Shonda Rhimes

The speeches by Shonda Rhimes are nothing short of inspiring. The Chicago native obtained her BA from Dartmouth College, where she studied fiction and play-writing. After dabbling in San Francisco's advertising industry, Rhimes relocated to Los Angeles to study screenwriting at the University of Southern California. During her time there, Rhimes earned the Gary Rosenberg Writing Fellowship Award. She went on to receive a Master of Fine Arts from USC's School of Cinema-Television.

After working several odd jobs to make ends meet, Rhimes made her directorial debut with the short film 'Blossoms and Veils,' starring Jada Pinkett-Smith. Her good fortune continued after a script she wrote was picked up by New Line Cinema. She then welcomed a steady flow of writing assignments, including writing Britney Spears' debut film 'Crossroads,' which earned over 60 million dollars worldwide.

Rhimes' biggest career accomplishment to date is creating the wildly popular medical drama 'Grey's Anatomy,' which premiered in 2005. Rhimes is also the creator and producer of its spin-off series 'Private Practice' and the political thriller 'Scandal.'