Grey’s Anatomy’s Departed Doctors: Where Are They Now?

Isaiah Washington as Preston Burke

In season three, Burke abandoned Cristina at the altar and then just took off, eventually winning a Harper Avery award elsewhere and then at some point, moving to Zurich, Switzerland to open his own hi-tech hospital. He got married, started a family, and then in season 10, he invited Cristina to his hospital to take it over for him as he retired.

Isaiah Washington left the series after it was reported that he called costar T.R. Knight a gay slur during an argument on set with Patrick Dempsey, and all his defenses just kept making it worse before he finally was let go from the series. Apparently he and ABC made up, because they let him return for a second in 2014.

As for what Washington has said of the incident? He later issued a public apology, adding in another statement, “I can also no longer deny to myself that there are issues I obviously need to examine within my own soul, and I’ve asked for help.”

In the years since his Grey’s Anatomy departure,he has starred as Thelonious Jaha on The CW’s The 100, until his character died in season five, followed by Starz’ critically acclaimed P-Valley.

Katherine Heigl as Izzie Stevens

Izzie Stevens got cancer, married Alex Karev, survived the cancer, and then sorta just disappeared in season six. She eventually returned for a second and admitted she didn’t feel like Seattle was her home anymore. Later, Alex got sent divorce papers, and now we know Izzie secretly had Alex’s twins, lives on a ranch in Kansas, and became a surgical oncologist.

Katherine Heigl’s exit basically began in 2008 when she withdrew her name from Emmy consideration because she didn’t feel like the material deserved it. In 2010, the character disappeared completely. She said in the years since that she would like to return to the character, but creator Shonda Rhimes did not. “I’m done with that story,” she told TVLine in 2015.

Heigl, then a burgeoning romcom star, went on to star in a few more romcoms before returning to TV with State of Affairs, then Doubt, and more recently, she had an arc Suits and starred in Firefly Lane until it ended in 2023.

Edward Herrmann as Intern Norman

Intern Norman arrived in season four and had to fend off assumptions that he was an attending, rather than an intern, due to his age. He messed up and told the wrong patient she was dying, and later he collapsed and had a stroke. He had surgery to remove the blood clot, and decided after his surgery that he was going to transfer to psych.

Edward Herrmann, a fairly legendary actor, is mostly widely known as Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls. He also appeared in several episodes of The Good Wife, Harry’s Law, and even American Dad before his death in 2014.

Kali Rocha as Sydney Heron

Sydney was the perky resident who took over for Bailey during her maternity leave and drove everyone crazy with her perkiness. She even went on a date with Derek at one point, but sort of disappeared in early season four. She briefly reprised her role for season 21 in 2024.

Kali Rocha most recently starred on Disney’s Liv and Maddie and Man with a Plan plus a 2024 episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, the same year she made a brief return to Grey’s.