Ellen Pompeo reveals she no longer desires to continue acting following Grey’s Anatomy

She has starred on the hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy for 16 years, and will be returning for an 18th season.

But Ellen Pompeo no longer desires to continue acting following her run on the hit program.

During an interview on InStyle’s Ladies First with Laura Brown podcast, Ellen, 51, revealed her heart was no longer in the occupation as she has now set her sights on new business opportunities.

‘I’m not saying I’ll never act again, I very well may, but I’m not super excited about continuing my acting career,’ she explained.

‘I’m more entrepreneurial at this stage. I’m excited about investing in businesses, and starting business. That’s an area of growth that I’m excited about, using my brain in a different way.’

With all the traveling and long days spent on set waiting for their cue, Ellen said acting was a job for the young.

‘The acting I feel like, even though I haven’t done a million different roles, I feel like I’ve done it,’ she said. ‘Sitting around in trailers, traveling around, shooting this in Atlanta, shooting that in Vancouver. I have no desire to go sit in trailers at 11 o’clock at night and wait to shoot scenes and have ADs knock on my door and tell me when I can eat lunch. You know, it’s for the young at heart. It’s for the youth!’

Ellen, who has been playing Dr. Meredith Grey since 2005, recalled her early concerns of being typecast and her ability to land roles after the age of 40.  

But, after hitting the age of 50, she no longer sees that as being the case.

‘When I was in my 30s, I absolutely saw myself as in a box. That’s why I stayed on the show, because I said, “Holy s**t. By the time I can negotiate my contract again and get out of this I’m going to be almost 40 years old. I am super typecast in this role. I am 40, so I’m never going to work again.”

‘Even 15 years ago, the thought of being 40 was, like, you’re over as an actress.

‘Now that I’m 50, I don’t see myself that way at all. I think of myself that I can do whatever I want, or I can do nothing at all, quite honestly.’

Now, the actress has her eye on the world of podcasting.

Speaking of her new podcast Tell Me, she said, ‘[I thought], “Let me go out there and do something I’ve never done before and try something completely different for absolutely no other reason than to try something different because I haven’t for so long.” If it fails, it fails, but at least I’m trying something new.’

Ellen can certainly afford not to appear on television should she wish.

The actress has a net worth of $80 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth.

She is also one of the highest paid women in Hollywood, earning $20 million a year, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Ellen will be returning to Grey’s Anatomy for it’s upcoming 18th season, signing a new one-year contract alongside Chandra Wilson and James Pickens Jr., according to Deadline.

The star, who also serves as a producer on the show, closed the one-year deal after ‘lengthy negotiations.’

During an interview last year on the Jemele Hill is Unbothered podcast, Pompeo admitted she ‘made a decision to make money’ when taking on the role of Meredith Grey.

‘For me, personally, a healthy home life was more important than career,’ she told Hill. ‘I didn’t grow up with a particularly happy childhood. So the idea that I have this great husband and these three beautiful children [and] a happy home life was really something I needed to complete.’