Sandra Oh won't return to 'Grey's Anatomy': 'I have moved on'

By Megan Stone

Video by Brittany Berkowitz

Sandra Oh became an instant favorite among "Grey's Anatomy" fans, playing the acerbic yet brilliant Dr. Cristina Yang. Even seven years after exiting the beloved medical drama, the 49-year-old actress continues to field questions about a possible return.

However, the answer has always been the same -- Cristina is never returning to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.

So, when the Los Angeles Times' "Asian Enough" podcast asked Oh if she thought about making a cameo in the series' recently greenlit 18th season, the Emmy-nominated actress maintained, "No."

"I love it, though, and this is also why I really appreciate the show," she added. "That I still get asked this."

Walt Disney via Getty Images

Sandra Oh as Cristina in an episode of "Grey's Anatomy."

The actress took her final bow at the end of "Grey's Anatomy" season 10, which aired in 2014. To explain Cristina's exit, the character moved to Switzerland.

"It’s very rare, I would say, to be able to see in such a way the impact of a character," Oh said. "In some ways, you do your work as a bubble, and you let it go. I left that show, my God, seven years ago almost. So in my mind, it’s gone. But for a lot of people, it’s still very much alive."

Although she appreciates the indelible mark Cristina left on "Grey's Anatomy" -- and on pop culture for uttering the iconic line "You're my person" -- the two-time Golden Globe winner attested, "And while I understand and I love it, I have moved on."

When asked what her character would be up to during the events on season 17, where bestie Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) is fighting for her life against COVID-19, Oh said, "Cristina, like I imagine all the health care workers, [would be] wickedly at the front line trying to solve the big problems" in health care made evident by the pandemic.