Sara Ramirez caught her big break when she landed the role of Dr. Callie Torres on Grey's
Anatomy in 2006.
The fan-favorite character cemented Ramirez's place in pop culture history.
After leaving Grey's in 2016, the actress went on to star as political strategist Kat
Sandoval on Madam Secretary, while focusing much of her time and energy on her activist
work.
But while there's much to be said about Ramirez's on-screen counterparts, how much do you really
know about the TV star's real life?
Multi-cultural roots Ramirez spent the first eight years of her
life living in Mexico, before her parents divorced and she moved to the United States
with her mother.
But starting a new life in San Diego wasn't necessarily an easy transition.
She wrote for Glamour in 2006: "Between the culture shock of coming from
another country and the stigma of having an accent (I heard my share of 'Do you have a
green card?'
jokes), I always felt like I stuck out."
The bilingual actress has noted how her multi-cultural upbringing has informed her activist work
and world view.
In a speech she delivered at the True Colors Fund's 40 to None Summit, she shared:
"Because of the intersections that exist in my own life [...] I am deeply invested in
projects that allow our youth’s voices to be heard, and that support our youth in owning
their own complex narratives so that we can show up for them in the ways they need us
to."
Broadway baby Having appeared in a number of Broadway and
Off-Broadway productions since the late '90s, Ramirez was well-known among New York City
theater buffs long before she became the TV star we all know and love.
She told TV Fanatic in 2007: "I consider New York and theater my home base,
where I sort of grew up.
I miss it and I hope they'll have me back whether it's a musical - it doesn't have to
be on Broadway - or a play.
I miss the theater, the whole symbiotic relationship between actor and audience and being on stage."
Just before landing her role on Grey's Anatomy, the triple threat earned rave reviews and
the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical in 2005 for her show
stopping performance as the Lady of the Lake in the musical Spamalot.
And theater isn't her only place to let her singing voice shine.
She famously stole the show during Grey's Anatomy's musical episode in 2011 and released
her self-titled debut EP the same year.
Mental health struggles Ramirez suffered a terrible loss in 2009 when
her best friend passed away.
Following his death, Ramirez fell into a severe depression.
As she mourned the loss, she sometimes struggled to get out of bed and suffered from mood swings,
which eventually affected her work on Grey's Anatomy.
Thankfully, the actress sought professional help and was able to work through her grief.
She told Latina magazine: "Somehow I managed to do it, but it wasn't
pretty.
There were days that I would show up to work and come out the side of my face to people
who didn't deserve it."
Accepting her body Ramirez has struggled with body image issues
since childhood.
In her essay for Glamour she wrote: "I was a lot taller and bigger-boned than
most girls my age [...] I grew up wanting to look like someone else rather than appreciating
the body I had."
During her 20s, the actress' weight and insecurities yo-yoed as she turned to diet pills and developed
unhealthy eating habits.
But then came her role in Spamalot.
About her time with the show, Ramirez wrote: "I finally started to eat when I was hungry
and to not eat when I wasn't.
I took yoga classes and got healthy.The show gave me confidence that had nothing to do
with how I looked."
But when she became a series regular on Grey's Anatomy, catered food was everywhere and she
started to put on some weight.
Instead of writers and producers encouraging her to drop the pounds, we instead got the
iconic dancing-in-her-underwear scene.
Ramirez revealed: "I went to Shonda Rhimes, the executive producer,
and said, 'Do you really want me to do this?
Why me?
I have so much cottage cheese here and there!'
She just looked at me and said, 'Work it.'
That was all I got from her.
And sure enough, doing the scene helped me get over a lot of my issues.
I had to accept my body."
Coming out During Ramirez's time on Grey's Anatomy, she
played a large role in creating her groundbreaking character.
As she wrote in an email to Vox in 2018: "I realized I was in the unique position to
be able to develop a character that made me feel seen and accepted in areas I typically
found myself apologizing for my existence in, with room to explore a wide range of universal
emotions about it."
However, it wasn't until months after the actress left the ABC drama that she herself
publicly came out as bisexual.
She explained to Entertainment Weekly that the increase in violence against the LGBTQ
community had compelled her to live openly.
She revealed: "It's been a form of liberation for me to
own all of my identities."
Outspoken activist Ramirez is a longtime activist devoted to
using her celebrity to foster change in the world, and she spends much of her time and
energy advocating on behalf of LGBTQ rights and issues.
While accepting the Trailblazer Award at the New York City LGBT Center's 20th Annual Women's
Event in 2017 she said: "I know that there are people in this room
who don't feel safe or comfortable to openly identify as bisexual, pansexual, or fluid."
She continued: "And maybe in a couple of years, we will feel
safe enough to show ourselves, and celebrate one another openly, without fear."
She told NPR in 2015 that the main connection between acting and activism is that they're
both about empathy.
She explained: "You're trying to get people to see other
people as real and human.
And to care."
Breaking new ground Ramirez made history for LGBTQ representation
during her Grey's Anatomy run and in 2017, the actress continued to break new ground
in television with her portrayal of Kat Sandoval, another openly bisexual character, on Madam
Secretary.
She told Entertainment Weekly: "This past year and a half has taught me how
to embrace myself fully, to never ever be afraid to claim my truth and power in spaces,
and that bisexual, pansexual, queer-identified women of color, of all genders, or no genders,
deserve to exist fully and equally in any and every space with respect to our visibility,
representation, dignity, and various intersecting identities."