Sandra Oh Says She Needed Therapy to Navigate Early ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fame and Loss of Privacy

Long before she became a household name, Sandra Oh was already carving out a respectable career in Hollywood. Her breakout role, however, would bring a level of attention she wasn't fully prepared for.

Sandra Oh had built a steady onscreen presence since the late 1980s and was already a respected actress in her own right by the time she landed the role that would define her career: the sharp-tongued Cristina Yang on the acclaimed ABC series "Grey's Anatomy."

Before that, Oh had already carved out a solid reputation, headlining the hit comedy series "Arliss" for seven seasons from 1996 to 2002, starring opposite Diane Lane in 2003's "Under the Tuscan Sun," and appearing alongside Paul Giamatti in 2004's buddy comedy "Sideways."

Still, nothing compared to what came next. When "Grey's Anatomy" premiered the following year, it brought a level of recognition Oh had never experienced. The medical drama became a runaway hit, turning the then-34-year-old and her co-stars into global stars almost overnight.

Despite the success, Oh has described that period of her life as "traumatic" — so much so that she turned to therapy to help her cope. Speaking on CNN's "Sunday Today" back in 2021, the actress looked back on those early, overwhelming years.

"To be perfectly honest, it was traumatic," she said. "The reason why I'm saying that is the circumstances you need to do your work is with a lot of privacy." Even so, she remained willing to sit with the discomfort and work through it.

"When one loses one's anonymity, you have to build skills to still try and be real," she continued. "I went from not being able to go out, like hiding in restaurants, to then being able to manage attention, manage expectation, while not losing the sense of self."

Therapy became a lifeline during that time. "I'm not joking. It's very, very important," she said. "You just have to work at finding your way to stay grounded. And a lot of times that's by saying no."

Oh ultimately left "Grey's Anatomy" in 2013, at the close of the show's 10th season.

Speaking with "Modern Family" alum Jesse Tyler Ferguson on his podcast "Dinner's On Me," she opened up about the conversation that set her exit in motion — a candid talk with series creator Shonda Rhimes amid contract renegotiations.

"When it came to the end of season eight or nine, she took me aside, 'cause we were all renegotiating," Oh explained on the July 28 episode, "and she goes, 'What do you wanna do?' And I said, 'Let me think about it.'"

The now 55-year-old actress said she didn't rush the decision, taking time instead to reflect on how far Yang had come over the course of the series.

"The creative being will dictate and you gotta follow it," she explained. "You've gotta ask it, 'What do you want to do? What should I do? What do you want to do?'"

"I felt very much like I did my job," she continued. "I created a whole character. I feel I grew the character over 10 years' time, where it's a believable growth. People do grow in 10 years and I think she really did grow."

Oh has expressed deep gratitude for being able to give Yang a fitting sendoff. In the show's storyline, the character left Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to take a position as chief medical officer of cardiothoracic surgery in Switzerland.

"The privilege was to actually plan an exit and all the writers to be able to plan and to support that," the "Killing Eve" star added. "I know that it's extremely rare to have. That was a real gift."