Sandra Oh, who plays Meredith's (Ellen Pompeo) bff Cristina Yang in ABC's hit TV medical drama "Grey's Anatomy," is leaving the show after the upcoming 10th season.
The five-time Emmy nominated actress has finally decided to leave the show after 10 years of portraying the spikey and brilliant surgeon Cristina Yang. Oh reveals that the decision didn't come easy for her and that it took her two years and countless therapies to finally 'let go' of the role.
"I've gone through a lot of therapy over this," the teary-eyed actress shares. "I started thinking about it because I had to prepare myself. I gave myself two years to emotionally let go. At the end of last season, Shonda Rhimes (show creator) took me aside and said, 'What are your thoughts?' I said, 'I'm ready.'"
In her official statement, the Canadian actress expressed her gratefulness for the show and the whole cast and crew. "It's been a great privilege to play the character of Cristina Yang on GA and I am both sad and excited to see where this, her final season will take her. It was an emotional and deeply creative decision for me and I feel fully supported by Shonda and the writers. It's so rare in an actor's life to be able to explore and grow a character so fully, so completely. I am profoundly grateful to everyone at GA for the opportunity."
Evidently, Rhimes is sad to see Oh go. She described Oh's audition as "one of the best days of my life as a writer." The writer revealed that Oh's "brilliant and nuanced" portrayal of Cristina Yang "forever changed the course of Grey's Anatomy."
The upcoming 10th season is still under works but the writer assured fans to give Oh's character "the exit she deserves." And the 42-year-old actress is hoping it would be a happy one.
The show lost a number of important characters throughout the years, including original cast members T.R. Knight, Katherine Heigl, and Isaiah Washington. Oh's departure led fans to think that the show might be coming to its end.
But an ABC rep says otherwise, "It's our intention to have Grey's on the air for many years to come, with as many of the original cast as possible."
Grey's Anatomy Season 10 premieres on Sept. 26 on ABC.
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