all of daughters Harper, Emerson and Beckett;

Shonda Rhimes knows a thing or two about bringing family dynamics to life on screen, and in real life she’s a proud single mother of three daughters.

The Grey’s Anatomy and Bridgerton creator became a mother in 2002 when she adopted her first child, daughter Harper. Emerson joined the family 10 years later, and Rhimes welcomed Beckett via surrogate in 2013.

“They couldn’t be more different from each other, but they’re all stubborn, and I mean that in the best way,” the Emmy winner said of her children in a 2016 conversation with Good Housekeeping.

“No one will take advantage of them. They will always go their own way because that’s what they decided they were going to do,” she added. “I don’t want a nice woman. I’d rather have a stubborn woman.”

Rhimes recently said on an October 2025 episode of her podcast, Call Her Daddy, that her daughters have taught her “incredible perseverance.” Months later, all three Rhimes children stepped out to support their mother at the Bridgerton Season 4 premiere in Paris on January 14th. The occasion marked the first time Beckett and Emerson accompanied their mother on the red carpet.

Here’s everything you need to know about Shonda Rhimes’ children, Harper, Emerson, and Beckett.

Harper Lee Rhimes, 23 years old

Rhimes welcomed her first daughter, Harper Lee Rhimes, through adoption in 2002. This was a decision made by the director following the tragic events of 9/11.

In a 2006 conversation with Oprah Magazine’s O, Rhimes said that when she was 32 years old, she rented a farmhouse in Vermont to take a trip to “think about my life,” and 9/11 happened the next day. As he watched events unfold on television, the screenwriter thought of all the things he wanted to do, so he went home and hired an adoption lawyer.

“Until then, I had spent a lot of time asking myself, ‘What’s wrong with my life?'” she said. “I felt very unhappy.”

Rhimes added, “Nine months and two days after 9/11, my daughter was born. I named her after Harper Lee. Now I can’t remember what I did before she came here.”

Harper and her mother are close, but that doesn’t mean she sees everything Rhimes creates. In a 2022 interview with The Wall Street Journal, Rhimes revealed that her daughters still haven’t seen Grey’s Anatomy, and Harper said, “They’re horrified that I wrote a show that all their friends have watched over and over again.”

“So she’s never seen it. I have to say this might be the best compliment ever,” the BAFTA winner explained. “I feel like her mother wrote a show that tells all her friends how they should think about love and sex. So she has no interest in watching that show, which I think is a very good thing.”

In a 2017 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Harper said she “watched a lot” of Scandal, adding, “I haven’t really liked it in a while.”

Harper also said he is an artist who loves dancing and riding horses. As for his favorite TV shows, he said he likes to watch Stranger Things, Shameless, Friends, and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Rhimes added that although Harper had expressed interest in producing, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to pursue a career in entertainment.

Still, Harper once got a taste of the industry when she briefly appeared in the series finale of Scandal in 2018. She only appeared on the show for about 30 seconds as one of the children looking at the portrait of Olivia Pope (Kerry Washington).

According to LinkedIn, Harper graduated from Marlboro School in the Los Angeles area in 2019 and then enrolled at Parsons School of Design in New York City, where she studied business and graduated in 2025.

Outside of education, she is the founder and CEO of Serve a Purpose, a nonprofit that connects professionals with “at-risk youth.” The foundation offers several services, including therapy, yoga and career-building sessions with experts, according to its website.

Although Harper tends to keep her life private, followers sometimes get a glimpse of the mother-daughter duo on Rhimes’ Instagram, like when the showrunner shared a photo of herself and Harper dressed up in April 2023.

“They grow so fast,” she wrote in the caption. “I had a wonderful time in London with my wonderful daughter.”

In March 2025, Harper appeared on the red carpet with her mother at the premiere of Rhimes’ show, The Residence. In October of that year, Rhimes told Call Her Daddy that Harper was now based in London and was “living her best life.”

Emerson Pearl Rhimes, 12 years old

Rhimes welcomed her second daughter, Emerson Pearl Rhimes, through adoption in 2012.

Four years later, Rhimes gave a TED talk about how Emerson helped restore her creative spark during a time of burnout. She explained that Emerson, who was a toddler at the time, called everyone “honey” as if she were a “southern waitress.”

One day, Emerson asked Rhimes, “Do you want to hang out?” Rhimes notices that Emerson no longer calls anyone “honey.”

Realizing how quickly time passes, Rhimes decided to say yes when her daughter asked if she wanted to play. By focusing on creativity and finding joy rather than stress at work, Rhimes was able to get back on track.

“My children are my happy place,” she said. “They are my world.”

During an appearance on Call Her Daddy in October 2025, Rhimes said Emerson recently watched Grey’s Anatomy and had a strong reaction to one scene in particular.

“She watched about eight or nine episodes and[Dr. Christina Yang]had an ectopic pregnancy and she was just furious,” Rhimes recalled of her daughter. “She said, ‘I didn’t realize this was going to happen. I didn’t see this coming. I think this is too old for me.’ And she stopped it.”

Beckett Rhimes, 11 years old

Rhimes gave birth to her third daughter, Beckett, through a surrogate in 2013.

She posted this happy announcement on X, writing, “I’ve been away from Twitter. I have a good reason. TINY HUMAN #3 is here and she’s perfect! Babies are good. Life is good. #2shows3kids.”

In 2016, Rhimes revealed that Beckett is a big fan of women’s gymnastics after Gabby Douglas helped the United States win gold at the Olympics.

“True story,” she wrote to X. “Yesterday, my 3-year-old daughter announced that her name is Gabby Douglas Rhimes.”

Although Beckett is still young, Rhimes revealed that she and her sisters are working hard to grow into strong women.

“I want my daughters to look at me and see me as a working woman. In their world, their mom runs the company,” Rhimes said during her Dartmouth commencement speech, according to The Bump.

As for whether Beckett watched Grey’s Anatomy, Rhimes revealed on Call Her Daddy that her youngest daughter and her friends made a “promise” that no one would watch the medical drama.

“No one wants to know what Beckett’s mother has to say about life and love and everything else,” she said.