47 Facts About Patrick Dempsey

1.

Patrick Galen Dempsey was born on January 13,1966 and is an American actor and racing driver.

2.

Patrick Dempsey is best known for his role as neurosurgeon Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in Grey's Anatomy.

3.

Patrick Dempsey had early success as an actor, starring in a number of films in the 1980s, including Can't Buy Me Love and Loverboy.

4.

Patrick Dempsey was successful in landing a lead role in Sweet Home Alabama, a surprise box office hit.

5.

Patrick Dempsey has since starred in other films, including Brother Bear 2, Enchanted, Made of Honor, Valentine's Day, Flypaper, Freedom Writers, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, and Bridget Jones's Baby.

6.

Patrick Dempsey, who maintains a sports car and vintage car collection, enjoys auto racing in his spare time.

7.

Patrick Dempsey has competed in pro-am events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, and Ensenada SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.

8.

Patrick Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine, and grew up in the nearby towns of Turner and Buckfield.

9.

Patrick Dempsey has two older sisters and a half-brother, Shane Wray.

10.

Patrick Dempsey's mother, Amanda, was a school secretary, and his father, William, was an insurance salesman.

11.

Patrick Dempsey attended Buckfield High School and St Dominic Regional High School, and after moving to Houston attended Willowridge High School.

12.

Patrick Dempsey told Barbara Walters on her 2008 Oscar special that he thinks dyslexia made him what he is today.

13.

Patrick Dempsey's audition was successful and he spent the following four months touring with the company in Philadelphia.

14.

Patrick Dempsey followed this with another tour, Brighton Beach Memoirs, in the lead role, which was directed by Gene Saks.

15.

Patrick Dempsey has made notable appearances in the stage productions of On Golden Pond, with the Maine Acting Company, and as Timmy in a 1990 off-Broadway revival of The Subject Was Roses co-starring with John Mahoney and Dana Ivey at the Roundabout Theatre in New York.

16.

Patrick Dempsey then co-starred in the third installment of the comedy classic Meatballs III: Summer Job, alongside Sally Kellerman in 1987.

17.

In 1989, Patrick Dempsey had the lead role in the films Loverboy with actress Kirstie Alley and Happy Together with actress Helen Slater.

18.

Patrick Dempsey made several featured appearances in television in the 1990s; he was cast several times in pilots that were not picked up for a full season, including lead roles in the TV versions of the films The Player and About A Boy.

19.

Patrick Dempsey received positive reviews as he portrayed real-life mob boss, Meyer Lansky in 1991 when Mobsters was put on the screen.

20.

Patrick Dempsey received an Emmy nomination in 2001 as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for the role of Aaron.

21.

Patrick Dempsey had a high-profile role as the fiance of Reese Witherspoon's character in Sweet Home Alabama.

22.

Patrick Dempsey appeared as special guest star in The Practice for its three-episode finale season.

23.

In 2007, Patrick Dempsey starred in the Disney film Enchanted, and the Paramount Pictures film Freedom Writers, where he reunited with his Iron Jawed Angels co-star Hilary Swank.

24.

Patrick Dempsey voiced the character Kenai in Brother Bear sequel Brother Bear 2, replacing Joaquin Phoenix.

25.

Patrick Dempsey starred as Dylan Gould in Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

26.

Patrick Dempsey has received significant public attention for his role as Dr Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in the medical drama Grey's Anatomy opposite Ellen Pompeo.

27.

Patrick Dempsey appeared in two episodes of the later Grey's spinoff Private Practice, playing the same character of Dr Shepherd.

28.

In November 2020, Patrick Dempsey appeared as Derek Shepherd at the start of the series' 17th season for the first time since the character had died in April 2015.

29.

In 2016, Patrick Dempsey starred in the Universal Pictures film Bridget Jones's Baby with Renee Zellweger and Colin Firth, and in 2018 he appeared on Epix television miniseries The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair.

30.

Patrick Dempsey, who maintains an extensive sports and vintage car collection, has enjoyed auto racing in his spare time for several years.

31.

Patrick Dempsey has competed in prestigious pro-am events such as the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Rolex 24 at Daytona sports car race, and Tecate SCORE Baja 1000 off-road race.

32.

Patrick Dempsey was a co-owner of the Vision Racing IndyCar Series team and current owner of Dempsey Racing, which is presently racing two Porsche 911 GT America's in the Tudor United Sports Car Series.

33.

Patrick Dempsey participated in this series as often as his schedule allowed, although insurance restrictions kept him from driving competitively while filming a motion picture.

34.

Patrick Dempsey announced he would race the 2011 Rolex 24 at Daytona along with other races throughout the season in a Mazda RX-8.

35.

Patrick Dempsey finished in third place in the GT Class of the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

36.

In 2012, Patrick Dempsey competed in the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge behind the wheel of an Aston Martin Racing-Multimatic Motorsports Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which, after five successful racing seasons in Europe, was to make its debut on American tracks.

37.

Patrick Dempsey formed the Dempsey Racing team to compete in the American Le Mans Series.

38.

Patrick Dempsey has been the face of L'Oreal and Versace and was featured in ads for Serengeti sunglasses.

39.

From January 2017 Patrick Dempsey appears for Vodafone Italy and he appears in some Italian spots about it.

40.

In January 2013, Patrick Dempsey announced that his company had secured the winning bid to purchase Seattle-based Tully's Coffee, which had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in October.

41.

Patrick Dempsey filed a lawsuit on behalf of Global Baristas, claiming Michael Avenatti borrowed $2 million against Tully's assets without informing Patrick Dempsey, rather than fully financing the coffee chain as was promised, calling the 15 percent interest rate on the loan "exorbitant" and sued for Avenatti to fund Tully's operations and meet its working capital needs, as well as for any damages owed the company.

42.

In October 2009, when Patrick Dempsey introduced the first Patrick Dempsey Challenge, registration was closed after reaching the goal of 3,500 cyclists, runners and walkers.

43.

Patrick Dempsey's mother was in the crowd as Dempsey finished his 50-mile ride.

44.

Patrick Dempsey was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bowdoin College in 2013 for his philanthropic work.

45.

Patrick Dempsey appeared with Dempsey in the film In the Mood.

46.

Patrick Dempsey is a supporter of Scottish football club Rangers FC because of his Scottish connection through his step-grandfather.

47.

In 2022 Patrick Dempsey was honored with a Disney Legend Award.