• Ellen: (Talking about how Grey’s Anatomy is different from other medical shows) This is about having sex in closets with other doctors and having free time.

• Ellen (Talking about Grey’s Anatomy): Everyone keeps asking me if I’m nervous, I’m really not, you know I don’t really think about what’s going to happen with the show. I’m getting to act everyday and that’s really what I love and I’m so happy to be doing that, I’ll worry about what happens when it happens

• Ellen: (when asked what the similarities between her and Meredith have in common) She wasn’t much of a student, and that certainly was me. The fact that I’m convincing is a huge triumph for me because I’m not that [kind of] book person. I adore books but on my time and not in a classroom. I was very restless. I’m a gypsy at heart. As soon as I turned 18, I started traveling

• Ellen (On her character Meredith Grey): She’s smart enough to make her way through medical school but she can’t figure out that she can’t sleep with strangers all the time. 

• Ellen (joking about Patrick Dempsey): They force me to work with him. They offered me more money to put up with him, so I agreed.

• Ellen: (on Grey’s Anatomy) I would say the surgery scenes are kind of gross. It smells. It is unpleasant. There are usually animal parts.

• (About distracting her fiancé when she has a steamy scene air on Grey’s Anatomy)
Ellen: I thought I was being really clever in distracting him right at nine o’clock and I asked him if he could help me with the laundry so that he wouldn’t see that portion of the show. Then, 20 minutes later, he realised, ‘The show’s on and we’re not watching it.’ I said, ‘That’s OK, we can get to it.’ He said, ‘Oh well, I have it TiVo’d so we’re OK.’ I knew it was right in the beginning so I thought, ‘If I can just sort of pre-occupy him for 15 minutes, I’m good.

• Ellen (talking about when she was complimented by actor Jake Gyllenhaal shortly after arriving in Hollywood. Just three weeks later, she was working with him on Moonlight Mile): It was the best thing that happened to me all week – to say the very least…I was so flattered. I thanked him and told him how much I hoped we would have a chance to work together one day

• (About the cast of Grey’s Anatomy): The chemistry between the cast is very important. We’re a family and have respect for each other. And we have fun, which comes across

• Ellen: (about Patrick Dempsey) I haven’t publicly said this before, but I do have a crush on him.

• Ellen: I don’t need dinner in a room with candles to feel romantic. I feel romantic waking up in the morning and looking at my boyfriend

• Ellen (about Patrick Dempsey): Patrick is very adorable, but very married in real life. I’m very good friends with his wife

• Ellen: I wasn’t allowed to wear makeup until I was 15, so I would put it on at school.