Tessa Ferrer as Leah Murphy
Oh Leah Murphy. This poor resident went through a whole lot before getting fired in season 10 because she just wasn't cut out to be a surgeon. Then out of nowhere, she returned in season 13 to work with Maggie. A few episodes later, just as suddenly, she was gone again.
Tessa Ferrer also starred in the Hulu adaptation of World War II miniseries Catch-22 with George Clooney in 2019, and Grotesquerie in 2024.
Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres
Callie left Grey Sloan when her somewhat controversial girlfriend Penny got a fancy fellowship in New York. After losing a truly devastating custody battle with Arizona, she was going to stay in Seattle, but Arizona had a change of heart and sent her on her way with Sofia at the end of season 12.
Sara Ramirez left to take a new gig on CBS' Madame Secretary. They have since played the divisive Che Diaz on HBO's Sex and the City spinoff And Just Like That. In 2024, they also voiced Amber in Velma.
Samantha Sloyan as Penelope Blake
Penelope's time at Grey Sloan was rough from start to finish. She arrived as Callie's new girlfriend with the reputation as one of the doctors who had killed Derek, and found herself having to work for a grumpy Meredith. Then when she got a prestigious job in New York and Callie decided to follow her, she set off the devastating custody battle between Callie and Arizona. Last we heard, she and Callie had broken up (hence Arizona's moving to New York), but that relationship was always doomed.
Samantha Sloyan went on to star in The Haunting of Hill House as Leigh, and appeared on shows such as SEAL Team and The Rookie. In 2025, she reentered the ER floor by joining The Pitt.
Marika Dominczyk as Eliza Minnick
In Season 13, Minnick arrived to take over for Richard Webber in teaching the residents, but literally everyone hated her (Meredith even got suspended over it), and she was fired when she was so obsessed with protocol that she neglected to tell the police that a resident was unaccounted for during a fire. Stephanie nearly died!
Marika Dominczyk later joined ABC's short-lived Whiskey Cavalier, alongside her husband (and Grey's alum) Scott Foley.
Jerrika Hinton as Stephanie Edwards
Stephanie decided to go off and explore, trying something new at the end of season 13 after almost dying in a fire following months of exhaustion and grieving over her dead boyfriend Kyle (Wilmer Valderrama).
Jerrika Hinton went on to star in the short-lived HBO drama Here and Now in 2018, and also joined the cast of the Amazon series Hunters as a Nazi hunter. In 2024, she appeared as Lycia in The Accused.
Martin Henderson as Nathan Riggs
Nathan left Grey Sloan in early season 14 when his greatest dream came true and his fiancee, Megan Hunt, returned from being held captive for a decade. Together, they moved to LA with the kid she had adopted while overseas. It broke up his blossoming relationship with Meredith, but it was a heck of a happy ending for Riggs.
Martin Henderson (who, fun fact, appeared in Britney Spears' video for "Toxic") later appeared in the series Virgin River until 2024.
Jeanine Mason as Sam Bello
After a passionate affair with ex/current boyfriend DeLuca, Dreamer Sam discovered she had run a red light and could be deported at the end of season 14. Meredith couldn't keep Sam in the U.S., but she could save her career by acquiring a fake application for Sam to work for Cristina in Zurich.
In reality, Jeanine Mason landed a pretty sweet gig as the new Liz on The CW's Roswell, New Mexico, and DeLuca moved on with Meredith herself. In 2024, she also appeared in The Perfect Couple.
Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins
Arizona's daughter Sofia was having a very tough time living with only one of her moms at a time, and Arizona also suddenly found herself with the opportunity to open a women's fetal surgery clinic anywhere in the world, thanks to Nicole Herman. She chose New York, and left at the end of season 14 to open the clinic and reunite her family with Callie.
Jessica Capshaw was let go at the end of season 14. But on Feb. 10, 2024, ABC announced that the actress would return to Grey's Anatomy in the upcoming 20th season to reprise her role of Arizona for one episode. These days, the Grey's Anatomy alum is cohosting a podcast, Call It What It Is, alongside pal and former costar Camilla Luddington.
Rushi Kota as Vikram Roy
Roy was a somewhat controversial resident, first getting fired for not disclosing that he ate a weed cookie before he operated on a patient in season 14, and then suing Bailey for firing him. Then he got rehired, and in season 15, fired again for neglecting a patient all day.
Rushi Kota has several projects in the works, including the films Useless Humans and Phobias. In 2024, he played Kevin in The Girl in the Pool.
Justin Chambers as Alex Karev
In a shocking turn of events, Alex left Seattle behind to be with Izzie, who had secretly been raising his twins on a ranch in Kansas after using the embryos they made when she had cancer. He even signed divorce papers from wife Jo, leaving her everything he had, including his shares in Grey Sloan Memorial.
Justin Chambers announced his exit after 16 seasons in January 2020, and most recently played Marlon Brando in the limited series The Offer in 2022. Two years later, he played Tyler in The Accused.
Giacomo Gianniotti as Andrew DeLuca
This one hurt. DeLuca was stabbed while in pursuit of a child kidnapper in season 17, and he died of his wounds after multiple surgeries. We then saw him reunite with his late mother on Meredith's coma beach.
Giacomo Gianniotti stuck around on set to direct an episode, and lent his voice to the animated movie Luca. He also got DeLuca's time of death tattooed on his wrist. In 2024, he scored the role of Cole Ellis in Wild Cards.
Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery
During the pandemic, Jackson was inspired to take over the Catherine Fox Foundation in Boston to help fix inequality in medicine. He even asked his ex-wife and daughter to move with him, and offered April a job with the foundation. He left just before the end of season 17, but still appears, like Ellen, from time to time.
Jesse Williams has also since appeared in several episodes of Only Murders in the Building and the 2023 flick Your Place Or Mine.
Sarah Drew as April Kepner
April went through hell for several seasons as her baby died, then she and Jackson got divorced right as she found out she was pregnant again, and then her ex-fiancé's wife died, so she got back together with him. Then they both almost died. After that near-death experience, April quit her job at Grey Sloan to go do more charitable work and even married Matthew in the season 14 finale. In season 17, we learned that she and Matthew were never really able to get past their history, and they split up during the pandemic. The good news: She and Harriet then moved to Boston alongside Jackson.
Sarah Drew was let go from the series alongside Jessica Capshaw and now stars in Freeform's Cruel Summer. In 2024, she played Emily Lane in Mistletoe Murders.
Greg Germann as Tom Koracick
After recovering from coronavirus and losing Teddy to Owen, Tom begged Jackson to let him help with the foundation, no matter the title or salary. Jackson agreed, and told Tom to be in Boston by Monday morning.
Ally McBeal alum has since gone on to appear in 2023's 57 Seconds as well as ABC's drama series Will Trent.