For as long as Grey's Anatomy has been around, Dr. Miranda Bailey has held her sway. An instant fan favorite, "The Nazi" has evolved from the iron-fisted surgical resident at Seattle Grace Teaching Hospital who enjoyed terrorizing her interns into a kind, empathetic, principled, and extremely determined Chief of Surgery at Grey Sloan Memorial.
Bailey has been one of the most inspiring figures on the show -- a strong, successful woman in what had been, for years, predominantly a man's field. Here are a few details about her that might have escaped notice.
Miranda Bailey Attended Wellesley College For Girls
In the episode in season 14 where Bailey ends up having a heart attack from all the mental and emotional stress she has been under, there is a flashback to her past as a young girl living with her parents.
It is revealed that Bailey attended Wellesley College for Girls, and when she received her acceptance letter into the undergrad program, her protective mother wasn't particularly happy to let her young daughter go so far out of sight. It's no surprise, however, that Bailey should have studied at Wellesley, one of the most prestigious women's colleges in the world.
Bailey Is A Star Wars Fan
A studious low profile girl who found her voice as she made her way through her surgical internship at Seattle Grace, Bailey has had her share of being the underdog.
It was during her "growing up years" when she spent a lot of time on her own that the geeky little Bailey presumably watched a lot of Star Wars and knew every episode by heart.
Miranda Played The Oboe
Miranda used to play the oboe in her school band. In the season 4 episode, 'Forever Young,' Miranda is taken back to her high school years when an old crush resurfaces as a patient and manages to manipulate her just like he did when they were in school together.
It's not hard to imagine the young, introvert Miranda practicing away on her oboe, perfecting her craft until she was completely satisfied with it.
Miranda Owns Judy Dolls
In season 2's, 'Enough is Enough,' a patient was admitted to Seattle Grace with a bowel obstruction, the reason for which was initially believed to be drug balloons, presumably consumed so as not to get caught.
However, in a rather sick twist, it turned out that the patient had actually consumed the heads of 10 Judy dolls. While performing the surgery to get them out, Bailey was able to identify every doll from its head, revealing that she liked and collected Judy dolls.
Miranda Was Booty Call Bailey
The on-call room at Seattle Grace/Grey Sloan Memorial is a notorious place to be and the hangout for any doctor, intern, resident, or nurse who wants to cozy up with their favorite people during the course of the day or night.
There was a time when Miranda Bailey went from being nicknamed "The Nazi" to "Booty Call Bailey" because of the amount of time she was spending in the on-call room with Ben Warren. Her shift in personality was hilarious, to say the least. However, true to her nature, she picked herself up and became one of the most powerful people in the entire hospital.
Bailey Was Supposed To Be White
Actress Chandra Wilson has aced the role of the tough Chief of Surgery, but one lesser-known fact is that Bailey was originally conceptualized as a small, white woman.
Apparently, creator Shonda Rhimes wanted Bailey to be a petite looking white woman who would look unassuming but who put people firmly in their place when she opened her mouth. However, when Chandra Wilson auditioned for the role, there was no turning back for either the writers or the actress.
Bailey Named Her Son After An Intern
In season 2, Miranda goes into labor when her husband Tucker -- now ex-husband -- is admitted to Seattle Grace following an accident and has to be operated on by Derek Shepherd. Miranda is in shock when she realizes that her husband could be fatally injured. Thus, although she goes into emergency labor, she is unable to push, which is harmful to both her and her as yet unborn baby.
At this time, surgical intern George O'Malley calmed her down and held her hand through the process, getting her to finally give birth. O'Malley was already Bailey's favorite intern and after this incident, she named her son William 'George' Bailey Jones after him, in gratitude for the care and empathy shown by George during her difficult delivery.
Miranda Could Have Been A Pediatric Surgeon
Miranda Bailey is a brilliant general surgeon. However, there was a time before she became an attending when she was lost, professionally. It could also have had to do with the fact that she was in an unhappy marriage at the time. During this time, pediatric surgeon Arizona Robbins told her that she had a flair for working with kids.
Miranda dismissed this at first since she knew she could not handle dying and suffering children all the time. But gradually, she did find her passion for pediatrics and even considered applying for a peds fellowship until her husband put his foot down and she ended up divorcing him. The pressure of being a doctor, as well as a single mother, forced her to give up the peds fellowship after all, and she joined the hospital as a general surgeon.
Miranda Stands On A Tiny Stool
One of the primary characteristics of Bailey that stands out is that she is a woman of short stature who can take on any man or woman double her size when it comes to authority.
For those who haven't noticed, Miranda actually has to stand on a tiny stool when she operates so that she has a better view of what she is doing during the surgery. This is one of those little details that make the characters flesh and blood.
Miranda Is Not Particularly Welcoming Towards Attendings
Miranda Bailey has not been shown to be particularly open and welcoming attendings to join the hospital. From the very first season onwards, Miranda had been something of a skeptic when it came to attendings and she made no efforts to hide her feelings.
She is an opinionated woman and had initially been skeptical of attendings, like Derek Shepherd and Preston Burke, although in time, she warmed up to them.