Krista Vernoff (born October 24, 1971) is an American television screenwriter, executive producer and director. She is best known for running the television medical drama Grey's Anatomy (2007–11, 2017–2023) and its spin-off Station 19 (2019–2023). She has also served as executive producer and writer for the US version of Shameless. Other works as producer-writer for television include Charmed and Wonderfalls. Vernoff earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Grey's Anatomy; two as a producer for the show's Best Drama Series nominations in 2006 and 2007 which were won and one personal Emmy nomination in 2006 for Best Drama Writing for her episode “Into You Like a Train”, an episode that was highly acclaimed years after its initial airing and hailed as the show's best single episode by The A.V. Club. In 2017, Shonda Rhimes enlisted Vernoff to return to Grey's for its fourteenth season with complete creative control, after she signed a deal to leave ABC for Netflix and Stacy McKee, the previous showrunner, left to run its spin-off Station 19. Vernoff became showrunner for Station 19 after McKee's departure in 2019. That same year she signed a multiyear overall deal with ABC Studios to produce new projects for ABC under her production company, Trip the Light Productions. Early life Vernoff attended Troy High School in New York, graduating in 1989. She paid tribute to the school in a season 7 episode of Grey's Anatomy, using the alma mater's song. She also attended Boston University. Vernoff aspired to be a veterinarian as a child, but then turned towards acting, studying it in college. She did not discover screenwriting until her 20s. Personal life Vernoff comes from a Jewish family. Her father, Bob Verne died in 2001. A two-part episode of Grey's Anatomy was a tribute to him. She has a daughter, named Cosette. Cosette is named after the Les Misérables character of the same name. She also has a foster son and two stepsons, Benjamin and Adrien. Career Television Vernoff mentioned she was 28 when she was first interviewed for a writing job. She recalled the "profoundly offensive" moment when the male showrunner said, "I liked your script. Did someone help you write it?" after looking her up head to toe for a minute. Most of Vernoff's work has been in the medium of television, as a script (or teleplay) writer. She has worked on a number of American television