let him wake up and be McSteamy one last time before saying goodbye.

09 of 20

Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)

Oh, McDreamy. If there's anything worse than losing our beloved Dr. Shepherd to brain injuries from a car crash (after he saved four people from a different car crash), it was listening to Derek's inner thoughts as the surgeons at a teaching hospital slowly, agonizingly fumbled through his care. "You're too late," he said, totally conscious, but unable to speak. This one was a real punch in the gut for us...and for Meredith.

10 of 20

Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez)

SARA RAMIREZ, JESSICA CAPSHAW — Adam Taylor/ABC

After 10 years at Grey Sloan, Callie unceremoniously left the hospital when her girlfriend Penny (Samantha Sloyan) scored a grant that took her to the East Coast. Ramirez's swan song was initially unclear as the cast was going through contract negotiations, so many fans didn't get closure when she exited.

11 of 20

Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton)

At the close of season 13, Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton) set an escaped rapist patient on fire, causing an explosion that nearly claimed her life. Fortunately, she survived, but subsequently, she called it quits — realizing that she had spent most of her life in the hospital and it was now time to find her own happiness.

12 of 20

Dr. Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson)

Grey's had been flirting with the idea of its most complicated love triangle yet — Riggs' (Martin Henderson) presumed dead fiancée Megan Hunt (Abigail Spencer) was found alive just as his relationship with Meredith was heating up. The show then did what seemed unthinkable: Riggs actually got a happy ending, moving to Los Angeles with Megan and her adopted son to start fresh.

13 of 20

Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew)

ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" - Season Twelve — Richard Cartwright/ABC/Getty Images

Two weeks after a terrible accident almost left her dead, April Kepner (Sarah Drew) bid farewell to the team at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She was given a far sweeter exit than some of the former Grey's players, as she married her on-and-off love Matthew (Justin Bruening) in a surprise wedding. Jackson (Jesse Williams), Arizona (Jessica Capshaw), and Sofia served as witnesses — after Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Alex's (Justin Chambers) pre-planned ceremony fell apart — and then the happy couple rode off into the proverbial sunset.

14 of 20

Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw)

A part of Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital since season 5, Arizona left the show during the season 14 finale. She moved to New York City, where reconciliation with ex-wife Callie may or may not be taking place (off-screen, of course). What we do know is that Robbins will finally get to live in the same city as her daughter, Sofia, once again — and the parting shot of the pair heading off to the Big Apple together was as cathartic as fans of Grey's Anatomy could ask for.

15 of 20

Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers)

Almost two months after Justin Chambers announced he was leaving the show — and almost four months after his last physical appearance on the show — the drama gave his character, Alex Karev, a proper farewell episode. In the hour, Alex wrote letters to Meredith, Jo, Bailey (Chandra Wilson), and Richard (James Pickens Jr.), explaining that he'd recently reconnected with Izzie and found out that, five years prior, she used their embryos to have twins. And so, the one-time bad boy decided to move to Kansas and be with Izzie and their two kids, Eli and Alexis.

16 of 20

Dr. Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti)

After joining the show in season 11, Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) became a staple of the Grey's Anatomy world, even falling for the titular character herself. But in season 17, his determination to stop a sex trafficker resulted in a shocking stabbing. Although Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) thought they'd saved DeLuca in surgery, things took a turn for the worse, and he didn't make it out alive. DeLuca did, however, get to say a proper goodbye to Meredith on the beach.

17 of 20

Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams)

After joining the show in season 6 as the hottest of those annoying Mercy West interns, Jackson Avery became a beloved character. And when it came time to say goodbye to him in season 17, the show sent him off with a mission: He moved to Boston to run the Harper Avery Foundation in the hopes of making the world a better place. And yes, April moved with him. His final episode saw him hand in his resignation to Bailey and say goodbye to Jo before busting Meredith out of the hospital following her COVID stay. He then, simply, drove away.

18 of 20

Dr. Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood)

After three seasons on the show, Richard Flood's Dr. Hayes walked away. When a near-death experience led to Owen confessing that he's in the business of assisted suicide, Hayes decided that, instead of keeping that secret, he'd rather leave Grey Sloan behind and relocate his family back to Ireland. But he didn't leave without one final goodbye, where he told Meredith, "In all the years since Abigail died, you're the first person who got it. You made me feel less alone. You helped me believe there might even be life after Abigail. Thank you for that."

19 of 20

Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo)

GREY’S ANATOMY - “I’ll Follow the Sun” Ellen Pompeo — Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey on 'Grey's Anatomy'. ABC

For 19 seasons, fans watched Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) go from an intern to the chief of surgery, from a mistress to a wife to a widow, from a struggling daughter to a thriving mother. In her final episode as a series regular — she could very well pop up in future episodes — she said farewell to Grey Sloan (and Scott Speedman's Nick) as she relocated her family to Boston, where she's going to work on finding a cure for Alzheimer's.

20 of 20

Dr. Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary)

Kelly McCreary on 'Grey's Anatomy'. Richard Cartwright/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images

Ultimately, Maggie (Kelly McCreary) chose not to repeat the mistakes of both her mother and her birth mother. She chose to bet on herself. Even though it meant leaving behind her family, friends, and her husband, Maggie left Grey Sloan behind to pursue a career opportunity in Chicago. As for her marriage, she told Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill), "My heart's in my work ... I love you, but I have to go." He understood, responding, "I love you too, and I have to stay." And with one final goodbye to her birth father, Richard, she left the hospital.