‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Sara Ramirez Is Joining ‘Madam Secretary’

Sara Ramirez is joining the cast of CBS’s Madam Secretary. According to CBS, the Tony winner and former star Grey’s Anatomy will play Kat Sandoval, “a brilliant political strategist, legendary in D.C. for her talent and for abruptly dropping out of politics until Elizabeth manages to coax her back into the State Department.”

After several years of bit parts, Ramirez first broke out when she appeared as The Lady in the Lake in the Monty Python Broadway musical Spamalot. After that came Grey’s and voiceover work. Parents know her voice well as Queen Miranda on Sofia the First and the new Disney Junior show Vampirina. She left Grey’s in 2016 citing a need for a break. This is her first regular on-camera role since.

This news comes just days after fellow Broadway icon Bebe Neuwirth announced she and her character Nadine Tolliver are leaving the show, which follows Téa Leoni as Dr. Elizabeth McCord, the Secretary of State of the United States, and is in its fourth season.

While her loss will be felt among Madam Secretary fans, they needn’t wait long for Ramirez to fill the hole in their hearts. The first episode featuring Ramirez as Sandoval airs Sunday, Nov. 19.

Ramirez, who came out as bisexual last year, played Dr. Callie Torres, one of the few openly bisexual characters on television during her time on Grey’s. Earlier this year, she took her former network to task after another ABC show, The Real O’Neals made jokes comparing being bisexual having “webbed toes” or “money problems.”

Queer Twitter is already super onboard with Ramirez’s Sandoval.

Madam Secretary airs at 10/9 p.m. Central on Sundays on CBS.

×