Amelia Frances Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the ABC American television Grey's Anatomy medical drama and the spin-off series Private Practice, portrayed by Caterina Scorsone. In her debut appearance in season three, Amelia visited her former sister-in-law, Addison Montgomery, and became a partner at the Oceanside Wellness Group. In July 2010, it was reported that she was promoted to series regular for the fourth season, after appearing in the final five episodes of season three. She remained in the series until the final episode.
Scorsone crossed over as a special guest in one episode each of the seventh (2010–11) and eighth seasons (2011–12) of Grey's Anatomy, which ran concurrently with the fourth (2010–11) and fifth seasons (2011–12) of Private Practice, in both 2010 and 2012. After Private Practice ended its six-season run in January 2013, Scorsone returned to the Grey's Anatomy universe in its parent show, recurring in the final four episodes of the tenth season in 2014. She was then promoted to series regular for season eleven (2014–15), and has appeared as a main cast member for all of its subsequent seven seasons.
Amelia is the youngest sibling of Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)'s family, and a recovering drug addict. Her storylines in both shows revolve around her struggle with sobriety, recklessness, and ambition as a neurosurgeon. Scorsone has been a part of the Grey's universe for over ten years and has appeared in a total of eleven seasons as a series regular. She has also appeared as a guest star in the second spin-off, Station 19. The actress has been lauded by critics and fans alike.
Scorsone describes her character's “hero” journey as showing the “full Phoenix-ing of a woman who was so broken and traumatized by loss and addiction”.
Development
Casting and creation
On March 2, 2010, Scorsone was recruited to join the cast of Shonda Rhimes' drama series Private Practice in the recurring role of Amelia Shepherd, the sister of Derek Shepherd from its parent show, Grey's Anatomy. Eric Stoltz, who was directing Scorsone's debut episode "Eyes Wide Open" heard about the role of Amelia and recommended Scorsone portray her, as he knew her from working with her during her child actress days on My Horrible Year! a decade prior. Shonda Rhimes agreed to bring her in after Stoltz noted her acting chops and resemblance to Patrick Dempsey, who plays Derek Shepherd. Scorsone mentioned that she still had to do the regular auditioning process to get cast. She ended up appearing in five episodes of the third season of Private Practice. As of July 2010, Scorsone was promoted to series regular for Private Practice.
On top of her sister being a big fan of the parent show, she later revealed she considered becoming a doctor after binge-watching the first season of Grey's when she was finishing her bachelor's degree saying, "I would unwind after exams by binge-watching the first season of Grey's Anatomy. When I got to the end of it, I was under the misapprehension that I wanted to become a doctor. So I went to this medical faculty lecture series and by the end, I said, ‘I don't want to be a doctor. In fact, I just want to be on Grey's Anatomy.’"
Characterization and development
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Scorsone spoke about Amelia's past as an addict being exposed in the season eleven episode, "Could We Start Again, Please?" She elaborated further, "There's the shock and sadness of seeing that all of the work that she's done to build this new life in Seattle is being destroyed, as everybody is finding out about her past in a way that she's not in control of," she continues. "It's not as though she decided that she's comfortable with revealing her history and was able to tell the story sensitively; it was taken from her and exposed in a way that she wasn't in control of and that she wouldn't have chosen. It's a pretty exposing and disempowering experience for her."