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2022 BOOKED For The Evening Honoree: Shonda Rhimes

On Wednesday, June 1, 2022, The Westport Library will honor Shonda Rhimes; television producer, screenwriter, and author. Learn more about this event from The Westport Library

The television producer, screenwriter and author is CEO of the global media company Shondaland. They tell innovative stories through brand partnerships, merchandise and content for film, streaming, audio, digital and editorial. Rhimes — an inductee into the Television Academy Hall of Fame — has helped shift the entertainment industry’s business model, and changed the face of television.

“From ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to ‘Bridgerton’ to her latest television series ‘Inventing Anna,’ Shonda Rhimes is recognized as one of the most inspiring, creative forces in media today,” says Library executive director Bill Harmer.

“Ms. Rhimes epitomizes the intent behind the Booked honor: to recognize an individual whose work reflects the purpose of the Library, which is to nurture the love of learning and to enhance our understanding of the world.” Continue reading from Woog's 06880

Who is Shonda Rhimes?

Shonda Rhimes is an American television writer, showrunner, producer and director. She is the first African American woman to create and executive produce a Top 10 network series—the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. She is also the creator of its spin-off, Private Practice, the political thriller Scandal and the legal whodunit How to Get Away with Murder. Before these series, Rhimes penned such film screenplays as Crossroads and Introducing Dorothy Dandridge.

Shonda Rhimes was born on January 13, 1970, in the suburban University Park area of Illinois. She is the youngest of six siblings. Her father is a university administrator and her mother a college professor who earned two doctorates after her children were grown. Rhimes' mom is supposedly the role model for Grey's Anatomy character Miranda Bailey. An academic overachiever growing up, Rhimes received her BA from Dartmouth College in English literature and creative writing. After a short stint in advertising, she enrolled in the writing for screen and television program at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, earning her MFA. She excelled there too, earning a writing fellowship.

Soon after grad school, Rhimes sold her first screenplay, Human Seeking Same, about an older Black woman looking for love in the personals. The film never got made but it did lead to her writing the 2002 feature film Crossroads, starring Britney Spears, Zoe Saldana and Taryn Manning, and 2004's The Princess Diaries 2, starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. Having completed the teleplay for HBO's Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, which was made into a 1999 movie starring Halle Berry as the titular screen star, also elevated Rhimes' status in the business. Continue reading from Biography