kelly mccreary

Kelly McCreary was born on September 29, 1981, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her interest in acting developed in the fourth grade, leading her to attend arts-focused middle and high schools. At 17, she relocated to New York City to study acting at Barnard College, part of Columbia University, graduating in 2003. During her studies, she performed in various theatrical productions at the Minor Latham Playhouse and participated in Columbia’s Varsity Show. She also spent a semester at the British American Drama Academy in London. Her early career included numerous commercials and voice work for animated children’s educational programs such as PBS’s ‘Cyberchase’ (2005) and ‘The Electric Company’. She made her Broadway debut in the 2008 musical ‘Passing Strange’.

McCreary’s television career progressed with guest appearances and recurring roles, including playing Yvonne in ‘White Collar’ (2009–2011). In 2012, she secured a significant role as Dr. Tyra Dupre in The CW’s medical drama ‘Emily Owens, M.D.’, where she was a series regular across 13 episodes. Following this, she appeared in two episodes of Shonda Rhimes’ political drama ‘Scandal’ (2013-2014) as Clare Tucker. Her career saw a major turning point in 2014 when she joined another Shonda Rhimes production, ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, as Dr. Maggie Pierce. Initially a guest star at the end of the tenth season, she was promoted to a series regular in the eleventh season, a role she maintained for nine seasons until her departure as a series regular in 2023. She reprised her role as Dr. Maggie Pierce in the spin-off series ‘Station 19’ across four episodes between 2018 and 2023.

Beyond her acting endeavors, McCreary has also taken on producer roles for short films such as ‘The Middlegame’ (2017) and ‘A Cohort of Guests’ (2019). In 2018, she voiced Dot in the Netflix animated series ‘Harvey Street Kids’, which was later re-titled ‘Harvey Girls Forever!’ (2018–2020), appearing in 52 episodes. She has been involved in advocacy, serving as an ambassador for Michelle Obama’s When We All Vote campaign in 2018 and is a member of the Equal Justice Society Board of Directors, a legal organization dedicated to dismantling institutional bias. She was married to director Pete Chatmon in May 2019, and they have one child.