Born on the 13th of January 1966 in Lewiston, Maine and the youngest of three children, the Irish-American Patrick Dempsey showed he had incredible talent from an early age. A born performer from the beginning, at the tender age of 7, Patrick attended dancing classes where he proceeded to get kicked out for talking and flirting too much! At the age of 12, they discovered he suffered from dyslexia, he overcame it and now he attributes his strengthened professionalism and drive.
When he was 15 he developed his own act and toured the New England Vaudeville Circuit as a juggler, unicyclist, comedian and magician. He also went on to win the State of Maine Downhill Racing competition, and came second in a International Juggling event. As any true fan will know, Patrick often employed his skills in his varied movie roles over the years, especially his dancing techniques. In 1981 he also won a Talent America Contest, it was clear from the start that he had enough determination to make it big.
He got his chance to shine when he was spotted by an agent and invited to audition for the role of 'David' in the stage production of Torch Song Trilogy. After winning the role Patrick spent the next 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 also made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond and The Subject was Roses which was at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.
In the teen sex comedy Meatballs 3, he landed the role of Rudy a 14 year old virgin desperate to lose his virginity. Although this received terrible reviews, it still managed to raise more than a few laughs and be thoroughly entertaining. His big break into the movies came in 1985 when he was cast opposite Andrew McCarthy and Kevin Dillon in his big screen debut Catholic Boys as Corbet. Although his role was small he still managed to make an impression and get noticed.
He went on to star in the Disney TV Movie A Fighting Choice with Beau Bridges, portraying a young boy with epilepsy. Dempsey's portrayal was so convincing that he won a special award from the Epilepsy Foundation. This was followed by a TV Series of the hit film Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Unfortunately this was reportedly a flop, but it was a important learning experience for Patrick.
In the Mood, Patrick's next film gained much more favourable reviews and won the hearts of critics everywhere who quoted his performance as being wonderfully naive. Dempsey played the role of real life womanizer Sonny Ellsworth Wisecarver who at the age of 15 courted two older women, even going on to marry one. This was to reflect on Patrick's private life, when at the age of 21 he married his manager at the time Rocky Parker who was 48 years old. Parker even made a cameo appearance in In the Mood as a screaming woman on the train. Their marriage sadly was to ended in divorce.
Cant Buy Me Love is undoubtedly a favourite with Patrick's fans. Starring opposite Amanda Petersen as the Nerd who offers her $1,000 for her to pose as his girlfriend for a month, he captured the hearts of women everywhere and discovered a whole new legion of fans.
He seems to be settled in his private life as he got married to Jillian Fink, who is a make up artist with her own company called Delux Beauty, on July 31, 1999. He also became a father for the first time in January 2002 when his wife gave birth to their daughter, Tallulah. In february of 2007, his wife Jillian gave birth once again to twin boys Darby and Sullivan.
He has starred in the successful horror trilogy Scream 3 along with Neve Campbell and has made several guest appearances in the popular tv shows Once and Again for which he was nominated for a emmy and Will & Grace. Patrick also played Reese Witherspoon's fiancé in Sweet Home Alabama in 2002.
In 2005, he finally got the role of Dr. Derek Shepherd, a brillant surgeon, in the hit show Grey's Anatomy created by Shonda Rhimes.