IT WAS ALL A LIE

A new doccie exposes the Grey's Anatomy writer who fabricated her life story

- NICIDE WET

HER DREAM was to write for Grey's Anatomy, one of the most popular and gripping medical dramas to ever hit the small screen. And she turned that dream into a reality, infusing her penmanship with the harrowing details and heroic resilience of her own health drama.

For seven years Elisabeth Finch (46) helped write the tear-jerking tales that came to define the long-running show, basing much of her work on her experience - or so she said.

At the centre of it was her claim that she was a cancer survivor and her story was so inspiring it became one of the show's pivotal plotlines.

Over time Elisabeth's penchant for spinning personal trauma into TV gold brought her industry acclaim, social media clout and a close friendship with Shonda Rhimes, the show's renowned creator. She also rose up the ladder from screenwriter to co-executive producer.

But in May 2022 her world came crashing down when Vanity Fair magazine journalist Evgenia Peretz wrote a twopart exposé that detailed Elisabeth's web of lies.

Those articles have now been turned into a new docu-series on streaming service Peacock called Anatomy of Lies.

The series paints Elisabeth as a master manipulator who milked human kindness to get what she wanted. "She befriended people who are very empathetic and preyed upon that empathy," says Evgenia, who wrote and directed the doccie with her husband, documentary filmmaker David Schisgall.

The show includes extensive interviews with several Grey's writers who were duped by Elisabeth for nearly a decade as well as her now-ex-wife, Jennifer Beyer, and two of Jennifer's children who'd come to admire their mother's partner.

Elisabeth doesn't make an appearance but after the recent premiere of Anatomy of Lies she wrote a post on Instagram saying there was "no justification" for what she did.