Taylor Swift wrote Ellen Pompeo the ‘biggest check’ but it’s not what you think

While doing the rounds amid the release of the Natalia Grace series Good American Family, star Ellen Pompeo has revealed that Taylor Swift wrote her “the biggest check without blinking an eye,” but not for the reason you might think. 

Pompeo is undoubtedly best known for portraying Meredith Grey on Grey’s Anatomy, having played the character for nearly 20 years. Now, she’s bringing her acting talents to an altogether different role, starring as Natalia Grace’s former adoptive mother Kristine Barnett.

Good American Family tells the true story of Natalia, who was adopted by Kristine and Michael Barnett in 2010. Two years later, they had her legal age changed from eight to 22 years old before moving her into an apartment alone. 

It’s a stranger-than-fiction case, one that’s told from multiple perspectives. With Episode 4 of the Hulu series dropping this week, Pompeo appeared on The Jennifer Hudson Show to talk more about the new TV show, and she also opened up about her friendship with Swift. 

Taylor Swift wrote Ellen Pompeo huge check 

Pomeo revealed the ‘All Too Well’ singer wrote her a massive check within 20 minutes of meeting because it was for a good cause: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

ABC

For the uninitiated, the pair’s friendship is seemingly born from Swift’s love for Grey’s Anatomy. The pop star famously named her cat after Pompeo’s character. In 2015, Swift invited a string of celebs to appear in her ‘Bad Blood’ music video – including Pompeo. 

Elaborating on their first meet-up, the Good American Family star said, “At the time, [my husband] Chris [Ivery] and I, we do a lot of volunteering for Children’s Hospital Los Angeles here. They have an amazing program at Children’s where they make music for the babies in the NICU. 

“For the parents who have to go to work all day and they can’t be with the kids, they record their voices singing nursery rhymes or telling them stories and they play it for the babies on the day when the parents can’t be there. The babies respond to it and it makes their outcomes more positive.”

“It’s a really nice program, but they need money to run it,” Pompeo continued. “I asked Taylor, ‘Could you write me a big old check for Children’s?’ And she knew me all but 20 minutes and that girl wrote me the biggest check without blinking an eye.”

Pompeo went on to discuss the possibility of her returning to the role of Meredith Grey for Season 22 of Grey’s Anatomy (which is yet to get the official greenlight from ABC but is reportedly likely). 

“Sure, yeah. I don’t think that show will ever end,” Pompeo replied. “I don’t know, no, but I’ll always pop in and out. You know, that’s my home, and I don’t think Miss [Debbie] Allen will let me ever leave, our mutual friend.”

Find out when to see her next with our guide to the Good American Family release schedule. You can also check out the new series coming to Netflix, and our full TV show 2025 release calendar.