A Definitive Ranking of the Most Annoying Grey’s Anatomy Characters

In 14 seasons of Grey's Anatomy, we've met a lot of characters.

Some are amazing, some are horrible and some are just downright irritating. This brought me to an important question—which main character in Grey's Anatomy sits at the very top of the annoying scale? Thankfully, I have the answer.

Keep scrolling for my definitive ranking of the most annoying Grey's Anatomy characters.

9. April Kepner

April Kepner lives at the bottom of this list due to the fact that when she first came on the show she was literally the most annoying character we have ever experienced. She was high-strung and stuck-up, and she wanted to blame everyone else for her mistakes instead of taking any responsibility for her actions. However, her character development was key, and she slowly transformed into one of the more beloved doctors in the series. We still can't fully forget how annoying she was, but I can forgive her younger self and acknowledge that she's not nearly as irritating now.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

8. Maggie Pierce

Maggie is a newer addition to the Grey Sloan staff, but if you thought they were going to bring in characters that don't make me want to rip my hair out, think again. I'll admit that Maggie is sweet and kind under the surface, but the girl literally has the maturity level of a middle schooler. She's constantly whining about her various crushes that never seem to go anywhere, and she can be incredibly petty. I mean seriously Maggie, people have died all over the place in this hospital and you're going to freak out because a boy doesn't like you back? Give me a break.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

7. Izzie Stevens

Ugh, Izzie is one of the most frustrating Grey's Anatomy characters. She started out so strong as a former model who wasn't going to back down in the face of criticism, but as the other characters in the series improved, Izzie just got worse. First of all, she's completely ruled by her emotions, to the point where she almost killed the love of her life in an effort to obtain a heart transplant for him. Then, she just up and ditched everyone for literally no reason, leaving Alex totally heartbroken even though he stuck by her through some seriously traumatic stuff. It was the most annoying end to any Grey's character ever—even worse than all the ridiculous deaths—because there was no real resolution.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

6. Shane Ross

Shane started out so promising as a young intern who just wanted to find his calling within the hospital. However, it quickly became clear he was pretty self-centered, vindictive and incredibly entitled. He decided he wanted to be a neurosurgeon even though he didn't have much of a talent for it, he sabotaged Brooks (which ultimately led to her death) and then just started following Cristina around once he realized he actually liked cardio anyway. He basically just caused a bunch of problems for people and didn't have a lot of redeeming qualities, which made him a massively irritating character.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

5. Catherine Avery

Apparently it's a theme for the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital to be totally self-centered, and Catherine Avery is no different. She starts an affair with Richard while his wife is sick in a nursing home, forces April to sign a pre-nuptial agreement that neither her or Jackson wants and consistently manipulates the decisions of the hospital staff. Beyond that, she's cold and aloof and an overall know-it-all who can't ever be told that she might be wrong. You can't tell me that isn't annoying.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

4. Preston Burke

Preston Burke is the actual worst. He was never good enough for Cristina, and one of the major flaws in this series is that the writers allowed him to leave her when Cristina shouldn't have even settled for him in the first place. He thinks he's the smartest person alive and that no one can measure up to his amazing skills, even though he didn't do anything all that impressive during the course of his time on the show. He pressures Cristina into marrying him and  transforming into someone she totally isn't, and then he has the audacity to leave her at the altar. I will never forgive Preston, and no one else should, either.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

3. Meredith Grey

I understand that Meredith has been through a lot in her life, but man she is irritating. She never knows what to do with her emotions, so she makes all these really terrible decisions that she's never held fully accountable for. She just kind of bops through life being a total mess and letting other people clean up after her, and then she whines about how everything is just so hard for her and she's all "dark and twisty" and whatever, even though she doesn't make much of an effort to change. I feel bad that her life is so rough, but the girl's got to get some control over her emotions because all her whining is not making me empathize with her plight.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

2. Amelia Shepherd

Amelia was probably brought onto the show to dull the sting of Derek's death, but I really wish they had left her out of it. She's had some traumatic stuff happen to her, too, but her decisions make even less sense than Meredith's. She wants to marry Owen, but she doesn't because she had a bad experience before; she wants to have kids, but she's afraid because she's lost a child. You know what would help you work through those problems? Talking about them with the people who care about you instead of just running away and avoiding everything. Her go-to conflict technique is just staring at people with her mouth slightly agape and it just makes me want to shake her and shout "say something!" Not sure how Owen deals with it, but I definitely couldn't.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

 

1. Ellis Grey

To be completely frank, there's basically nothing good about Ellis Grey, except for the fact that she was a great doctor. She was selfish, mean-spirited and way too into herself and her abilities. She put her own needs and desires above everyone else's, including her own daughter. She's the root of almost all of Meredith's problems, and she never seemed to reach a place where she understood the impact she was having on people. She added some great drama to the show, but it was mostly due to the fact that she was such an easy character to hate.

(Grey's Anatomy via ABC)

If you're wondering how you would fit into the world of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, click HERE for how you would die on Grey's Anatomy, based on your zodiac sign.