'Grey's Anatomy' star Camilla Luddington reveals how show mirrors her life

Madeline Mitchell, USA TODAYWed, April 8, 2026 at 1:01 PM UTC

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"Grey's Anatomy" star Camilla Luddington knows firsthand how difficult it is to juggle work and motherhood, just like her character is learning on the show.

Luddington, an English actress, is best known for her role as Dr. Jo Wilson on the medical drama series "Grey's Anatomy." On the show she plays a new mother of four, having recently adopted a daughter and welcoming a stepson before giving birth to twin girls. In reality, Luddington has two children, 9-year-old Hayden and 5-year-old Lucas.

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Camilla Luddington attends the 20th anniversary of L'Oréal Paris Women of Worth at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Dec. 2, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.

Luddington, 42, is often up and off to set before her kids are awake, or comes home after her kids are already in bed, she said. She spoke with USA TODAY while promoting Get’ems! Squeezies as part of a paid partnership with Gerber. But she tries to not feel guilty for her time away from home. Her colleague on "Grey's" and podcast co-host Jessica Capshaw gave her advice she'll never forget.

"She doesn't say to her kids, when she goes to work, like, 'I'm so sorry. I don't want to go to work, I want to be here,'" Luddington said. "She actually celebrates it. She's like, 'I love going to work. I'm very excited and I'll be home soon.' And so that changed, mentally, how I view it."

She's missed recitals, and questioned her ability to handle all of the ups and downs of being a working parent.

"Those are the moments where I have to give myself a pep talk," she said.

She likes to remind herself that she needs alone time, too, and intentionally carves out time to read to stay grounded.

Dr. Jo's storyline has mirrored some of Camilla Luddington's real life

If Luddington could pick one word to describe motherhood, she said, it would be "messy."

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"I think it's just so many emotions every day, all at once," she said. "And I think that 'Grey's' does a really beautiful job of showing the highs and lows of motherhood."

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Isaiah Washington (Dr. Preston Burke, Seasons 1-3): The quiet but intense cardiothoracic surgeon left fiancée Cristina Yang at the altar in the Season 3 finale. Burke went on to win a prestigious award at another hospital and later ran a private research hospital in Switzerland, which he later turned over to Yang when Oh left at the end of Season 10. He then moved to Italy with his wife and two daughters.

There have been times when her character has followed a similar journey as her real life, in real time, she said. When Jo adopted a daughter, Luddington was having her second baby.

"There were episodes where I was up all night with my son and breastfeeding, and (Jo) was up all night. And they were tired in the episode, and I was tired in real life," she said. "I love this sort of mirroring that's happened between me and Jo on the show, and her experience with motherhood, too."

Camilla Luddington

Luddington said she has been inspired by Jo's ability to communicate openly with her partner when she's struggling with parenting. But she said she's definitely judged Jo's parenting in other ways.

"I'll walk onto set and I'm like, 'Why is she still living here? Like, those stairs really are a hazard,'" Luddington said, laughing.

Acting in the more traumatic or stressful parts of the show − when her character's baby is in the NICU, for example − makes her anxious about things that could go wrong with her own family, Luddington said.

"Those scenes were extremely intense to film," she said. "When you return home, it's like, you want to hug your own babies a little bit tighter."

Madeline Mitchell's role covering women and the caregiving economy at USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.

Reach Madeline at memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ on X.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Camilla Luddington says 'Grey's Anatomy' has mirrored her real life

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