We wrote the biography of actor Patrick Dempsey, who suffered from difficulties in his roles due to the illness he had when he was a child, but was applauded for his performance in the films he took part in, and who also competed in many car races as a hobby.
His full name is Patrick Galen Dempsey, he was born on January 13, 1966, in Lewiston, Maine. He was born to his mother, school secretary Amanda Casson, and father, insurance salesman William Dempsey. Dempsey grew up in the nearby towns of Turner and Buckfield, where he was born, and has two older sisters and a half-brother named Shane Wray.
Diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of 12, Dempsey attended Buckfield High School and then St. Dominic Regional High School. Dempsoy, who later decided to move to Houston, enrolled in Willowridge High School there. Dempsey, who participated in juggling competitions in his youth, finished second in the Junior category at the 1981 International Jugglers' Association Championship.
The production that led to Dempsey's discovery as an actor came when he auditioned for a role in the stage production of Harvey Fierstein's play "Torch Song Trilogy." Successful at the audition, Dempsey spent the next four months touring with the company. He followed this up with another round of "Brighton Beach Memoirs," a semi-autobiographical play directed by Gene Saks. Dempsey also performed with the Maine Acting Company in stage productions of Ernest Thompson's play "On Golden Pond" (1979). He later appeared alongside John Mahoney and Dana Ivey in the 1990 off-Broadway revival of "The Subject Was Roses" as Timmy (as Martin Sheen).
He made his first major feature film role at the age of 21, co-starring with Beverly D'Angelo in the true-story comedy "In The Mood" (1987), written and directed by Phil Alden Robinson. Later that year, he co-starred with Sally Kellerman in the sequel comedy "Meatballs III: Summer Job." Later that year, he co-starred with Amanda Peterson in the teen romantic comedy "Can't Buy Me Love" directed by Steve Rash. The following year, he landed the lead role in the comedy-drama movie "Some Girls" directed by Michael Hoffman. In 1989, he starred with Kirstie Alley in the comedy film "Loverboy" directed by Joan Micklin Silver. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, failed to meet its production budget at the box office. Later that year, he co-starred with Helen Slater in the romantic comedy film "Happy Together," directed by Mel Damski.
In the 1990s, Dempsey appeared in the satirical black comedy film "The Player", based on the novel of the same name directed by Robert Altman. He then starred in the romantic comedy-drama film About A Boy, based on the novel of the same name, directed by Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz. However, he played real-life mob boss Meyer Lansky in the crime drama movie "Mobsters" directed by Michael Karbelnikoff. His performance garnered positive reviews.
He made his first major television role in a three-episode role as Will Truman's undercover sportscaster boyfriend on the TV sitcom "Will & Grace." He then appeared in four episodes of the family drama TV series "Once & Again" as Aaron Brooks, Lily's (Sela Ward) schizophrenic brother. He earned a 2001 Emmy Award nomination for his performance as Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. In 1993, he played the character of a young John F. Kennedy in the two-part mini-TV series "JFK: Reckless Youth." In 2000, he appeared as Detective Kincaid in the slasher movie "Scream 3" directed by Wes Craven. The film was a huge commercial success, receiving mixed reviews.
He later appeared in the romantic comedy film "Sweet Home Alabama" (2002), directed by Andy Tennant, with Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas. The film, which was successful with its production budget, garnered mixed reviews from critics. He then appeared in the HBO historical drama "Iron Jawed Angels" with Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston. The film, which received great acclaim after its release, won many awards and nominations in various categories. He also made a special guest star in the legal drama TV series "The Practice" for its three-episode final season.
In 2007, Dempsey co-starred in the Disney live-animated action musical comedy "Enchanted." That same year, he reunited with Hilary Swank in the Paramount Pictures drama film "Freedom Writers." The movie was successful at the box office. He also voiced the character Kenai in the sequel musical fantasy comedy-drama "Brother Bear 2".
The following year, he co-starred with Michelle Monaghan and Sydney Pollack in the romantic comedy film "Made of Honor" (2008), in which he played Tom and directed by Paul Weiland. The film, which received negative reactions from critics, on the contrary, achieved success at the box office. In 2010, he starred as part of a large cast in the romantic comedy "Valentine's Day" directed by Garry Marshall. The film followed five interconnected stories about Los Angelinos awaiting the holiday of love. The film, which achieved great success at the box office, was met with negative reactions.
The following year, he appeared as Dylan Gould in the sci-fi action movie "Transformers: Dark of the Moon"(2011), based on the toy franchise. It garnered mixed reactions, with both praise and criticism. It also became the fifth highest-grossing film of all time, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2011.
Dempsey gained a lot of attention with his role as Dr. Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd in the medical drama TV series "Grey's Anatomy" with Ellen Pompeo. He earned a nomination for Best Actor - Television Series Drama at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards for his performance. With his success, he has been featured as a spokesperson for Mazda and State Farm Insurance. The BuddyTV website ranked it #1 on "TV's Sexiest Men of 2011" list. In 2020, Dempsey was cast as same role at the start of the series' 17th season for the first time since the character died.
He also appeared in two episodes of the medical drama TV series "Private Practice", which later became Grey's spin-off, playing the same character of Dr. Shepherd. His role's relationship with Meredith Gray (Ellen Pompeo) garnered a lot of praise and positive reviews. In 2016, Dempsey co-starred with Renée Zellweger and Colin Firth in the Universal Pictures romantic comedy "Bridget Jones's Baby." The film, which was released in theaters in France on October 5, was both a critical and commercial success. In addition to this, it garnered positive feedback. In 2018, he appeared in the Epix mystery drama television miniseries "The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair".
In January 2021, it was announced that Dempsey would reprise his role in the sequel, Adam Shankman's musical fantasy comedy "Disenchanted," which began production in the spring of the same year. Released on Disney+ in late 2022, the film received mixed reviews from critics. In 2023, he will appear in "Ferrari," a biopic about Ferrari's Italian founder Enzo Ferrari, co-written and directed by Michael Mann. That same year, he will co-star with Addison Rae in the slasher movie "Thanksgiving" directed by Eli Roth.
Private life
On August 24, 1987, Dempsey married actress Rochelle "Rocky" Parker. The couple decided to divorce on April 26, 1994. On July 31, 1999, he married Jillian Fink. The couple has three children.
Dempsey, who has an extensive collection of sports and vintage cars, has enjoyed auto racing in his spare time for several years. He competed in prestigious events such as the "24 Hours of Le Mans" sports car race, the "Rolex 24 at Daytona" sports car race and the Tecate SCORE "Baja 1000" cross country race. Co-owner of the Vision Racing IndyCar Series team, at the same time Dempsey is the owner of "Dempsey Racing", which races two Porsche 911 GT Americas in the Tudor United Sports Car Series. In 2009, he raced the Team Seattle Advanced Engineering Ferrari F430 GT in the "2009 24 Hours of Le Mans" GT2 class and finished ninth. Dempsey raced a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR in the 2013 "24 Hours of Le Mans" endurance race.
In 2012, Aston Martin Racing-Multimatic Motorsports raced the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4, which would make its American track debut. In 2015, Dempsey focused on qualifying for the FIA World Endurance Championship with his own Dempsey Racing-Proton team in the GTE-Am class in a Porsche 997 GT3 RSR.
As the face of L'Oreal brand and Versace fashion label, Dempsey has appeared in commercials for Serengeti sunglasses. An Avon fragrance called "Unscripted" went on sale in November 2008. The following year, Women's Wear Daily launched a second Avon fragrance called "Patrick Dempsey 2".
In 1997, Dempsey's mother was diagnosed with cancer. After his mother passed away on March 24, 2014 in Lewiston, Maine, Dempsey helped found the "Patrick Dempsey Center" at the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston. He took part in campaign, aid fund and support meetings for various institutions and organizations. In 2005, People magazine ranked him second on their annual "Sexiest Men Alive" list.