Chandra Wilson

Diminutive in stature, but possessing a powerful onscreen presence, actress Chandra Wilson worked sporadically in New York with a number of small feature parts before being cast in her breakthrough role as the tough-talking Dr. Miranda Bailey on the popular ABC medical soap opera, "Grey's Anatomy" (2005- ). Prior to that series' long-running popularity, Wilson struggled to find steady footing in the acting world and even held onto a 9-5 job while appearing wherever and whenever she could. She was cast in the CBS Schoolbreak Special "Sexual Considerations" (1991), and had bit parts in "Mad Dog and Glory" (1993) and "Philadelphia" (1993), before landing a moderately larger part in John Sayles' acclaimed "Lone Star" (1996). Following her Broadway debut in "On the Town" (1998), Wilson landed her first regular series role on the short-lived sitcom "Bob Patterson" (ABC, 2001). She continued to struggle until finally scoring her big break when mid-season replacement "Grey's Anatomy" emerged in 2005 and landed in the Nielsen Top Ten right out of the gate, allowing the former unknown to become an Emmy-nominated actress who suddenly found herself a bankable star.