29 July 2026
Sandra Oh has no regrets about her Grey’s Anatomy exit.
Sandra Oh doesn’t regret her exit from the show
The 55-year-old actress played Dr. Cristina Yang in Grey’s Anatomy, the TV medical drama series, between 2005 and 2014, and Sandra has opened up about her exit from the show, insisting she doesn’t regret how her departure was handled.
Appearing on the Dinner’s on Me podcast, Sandra explained: “At the end of season eight, [Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes] took me aside because we were all renegotiating and she goes, ‘What do you want to do?’ I said, ‘Let me think about it.'”
Sandra took some time to consider her future on the TV show, before committing to one more season.
The actress said: “I felt very much like I did my job. I feel like I created a whole character. I grew the character in 10 years time — where it’s a believable growth. People do grow in 10 years and I think she really did grow.”
Sandra feels fortunate that she got to go out on her own terms.
She explained: “The privilege was to actually plan an exit and for all the writers to be able to support that. It’s extremely rare to have that. So that was a real, real gift.”
Meanwhile, Sandra previously claimed that “things have changed” for Asian Americans in Hollywood.
The actress believes there’s been a discernible change in attitude within the entertainment industry over the last few years.
Speaking to Squid Game star Jung Ho-yeon for Variety’s Actors on Actors series, Sandra explained: “The other day, I was driving. On Sunset Boulevard, it’s like you’re driving down American capitalism, and you see what Hollywood or North American capitalism is showing what we should follow, what we should buy. And you are on there.
“You are on the side of a building – like, ‘Oh, there’s my girl.’ But then also I will say there were probably two more billboards where there is another Asian model and another model, I think maybe she’s mixed race.
“I don’t know how many times I have driven on Sunset Boulevard – like, a billion. And I don’t think I would’ve seen that four years ago.”
