Best Shonda Rhimes Quotes & Sayings

Shonda, how do you do it all?
The answer is this: I don't.
Whenever you see me somewhere succeeding in one area of my life, that almost certainly means I am failing in another area of my life....
That is the trade-off.
That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother. You never feel 100 percent okay, you never get your sea legs, you are always a little nauseous. — Shonda Rhimes

Being a mother brings us face-to-face with ourselves as children, with our mothers as human beings, with our darkest fears of who we really are. — Shonda Rhimes

This Yes is about giving yourself the permission to shift the focus of what is a priority from what's good for you over to what makes you feel good. — Shonda Rhimes

Yes, it is hard out there. But hard is relative. I come from a middle-class family, my parents are academics. I was born after the Civil Rights movement, I was a toddler during the women's movement, I live in the United States of America, all of which means I am allowed to own my freedom, my rights, my voice and my uterus. — Shonda Rhimes

the air you are breathing right now is rare air. Appreciate it. And don't be an asshole. — Shonda Rhimes

Everyone always says to me, 'Why aren't there more people of color on television?' I'm like, 'Why don't you ask a bunch of people who aren't putting people of color on television why there aren't more people of color on television?' — Shonda Rhimes

don't apologize for being powerful. They don't — Shonda Rhimes

The best stories are often true ... The narrative of human life is most beautiful when told truthfully and without boundaries. — Shonda Rhimes

Not a single woman in the room could handle being told, "You're awesome." I couldn't handle being told I am awesome. What in the hell is wrong with us? — Shonda Rhimes

And it wasn't just because Oprah was awesome. Oprah is without a doubt, the best talk show host on the planet and incredibly smart, insightful and kind. And she was awesome. But we have established that she has always been awesome and still, before the Year of Yes, the old Shonda would have suffered some kind of nuclear panic attack, resulting in total amnesia. Oprah will always be amazing in this scenario. The difference was me. I had no armor on. I had nothing to hide. I was worried about nothing. I was . . . fearless. And so we had a conversation. We had a chat. We talked. What had I always been so afraid of? What had I been guarding? What was I so nervous about? — Shonda Rhimes

I'm missing my baby's first swim lesson. If I am at my daughter's debut in her school musical, I am missing Sandra Oh's last scene ever being filmed at Grey's Anatomy. If I am succeeding at one, I am inevitably failing at the other. That is the trade-off. That is the Faustian bargain one makes with the devil that comes with being a powerful working woman who is also a powerful mother. You never feel 100 percent okay, you never get your sea legs, you are always a little nauseous. Something is always lost. Something is always missing. And yet. I want my daughters to see me and know me as a woman who works. I want that example set for them. — Shonda Rhimes

At the end of the day, when it comes down to it, all we really want is to be close to somebody. So this thing where we all keep our distance and pretend not to care about each other, it's usually a load of bull. So we pick and choose who we want to remain close to, and once we've chosen those people, we tend to stick close by. No matter how much we hurt them. The people that are still with you at the end of the day, those are the ones worth keeping. And sure, sometimes close can be too close. But sometimes, that invasion of personal space, it can be exactly what you need. — Shonda Rhimes

#StopPretendingHashtagsAreTheSameAsDoingSomething — Shonda Rhimes

Boundaries don't keep other people out, they fence you in. — Shonda Rhimes

When the press began asking me for interviews, I freaked out. My instinct is to hide. — Shonda Rhimes

Cynicism is a choice. Optimism is a better choice. — Shonda Rhimes

I mean that I am going to miss Cristina Yang so much that my heart hurts. — Shonda Rhimes

Making it through the ceiling to the other side was simply a matter of running on a path created by every other woman's footprints. — Shonda Rhimes

Ditch the dream and be a doer. — Shonda Rhimes

And so I exhale. You can see it. If you watch the video, you can see me exhale. You can see the very last instant, the very last moment, the very last breath of my fear. From that exhale forth, I am someone new. Someone comfortable. Someone unafraid. — Shonda Rhimes

Your body is yours. My body is mine. No one's body is up for comment. No matter how small, how large, how curvy, how flat. If you love you, then I love you. — Shonda Rhimes

So when you negate someone's compliment, you are telling them they are wrong. You're telling them they wasted their time. You are questioning their taste and judgment. You — Shonda Rhimes

I never, ever pay attention to the ratings. I stopped paying attention to the ratings somewhere around season two or three of Grey's. It's something I have no control over, so I don't even pay attention. — Shonda Rhimes

Don't let what he wants eclipse what you need. He is very dreamy," she says. "But he is not the sun. You are. — Shonda Rhimes

Now, I'm no longer looking for the enemy. So I no longer see the enemy. — Shonda Rhimes

Calling a show a 'guilty pleasure' is like saying 'I'm embarrassed to say I watch it but I can't stop.' That's not a compliment. — Shonda Rhimes

I think it's well-known that I love all things ABC and Shonda Rhimes - I'm a huge 'Scandal' and 'Grey's Anatomy' fan. — Aja Naomi King

Saying yes . . . saying yes is courage. Saying yes is the sun. Saying yes is life. — Shonda Rhimes

This moment right here, me standing up here all brown with my boobs and my Thursday night of network television full of women of color, competitive women, strong women, women who own their bodies and whose lives revolve around their work instead of their men, women who are big dogs, that could only be happening right now. — Shonda Rhimes

There is no list of rules. There is one rule. The rule is: there are no rules. Happiness comes from living as you need to, as you want to. As your inner voice tells you to. Happiness comes from being who you actually are instead of who you think you are supposed to be. Being traditional is not traditional anymore. It's funny that we still think of it that way. Normalize your lives, people. You don't want a baby? Don't have one. I don't want to get married? I won't. You want to live alone? Enjoy it. You want to love someone? Love someone. Don't apologize. Don't explain. Don't ever feel less than. When you feel the need to apologize or explain who you are, it means the voice in your head is telling you the wrong story. Wipe the slate clean. And rewrite it. No fairy tales. Be your own narrator. And go for a happy ending. One foot in front of the other. You will make it. — Shonda Rhimes

Nobody ever asks a man how he gets stuff done. Nobody asks a man how he finds balance. — Shonda Rhimes

Look, they're wearing light blue gauzy frozen superhero capes because I have told them that Anna is a junior superhero with a black sister and a gay brother- both of whom are off ruling other countries because, y'know, they have jobs. You do your mothering your way. I'll do my mothering mine . — Shonda Rhimes

I'm a black woman every day, and I'm not confused about that. I'm not worried about that. I don't need to have a discussion with you about how I feel as a black woman, because I don't feel disempowered as a black woman. — Shonda Rhimes

Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It's hard work that makes things happen. It's hard work that creates change. — Shonda Rhimes