Betsy Beers

Though she became famous for being the force behind some of the most intense and gripping dramas on television, producer Betsy Beers started her career in show business on a decidedly lighter note. A graduate of Williams College, Beers traveled to New York after graduation, where she fell in love with sketch comedy. She would spend the next eight years primarily performing improv and waiting tables, before she was inspired to relocate to Los Angeles to explore the world of film and TV. Before long, Beers became interested in producing. She landed her first big break with the ensemble film "200 Cigarettes" (1999), which featured a number of prominent comedic actors such as Paul Rudd and Janeane Garofalo. Then in 2002, Beers met a talented writer named Shonda Rhimes. Rhimes, like Beers, felt that TV was shaping up to become a major outlet for creative minds in the entertainment industry, and the two got to work collaborating on a series, with Rhimes writing and both of them executive producing. That show was a medical drama called "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005-), and it turned out to be a huge success. Soon, Beers and Rhimes got to work collaborating on a number of other monumentally popular shows, such as "Scandal" (ABC, 2012-18) and "How to Get Away with Murder" (ABC, 2014-).