Sandra Oh says intense fame from Grey’s Anatomy was ‘traumatic’

Actor credits her ‘good therapist’ with helping navigate new obstacles

Sandra Oh has said that the intense fame she gained after Grey’s Anatomy was “traumatic”.

The Golden Globe-winner first rose to prominence in 2005 with a leading role on Shonda Rhimes’s hugely popular medical drama.

Oh portrayed fan-favourite character Dr Christina Yang, a cut-throat surgeon who was best friends with the show’s protagonist Dr Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo). She starred on the series for 10 seasons before exiting the show in 2014.

The actor opened up about the difficulties she experienced grappling with her newfound fame during a recent appearance on Sunday Today With Willie Geist.

When asked by Geist what it was like to cope with the public attention, Oh said: “To be perfectly honest, it was traumatic.

“The reason why I’m saying that is the circumstances you need to do your work is with a lot of privacy. So when one loses one’s anonymity, you have to build skills to still try and be real.”

The 50-year-old went on to say that the situation did improve, stating: “I went from not being able to go out, hiding in restaurants, to then being able to manage attention, while not losing the sense of self.”

Oh credits a “good therapist” with helping her through the difficulties she faced.

Sandra Oh and Ellen Pompeo star in Grey’s Anatomy (YouTube/ABC)

“I’m not joking, it’s very, very important. You just have to work at finding your way to stay grounded,” said the actor. “ And a lot of times it’s by saying ‘no’.”

Since leaving Grey’s Anatomy, Oh has continued to star in acclaimed shows, including the BBC’s award-winning spy thriller Killing Eve.

Oh most recently featured in Netflix’s comedy-drama The Chair as Dr Ji-Yoon, the newly appointed chair of the English department at a prestigious college in the US.

You can read The Independent’s three-star review of the series here.