WASHINGTON — Patrick Dempsey may have stepped down from his role as Derek Shepherd on ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," but in the hearts of many, he's still "McDreamy."
And finally, he has the title to prove it.
Dempsey has been named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2023. The selection was announced Tuesday night by the magazine, which each year selects a group of celebrities as finalists for the award, partly for their good looks and often for their philanthropic efforts.
The Sexiest Man Alive is formally crowned by voters casting online ballots. And after years of being a finalist but failing to make the cut when it came to the voting, Dempsey revealed he had won on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" Tuesday night.
“I was completely shocked, and then I started laughing, like, this is a joke, right?" Dempsey told People after his selection. "I’ve always been the bridesmaid!”
Dempsey, 57, is most well known for his role as the titular Meredith Grey's love interest on Grey's Anatomy for the show's first 11 seasons. But his acting career extends back to 1987's "Can't Buy Me Love." More recently, he's starring in the "Ferrari" film set to release in December
The last role is fitting for Dempsey, who races cars as a hobby and has a collection of sports and vintage cars.
Outside of his acting and racing chops, People selected the actor as their Sexiest Man Alive partly because of his work supporting cancer patients.
Dempsey in 2008 helped found the Dempsey Center, a medical campus offering free cancer care. The center was created to honor Dempsey's mother, Amanda, who was diagnosed with cancer in 1997 and battled with the disease five separate times before her death in 2014.
The center sponsors the annual Dempsey Challenge, a race that has raised millions for cancer care and support.
Dempsey told People that he hopes the feature will draw more attention to the center, which he views as a major part of his legacy.
“I’m glad it’s happening at this point in my life,” Dempsey told the magazine. “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.”
The People edition with Dempsey’s cover story will be out Friday.