Ellen Pompeo - the Golden Globe-nominated Ellen Pompeo! - recently sat down with TheEnvelope.com.

To read the entire interview, click here. We’ve provided a few excerpts below:

Q: This is a big year for you. You get engaged on your birthday [to Chris Ivery] and then you receive the Golden Globe nomination the following month.

Ellen Pompeo: Yes, I have a few things to be happy about!

Q: Speaking of the Globes, have you started working on an acceptance speech?

Ellen Pompeo: No way! You know, I don’t have a chance. Edie Falco and Kyra Sedgwick [are nominated]. Come on!

Q: Are you surprised that the series attracts such a diverse age group of fans?

Ellen Pompeo: I think that is the most pleasantly surprising thing about the show. It’s surprising that the show is so popular, but I am just so happy that people are finding solace in the show.

Mothers are telling me it is something they can do with their teenage daughters because they are having a hard time getting through to them. This is something they can do together because the teenagers love the show and the mothers love the show. The fact that the show is a vehicle that is bringing people together is the most important thing to come out of this.

I feel hopefully we breakdown all sorts of stereotypes — racial and medical. I love the fact that also — not to digress — that we do have so many elderly storylines in the show. I feel like a lot of shows are into what’s young and hip and cool. The fact that we have 14-year-old patients in the hospital and 90-year-old patients in the hospital — we represent all people.

Q: Were you surprised about the headlines the series made over the October on-set argument between regulars Isaiah Washington and Patrick Dempsey when Washington used a homophobic slur about one of the show’s stars? (T.R. Knight, who plays George, came out of the closet soon after the fight).

Ellen Pompeo: I wasn’t surprised by it. I knew immediately when that happened, I said ‘Oh, oh. They don’t know how big this will be.’ I knew because I already had my little experiences with the press coming after me and from me doing absolutely nothing.

There were rumors I was anorexic and a diva. The fact that none of this was instigated and they made such a big deal about it. I wasn’t in the room when the fight happened. I was in the next room and heard the fight and I thought this is going to be huge.

Her character may be working out her relationship, but Sandra Oh is officially single.

The Grey’s Anatomy actress’ marriage to Sideways writer-director Alexander Payne was terminated on Decesmber. However, the couple’s divorce is not finalized, they still have to settle financial issues, according to legal documents obtained by People magazine.

In March 2005, a spokeswoman confirmed that Oh and Payne had “mutually decided to separate.” Added the rep: “They have been together for five years and were married in (January) 2003. The couple will remain friends.”

Oh filed for divorce the following April in Los Angeles Superior Court. According to her filing, she was seeking spousal support.

In opposing news, Ellen Pompeo recently got engaged to long-time boyfriend, Chris Ivery.

Last night, we got to see an encore presentation of “Oh, The Guilt,” a terrific episode that first aired earlier this fall. It can’t compare to the excitement of a new episode, but at least Grey’s Anatomy is the kind of quality program that can be watched and re-watched.

You can check out a list of memorable quotes from the episode by following this link to our directory. There’s also our image gallery and list of music (with lyrics) heard during the episode. The Insider strives to make your Grey’s Anatomy experience as thorough and enjoyable as possible!

We’re already looking forward to the new year… and not just for the resolutions that are sure to be broken. For the return of Grey’s Anatomy!

Yesterday, we reported the exciting news that the Grey’s Anatomy cast was named Entertainment Weekly’s entertainers of the year. Clearly, the Insider agrees they are a deserving bunch. Below is the full article from the publication explaining why it made its choice:

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Patrick Dempsey and Ellen Pompeo are snuggled in a rumpled bed, and he is looking at her. And by looking at her, we mean looking at her.

It is the look that has sent several fictional lives on Grey’s Anatomy into dramatic tailspins and has given millions of fans endless fantasy material.

And yet, Ellen Pompeo is… giggling. Hysterically.

She apologizes, but she cannot stop.

A patient Patrick Dempsey morphs from smoldering leading man to bemused costar to, finally, stern taskmaster: “Quiet, close your eyes, and breathe deeply.” She does, and for a take or two, it works — Dempsey, as Dr. Derek Shepherd, can peacefully (well, except for the snoring) observe his lover, Dr. Meredith Grey, as she slumbers.

Then her laughter breaks loose again, and Pompeo storms off the bedroom set, shouting, “I can’t work with him anymore!”

She is careful, later, to explain that this was just a joke (people are a bit sensitive around the set of the ABC hit these days). But emotions do run high — and fast — when it comes to Grey’s Anatomy. Its myriad moods change from sexy to funny to dramatic to silly, making for an intoxicating thrill ride that is as unpredictable as it is unmissable.

Since their first half-season in 2005, Seattle Grace’s improbably hot surgical staffers have gone from midseason replacements to bona fide stars. And now, having relocated to the toughest time slot on TV, Grey’s has become nothing short of a phenomenon, luring an average of 21.4 million fans every week and consistently topping Thursday-night behemoth CSI in the 18-49 demographic.

How did they do it?

“The characters are so human,” says ABC Entertainment president Stephen McPherson. “Life is messy, it’s funny, it’s tragic, it’s dramatic, and this show captures that.”

For maintaining that deft dramatic balance, for performing a powerful emotional alchemy that transforms the hospital-show genre into something exciting rather than exhausted, and for casting perhaps the most telegenic assemblage of actors in the last decade — for all of these reasons, we have chosen the cast of Grey’s Anatomy as our Entertainers of the Year.

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The lovely Katherine Heigl and her fiancé, Josh Kelley, are planning a winter wonderland theme for their upcoming wedding, tentatively planned for next winter that’s 2007, in case it wasn’t clear earlier.

The singer approves of the winter theme.

“It was Katherine’s first idea. Once she started talking about it and what it would look like, I was set,” Josh Kelley said.

The Grey’s Anatomy star is equally excited, but needs to make it through another set of nuptials first - her sister’s.

“Maybe some horses, sleigh bells. My sister is getting married this coming October, so we’re doing that one first and planning hers. I get to kind of learn that way!”

It’s great to see Katherine, who was recently nominated for a Golden Globe award for Best Supporting Actress, is doing as well in her personal life as she is professionally. We wish her nothing but the best!

The cast of Grey’s Anatomy tops Entertainment Weekly’s list of the year’s top entertainers because of their cultural impact, the magazine said.

The year-end issue of Entertainment Weekly hits U.S. newsstands starting Friday with its widely watched lists of the year’s top picks in movies, music, TV, books and many other categories.

Entertainment Weekly said the cast of Grey’s Anatomy - McDreamy, McSteamy and all the others - led the chart of top entertainers because they had a cultural impact beyond their show’s roughly 20 million weekly viewers. In addition, the episodes - filled with sexual affairs and career problems - sparked chatter around offices, schools and homes across the U.S.

“Grey’s Anatomy isn’t just a show, it’s a phenomenon,” said Entertainment Weekly Executive Editor Lori Majewski.

“Back in May when last season’s final show aired, every place in New York City was empty. You could get a table at the best restaurants.”

Congrats to the Grey’s Anatomy cast from the Insider!

As the year draws to a close, Michael Slezak of Entertainment Weekly looks back at three of TV’s most memorable TV characters… who met their maker in 2006. One of them is none other than our own Denny Duquette, the heart patient and fiancé of Izzie (Katherine Heigl), played so masterfully by Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Here’s his brief obituary:

Closet millionaire Denny Duquette died during May sweeps from complications following heart transplant surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital. He is survived by a fiancée, Isobel “Izzie” Stevens, a surgical intern who may have contributed to his death prior to attending a prom. (Don’t ask.)

More importantly, though, Denny leaves behind a blueprint for how men can look hot and stubbly while stricken and attached to tubes, heart monitors, and even LVAD machines.

We miss you, Denny. We miss you.

Sadly, Grey’s Anatomy is in repeat mode until January 4. But at least we still have the Caption Contest to keep things interesting.

We’ve taken a long, hard look at the 45 replies we received for this image (from “Oh, the Guilt“), and determined that Miaka is the winner. The winning reply appears below, underneath the picture. Scroll down for the full list of submissions we received!

Thanks to all who participated, and we wish you the best of luck next week! We appreciate your participating in this weekly contest and thank you for your help in making us the #1 Grey’s Anatomy fan site on the web.

Here’s this week’s Caption Contest image:

Meredith: “Addison, are those my panties on the board again?”

Addison: “Uhh… N-no. No, those are Derek’s.”

Isaiah Washington may play a doctor on TV, but in real life, he’s building his cred as a political activist, mingling with President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush this week in Washington, D.C.

The Grey’s Anatomy star met Bush for the first time on Thursday while emceeing the White House Summit on Malaria.

Washington called the President “genuine” and tells People the First Lady was “very warm… (the summit) is her baby.”

The half-day event, organized by Laura Bush, brought together leaders bent on eliminating malaria, a curable and preventable disease that kills 1 million people a year, many of them African children. Last year, the U.S. launched a five-year, $1.2 billion plan aimed at cutting malaria deaths in half .

Laura Bush’s own staff pooled the $600 they would have spent on holiday gifts for each other - using it instead to buy 50 bed nets to protect people from mosquitoes carrying the disease.

“It goes to show you that the passion and compassion (for eradicating malaria) is indeed working,” Washington said.

Isaiah Washington has taken a great interest in the plight of Africa, and is in the process of filming a documentary about the continent, centering around his tribal homeland of Sierra Leone.

For Washington, the brief break from the Grey’s Anatomy set wasn’t all work and no play. Before jetting back to L.A., he went to Vice President Dick Cheney’s holiday party.

It’s great to see Grey’s Anatomy stars give back. Earlier this year, in one of his many charitable endeavors, Isaiah Washington offered his time in a charity auction to benefit the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

Now, Ellen Pompeo is doing the same to benefit the Home For Little Wanderers, a Boston non-profit child welfare agency which serves children at risk and their families through prevention and early intervention.

Sadly, we didn’t learn about this quickly enough to share with you. The bidding closed last night, with 70 people vying for lunch with Ellen. The winner ended up paying $16,900, a terrific sum for this wonderful charity in Pompeo’s native Boston! Here’s what the official auction page says:

Item Number: 156

Estimated Value: Priceless

Description:

Here is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you and three of your friends to chat with Grey’s Anatomy star, Ellen Pompeo, about the hit ABC show over lunch.

Ellen, an Everett, Mass., native, is most famous for her current role as Meredith Grey in Grey’s Anatomy. She also recently appeared opposite Luke Wilson, Vince Vaughn and Will Ferrell in the wildly successful Old School and, before that, in Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can, opposite Leonardo DiCaprio.

Ellen made her major studio screen debut in Brad Silberlin’s Moonlight Mile, starring alongside Susan Sarandon, Dustin Hoffman and Jake Gyllenhaal. She received outstanding reviews for her portrayal of an outspoken woman carrying a silent burden that’s breaking her heart.

Special Instructions:

Maximum of four people. The lunch will take place in Boston after March 1, 2007 at a mutually agreed upon time. The winning bidder will be contacted by The Home for Little Wanderers after the auction closes to make arrangements. This item is not for re-sale.