Josephine "Jo" Alice Wilson (previously Karev) and formerly Brooke Stadler, M.D., F.A.C.S., is a character from the medical drama television series Grey's Anatomy, which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States.
Other significant storylines include her struggles with mental health, particularly after discovering she is a product of rape and facing rejection from her biological mother.
Her real name is later revealed to be Brooke, and she is estranged from her abusive husband, Paul Stadler (Matthew Morrison), from whom she fled to start a new life in Seattle.
In the episode "Love Turns You Upside Down", after Jo assaults a parent for attempting to abandon her baby, she reveals to Alex that she was left at a fire station when she was two weeks old.
In the penultimate episode of season nine, "Readiness is All", Jo gets into an altercation with her then-boyfriend Jason Myers (Charles Michael Davis), revealing he physically abused her.
In Season 11, Jo becomes frustrated with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) growing closer to Alex after Cristina Yang's (Sandra Oh) departure, feeling sidelined.
In the Season 13 episode "You Haven't Done Nothin'", Jo reveals to Alex that she is still married, and explains that she never told him because she feared he would attack her husband and end up in jail.
In the episode "Silent All These Years", Jo tracks down her birth mother, Vicki Rudin (Michelle Forbes), and discovers that she is the product of rape.
[3] In Season 17, Jo begins a brief friends with benefits relationship with Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), which ends when he moves to Boston to take over the Catherine Fox Foundation.
In August 2012, it was announced that Camilla Luddington, Gaius Charles, and Tina Majorino had been cast as Jo Wilson, Shane Ross, and Heather Brooks, respectively, the new interns at Seattle Grace-Mercy West.
[4] TV Guide later reported that, despite the number of recurring cast members being added to Grey's Anatomy for the new season, Camilla Luddington was the only actress with an option to become a series regular.
"They had told me they were going to write our stories just off our personalities, so I guess I come across as a garbage eater or something," she joked, referencing Jo's street smarts.
"[6] She also shared that her first scene with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), was cut because she had forgotten her lines due to nerves and her admiration for the show.
[9] Regarding the domestic abuse storyline, Luddington shed light on how Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) supported Jo, despite their past differences as colleagues.
"[10] While the domestic abuse storyline had already been in development for over a season,[8] and the headlines for the movements went viral during the filming of those episodes, Luddington found the timing to be serendipitous.
Showrunner Krista Vernoff commented on the casting choice of Morrison, known for more charming roles on Glee, as being perfect to depict a character who could deceive others who were not the direct victims of his violence.
Luddington noted that Jo was "paralyzed" when confronted by her estranged ex-husband, highlighting the "manipulative" nature of Morrison's character, which affected those around him.
Hoffman felt that Jo jumped to a false conclusion, especially after Alex explained that he had agreed to fertilize the eggs a long time ago.
[3] For the domestic abuse episode "1-800-799-7233", Ariana Romero of Refinery29 praised Luddington's "intensely evocative performance without saying a word" during the scene where Jo is confronted by her estranged ex-husband.
Romero commended the camerawork for allowing viewers to step into the shoes of a domestic abuse survivor, emphasizing how it centers on Jo's "bewildered, horrified, and shocked face" as Paul's voice sounds distant, "like she's hearing it through a seashell."