Among fans of Grey’s Anatomy, there’s always the running joke that, with 20 years of on-the-air loyalty, we’re basically honorary medical staff ourselves. Even the cast jokes about it and will sometimes get quizzed on their medical knowledge, of which they seemingly know quite a bit. There is, however, one actor in the cast that could outshine them all on the hospital floor, and that’s Kathy C. An who plays BokHee. BokHee can be seen in countless episodes of the series assisting as a scrub nurse in the O.R. and for good reason. Because when she’s not lending her talents to Grey’s Anatomy, she’s a real-life scrub nurse working in Los Angeles.
In just about every episode of Grey’s Anatomy you watch, there’s a fair chance that you’ll catch sight of BokHee assisting with a surgery, as she’s been a part of the series since Season 1, appearing in nearly 300 episodes. This makes her the longest-running supporting character in the entire series, and while her lines may be few and far between, her presence in a surgery never goes unnoticed by fans, making her an easy favorite among viewers.
BokHee Is a Scrub Nurse in Real Life
While it might seem like BokHee is just a very dedicated background actor, having stuck around for so many episodes, her role is actually much more important once you really dig into it. An interview between the actress and Bustle revealed much of her background and career outside the series: Kathy C. An (the actress who portrays BokHee) often goes by BokHee An in real life, which is her given name. She was born in 1939 in South Korea, and when she reached the age of 20, she was pressured to marry, something which she had no interest in doing. Instead, she began working with an OB-GYN in Seoul, South Korea, whom she helped deliver babies despite having no formal training in the field. The doctor, however, was impressed with her natural ability and helped her land a job sterilizing and packaging surgical tools.
In 1968, BokHee followed a friend to California, where she babysat by day and worked shifts at the hospital by night. Just a few years later, she was offered a position in Santa Barbara as a cardiovascular scrub tech; sometime after that, she met Linda Klein, a registered nurse who would later become Grey’s Anatomy’s medical advisor. She approached An to take on a role in Grey’s Anatomy as a scrub nurse in order to make the show feel as authentic as possible. “I was never nervous and really was trying to help Linda wherever I could. I didn’t see it being that different since all I was doing was replicating what I did in the operating room,” An said of her role in the series. She has not only lent her experience to Grey’s Anatomy, but also made appearances in shows including Doogie Howser, M.D., Nip/Tuck, Family Ties, and more. While she retired in 2015 as a scrub nurse, she still continues to lend her knowledge and expertise to Grey’s Anatomy, much to the delight of fans everywhere.
BokHee Has Always Been a Beloved Member of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Having appeared in every season of the show, fans have grown fairly attached to BokHee, and for good reason. Despite not having many lines, BokHee’s kindness and professionalism are clear as day, and when she does speak, this is only proven more. One of her most memorable moments was when she called Meredith “Wonder Woman,” and when she spoke about the moment in the same Bustle interview, she admitted that she was initially nervous about delivering the line, but was overwhelmed by the reaction to it. “At the table read, I was so nervous. English, of course, isn’t my first language, so I am always worried people won’t understand me, or I will say a sentence wrong. When everyone clapped, it made me feel so happy and part of a family.”
But the love for BokHee doesn’t end there, as she is continuously receiving an outpouring of love from fans and the cast. About BokHee, Ellen Pompeo said, “What’s extraordinary about BokHee is not only her commitment to 18 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy and counting, but also to her first profession that got her the gig on Grey’s. BokHee is responsible for helping the surgeons at St. John’s Hospital here in L.A. save the lives of hundreds of people.” And who can forget when Sandra Oh tweeted that BokHee was like a second mom to her? The love for BokHee runs deep and only grows stronger with every season.
BokHee Is the Longest-Running Supporting Character on ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Seeing as BokHee has been around since the beginning of the series, she has also been around for some of the biggest moments. She was among the guests at Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Alex’s (Justin Chambers) wedding and even assisted April (Sarah Drew) when she had to perform an emergency tracheotomy on a guest suffering from a severe allergic reaction. There was also the time when she had a hilarious reaction to Dr. Bailey’s (Chandra Wilson) discussion about “vajazzling,” and in what is one of her most heroic moments, she was the scrub nurse on hand during the hospital shooting in Season 6. BokHee assisted Jackson (Jesse Williams) and Cristina in saving Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) life despite the very real threat of the shooter demanding they let him die.
Grey’s Anatomy tends to get a negative reputation from time to time due to how overly dramatic it can get, but it’s thanks to characters like BokHee that the show will always have a special place in the hearts of fans, as she truly encompasses everything that makes Grey’s Anatomy special.
Grey’s Anatomy is available to stream on Hulu in the U.S.