Shonda Lynn Rhimes[1] (born January 13, 1970)[2] is an American television producer and screenwriter, and founder of the production company Shondaland.

Inducted into the Television Hall of Fame and NAB Broadcasting Hall of Fame,[3] Rhimes became known as the showrunner—creator, head writer, and executive producer—of the medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2005–present), its spin-off Private Practice (2007–2013) and the political thriller Scandal (2012–2018), becoming the first woman to create three television dramas that have achieved the 100 episode milestone.

Her father, who holds an MBA, became chief information officer (CIO) at the University of Southern California, serving until 2013.

During this period, Rhimes worked as research director on the documentary Hank Aaron: Chasing the Dream (1995), which won the 1995 Peabody Award.

Rhimes received an assignment to co-write the HBO movie Introducing Dorothy Dandridge (1999), which earned numerous awards for its star, Halle Berry.

Although The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004) did not score as well at the box office, Rhimes later said that she treasured the experience, if only for the opportunity to work with its star, Julie Andrews.

[15] In 2003, Rhimes wrote her first TV pilot for ABC about young female war correspondents, but the network turned it down.

[26] In 2007, Rhimes created and produced the Grey's Anatomy spin-off series Private Practice, which debuted September 26, 2007, on ABC.

The show chronicles the life of Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) as she leaves Seattle Grace Hospital for Los Angeles to join a private practice.

The series also features an ensemble cast, including Tim Daly, Amy Brenneman, Audra McDonald and Taye Diggs among others.

In 2010, Rhimes created a new pilot for ABC called Inside the Box, a female-centric ensemble drama set in a Washington, D.C. network news bureau.

The lead character is Catherine, an ambitious female news producer who, with her colleagues, pursues "the story" at all costs while juggling their personal animosities and crises of conscience.

[28] In 2011, Rhimes served as executive producer for the medical drama, Off the Map, which was created by Grey's Anatomy writer, Jenna Bans.

[38] In March 2016, ABC premiered The Catch, a comedy-drama led by Rhimes based on a treatment by British author Kate Atkinson.

Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos described Rhimes as being a "true Netflixer at heart" since "she loves TV and films, she cares passionately about her work, and she delivers for her audience".

[40] The deal was considered to be a coup for Netflix due to Rhimes' prominence at ABC; it was also considered to be a counter toward the effort by Disney, ABC's parent company, to reduce the availability of their content on Netflix in favor of a planned subscription streaming service of their own.

[49] In 2014, Rhimes gave a commencement address at her alma mater, Dartmouth College, where she received an honorary doctorate.