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Patrick Dempsey has finally been named People's Sexiest Man Alive after decades of being a heartthrob. On Wednesday, November 8th, the magazine named the former Grey's Anatomy star, who was known as Derek "McDreamy" Shepard, as this year's pick.
“I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life,” Dempsey told People. "It’s nice to have the recognition, and certainly my ego takes a little bump, but it gives me the platform to use it for something positive.”
When he first heard the news, Dempsey said, "I was completely shocked, and then I started laughing, like, this is a joke, right? I’ve always been the bridesmaid! I’d completely forgotten about it and never even contemplated being in this position. So my ego is good.” In addition to his acting career, he's founded the Dempsey Center in honor of his late mom, which supports cancer patients and their loved ones.
He also added that his kids are "just going to make fun of me and pick on me and figure out every reason why I shouldn’t be. Which is good, they keep me young.” Dempsey shares three children— 16-year-old twins Sullivan and Darby and 21-year-old Talula— with his wife Jillian who is a makeup artist and founder of her own beauty line.
Later this year, he'll star as Italian driver Piero Taruffi in the biopic Ferrari, which received an interim agreement from SAG-AFTRA amid the ongoing actors' strike. “I’d been following the movie for years, so I called Michael [Mann, the director] and said, ‘I want to discuss being a part of this,’ ” Dempsey said. “That taught me if you really want something, you have to do it yourself.”