The season 21 premiere of ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy ended with a card dedicating the episode to Stephanie Leifer. While the name may not be recognizable to the average Grey’s fan, the tribute is deeply meaningful to those who have worked on the show at any point of its run.

Leifer, who died in June of cancer at the age of 56, was a beloved programming executive who had worked a combined 28 years at ABC and its sister studio before leaving the company in 2022. She oversaw Grey’s Anatomy as a current executive at the network and then at ABC Signature (fka ABC Studios), which produces the hit medical drama.

In an interview with Deadline tied to the Season 21 premiere, Grey’s Anatomy executive producer/showrunner Meg Marinis spoke about the decision to dedicate the episode to Leifer. Marinis had worked with Leifer for more than a decade and a half as she climbed through the ranks on the show from a PA to a staff writer, to executive producer and now also a showrunner.

“Stephanie Leifer was an incredible person and devoted champion of Grey’s. She truly believed in us from the early years all the way through and supported our creative vision,” Marinis said. “I started my career as a PA, delivering Grey’s scripts to her office, and I remember her door always being open. She was so encouraging to writers and attended several Grey’s milestone events. It was a heartbreaking loss for this family.”

Leifer was instrumental in bringing Grey’s Anatomy to our screens. She was a programming executive who worked a combined 28 years at ABC, the US network on which the series airs, and its sister studio, ABC Signature. Her last role was as head of current programming at ABC Signature, which she exited in 2022. Before that, she had spent 12 years climbing the ladder at ABC, starting out in 1994 as an assistant and becoming an executive in current programming, drama development, and comedy development.

Leifer switched over to the studio side in 2006. During her long career at ABC, Leifer was involved in some of the biggest TV shows in the network’s history including Grey’s Anatomy, Lost and Ugly Betty.

“Stephanie was a beloved member of the Disney Entertainment Television family for nearly three decades, and our hearts are broken by the devastating news of her passing,” a spokesman for Disney Entertainment TV said following the tragic news of her passing. “She was a highly admired executive, whose creative impact was only matched by the relationships she nurtured both within the company and across the industry. Our sincerest condolences go out to her family, especially her husband and our colleague, Jonathan, and their two beautiful children, Amelia and Noah.”

Prior to joining ABC, Leifer worked for WGBH-TV in Boston as well as for Writers and Artists Agency.

Leifer was a prominent executive within the ABC and ABC Signature Family for many years, and she helped to shepherd along a number of shows during her tenure — with the medical drama being important among them. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Leifer passed away this past June at the age of 56. Some of the other shows she was involved with during her tenure included such landmark hits as Lost, Desperate Housewives, and Castle.

In a statement, Disney Entertainment Television said the following about her passing a little earlier this year.

“Stephanie was a beloved member of the Disney Entertainment Television family for nearly three decades, and our hearts are broken by the devastating news of her passing. She was a highly admired executive, whose creative impact was only matched by the relationships she nurtured both within the company and across the industry. Our sincerest condolences go out to her family, especially her husband and our colleague, Jonathan, and their two beautiful children, Amelia and Noah.”

Tonight’s Grey’s Anatomy is not the only show on the ABC schedule to honor Leifer, as The Bachelorette did this earlier in the year. This is another bit of evidence as to how important she was to this network for so many years. For those who are unaware, these tribute cards air in perpetuity after the episodes are broadcast, which allows viewers all over the globe a further opportunity to learn about the party being honored. We like to think that they serve as a great comfort for family members and loved ones to know how much someone was cared for, both on the job as well as off.

Our thoughts and condolences continue to go out to Leifer’s loved ones during this difficult time.

Though Liefer’s name might not immediately ring a bell to Grey’s Anatomy fans, she played a key role in helping to make the show the hit series it has become. In her role as executive vice president of current programming, Liefer overall the network’s programming slate which included Grey’s Anatomy, and was quite a champion for the show from the start.

“Stephanie Leifer was an incredible person and devoted champion of Grey’s. She truly believed in us from the early years all the way through and supported our creative vision,” current Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Meg Marinis told Deadline in speaking about the decision to dedicate the premiere to Leifer. “I started my career as a PA, delivering Grey’s scripts to her office, and I remember her door always being open. She was so encouraging to writers and attended several Grey’s milestone events. It was a heartbreaking loss for this family.”

Grey's Anatomy is just one of the many hit series that Leifer was a part of in her executive role. She also played a role in the success of Grey's Anatomy's first spinoff, Private Practice, as well as other hit ABC original series such as Lost and Ugly Betty.

The Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 premiere was dedicated to Stephanie Leifer, a member of the Grey’s family who sadly died in June of cancer at age 56. “In memory of Stephanie Leifer,” the tribute card read at the end of the episode. Leifer was a valuable part of Grey’s Anatomy, though her work was behind the scenes.

Stephanie Leifer worked as a programming executive at ABC for 28 years before leaving in 2022. She last worked as the head of current programming at ABC Signature, the company that produces Grey’s Anatomy. She began her tenure at ABC in 1994 as an assistant in the network’s TV movie department before working her way up to positions in the current programming, drama development, and comedy development departments.

She served as senior vice president of comedy development from 2002-2006 before moving to ABC Studios. Leifer was involved with many hits at ABC as the head of current programming, overseeing shows including Lost, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, and Grey’s Anatomy, among others.

She worked for public television station WGBH-TV in Boston and at the Writers and Artists Agency in Los Angeles before joining ABC.

“Stephanie was a beloved member of the Disney Entertainment Television family for nearly three decades, and our hearts are broken by the devastating news of her passing,” a spokesman for Disney Entertainment TV said in a statement following the news of her death. “She was a highly admired executive, whose creative impact was only matched by the relationships she nurtured both within the company and across the industry. Our sincerest condolences go out to her family, especially her husband and our colleague, Jonathan, and their two beautiful children, Amelia and Noah.”

Grey’s Anatomy executive producer and showrunner Meg Marinis, who wrote the Season 21 premiere, explained why they dedicated the episode to Leifer. “Stephanie Leifer was an incredible person and devoted champion of Grey’s. She truly believed in us from the early years all the way through and supported our creative vision,” Marinis told Deadline. “I started my career as a PA, delivering Grey’s scripts to her office, and I remember her door always being open,” Marinis added. “She was so encouraging to writers and attended several Grey’s milestone events. It was a heartbreaking loss for this family.”