Brooke Smith

Brooke Smith played Dr. Erica Hahn on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy. She was recently cut from the show and her last episode will be November 6, 2008. A statement about her release was issued by Executive Producer Shonda Rhimes on November 3, 2008. E Online: Grey's De-Gayed: Brooke Smith Axed; Melissa George's Role Rewritten Smith's character had recently realized that she was gay. E Online: Grey's De-Gayed: Brooke Smith Axed; Melissa George's Role Rewritten

Smith garnered national attention for her portrayal of kidnap victim Catherine Martin in the thriller The Silence of the Lambs. She went on to appear in several television and film projects, including Iron Jawed Angles, Six Feet Under and Crossing Jordan.

• Catherine Martin in The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
• Jennifer Sharp in Remembering Sex (1998)
• Mabel Vernon in Iron Jawed Angels (2004)
• Carolyn Pope in Six Feet Under (2004)
• Erica Hahn in Grey's Anatomy (2006-2008)
• Kate Switzer in Crossing Jordan (2007)
• Valerie Scottson in Weeds (2007)

"Brooke Smith was obviously not fired for playing a lesbian. Clearly it's not an issue as we have a lesbian character on the show, Calliope Torres. Sara Ramirez is an incredible comedic and dramatic actress and we wanted to be able to play up her magic. Unfortunately, we did not find that the magic and chemistry with Brooke's character would sustain in the long run. The impact of the Callie/Erica relationship will be felt and played out in a story for Callie. I believe it belittles the relationship to simply replace Erica with 'another lesbian.' If you'll remember, Cristina mourned the loss of Burke for a full season."—Shonda RhimesE Online: Brooke Smith Axed

• Note: The majority of the links in this timeline are to IMDb, which has pop-ups.

• May 22, 1967: Born

• 1988: The Moderns

• 1989: See You in the Morning

• 1991: The Silence of the Lambs

• 1993: Mr. Wonderful

• 1994: Vanya on 42nd Street

• 1995: Last Summer in the Hamptons

• 1996: Trees Lounge

• 1998: The Broken Giant

• 1999: Random Hearts

• 2000: Eventual Wife

• 2001: Series 7: The Contenders

• 2002: For Earth Below

• 2004: Six Feet Under

• 2005: In Her Shoes

• 2006: The Namesake

• 2007: Crossing Jordan

• 2007: Weeds

• 2007: Grey's Anatomy