What Chyler Leigh Has Been Up to Since Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Lexie Grey died more than 200 episodes ago on Grey’s Anatomy, but Chyler Leigh is reprising the part in the ABC medical drama’s April 1 episode, “Breathe” — and that’s no April Fool’s joke!
Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) has been visited by the Ghosts of Surgeons Past ever since her COVID-19 battle rendered her unconscious, and ABC’s promo for this week’s episode shows that Lexie, her half-sister, is joining her on her dream beach. (“Are you going to stay?” Lexie asks Mer in the preview.)
Of course, Leigh hasn’t been resting on her laurels since leaving Grey’s in 2012. Here are the projects that have kept her busy both on- and off-screen.
‘Supergirl’
Leigh’s big role, of course, has been in the CBS-turned-CW superhero series Supergirl — the sixth and final season of which premiered March 30 — where she plays Alex Danvers, the adoptive half-sister of Supergirl’s alter-ego, Kara Danvers (Melissa Benoist). Alex comes out as gay in Season 2, and Leigh later told TV Insider about the “overwhelming amount of positive responses” to that storyline. “I’ve gotten thousands of messages and pictures from people telling me their stories,” she said. “If this isn’t an amazing opportunity to speak to the heart of humanity as a whole and also touch people individually, I don’t know what is.”
Music Releases
Grey’s Anatomy fans know Leigh can sing—she performed a rendition of the Anna Nalick song “Breathe (2 AM)” in the show’s musical episode — and she continued her music career in 2017 when she teamed up with her husband, Nathan West, on the single “Nowhere.” That same year, Leigh was a featured performer on the Laurent Voulzy song “Sprit of Samba.”
Create Change
Leigh is a co-founder and chief creative officer of the for-profit organization Create Change — formerly known as Charity Pulse — the mission of which is to “be your go-to source for encouragement and inspiration to help you become the change you want to see in the world.”
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A Be Vocal Partner
Leigh partners with Be Vocal Speak Up, a partnership between six mental health advocacy organizations and an initiative to encourage young people in the United States to advocate for the mental health of themselves and others.
Through her work with the initiative, Leigh opened up in December 2019 about her bipolar disorder, diagnosed when she was in her late 20s. “Joining Be Vocal is my way of saying, ‘OK. I’m ready to talk,’” she said on the Be Vocal website. “I know that there are millions of people who feel the same way. So let’s do it together.”
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Taxi Brooklyn
In 2014, Leigh co-headlined the French-American co-production Taxi Brooklyn, playing Cat Sullivan, an NYPD detective who recruits taxi driver Leo Romba (Jacky Ido) to be at the wheel. NBC canceled the series in 2015 following the culmination of the 12-episode first season. The EuropaCorp Television-produced series conceivably could have found another American home, but Leigh had already signed on to star in Supergirl.
Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC
