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From the moment Cristina Yang rode into Grey’s Anatomy on a motorcycle in the pilot episode back in 2005, she was a force—ambitious, brutally honest, and unapologetically driven. Sandra Oh played Cristina for ten full seasons, anchoring some of the show’s most iconic storylines before she left in season 10’s finale, Fear (Of the Unknown).
In a March 28, 2025, interview with Entertainment Weekly, she admitted that while she once felt a “hard no” about returning, time and her continued love for the character had started to pull at her. Her reaction seemingly left the door open enough for the fans to start hoping again.
"I don't feel the need to revisit, but I also profoundly understand the audience's love for this character, because I've seen it for the past 10 years. That's the part that makes me just go, hmmm" she said.
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Notably, for years, Sandra Oh has stood firm on her decision to move on from the show. She said goodbye to Cristina with closure, both personally and professionally. Whether it was cutting herself out of a wedding dress after being left at the altar or dancing it out with Meredith to escape emotional chaos, Cristina carved out a place as one of the most unforgettable characters in the series.
Is Sandra Oh returning to Grey’s Anatomy? Here's what she said
In her new interview with Entertainment Weekly, Sandra Oh reflected on two decades of Grey’s Anatomy and gave fans something they weren’t expecting—hesitation. For the first time in ten years, the actress didn’t completely shut down the idea of returning as Cristina Yang.
While she made it clear that she has spent years processing her exit and had zero regrets about stepping away, her tone this time felt different. There was a crack in the door where there used to be a deadbolt.
Sandra talked about how seriously she took the decision to leave the show. She said it wasn’t sudden, and she started thinking about it as early as season 8. She had open conversations with Shonda Rhimes, who respected her need to move on. By season 10, she was done.
She worked with the writers to give Cristina a proper exit and wanted the audience to have a real goodbye. She wasn’t interested in the kind of exit that leaves a character floating in limbo.
What made this interview stand out is how she described her connection to the role now. She admitted she no longer feels the need to return but understands the character’s lasting impact. She’s seen how much people still love Cristina Yang. When asked about her thoughts on the character returning, she shared,
"As for actually physically inhabiting the character of Cristina and coming back.... For the longest time, it has always been a hard no. And it's just... I don't know. I just don't know. When you finish something, it's a deep process."
Her openness to letting the writers use the character however they see fit is different from a flat-out refusal to be involved.
Sandra also gave credit to Grey’s Anatomy for still finding ways to tell stories that matter and for continuing to resonate with fans after all these years. She didn’t commit to anything, but the fact that she didn’t dismiss it outright has people talking. Cristina Yang walking back through the doors of Grey Sloan isn’t a guarantee—but for the first time in a decade, it’s not off the table either.
You can watch Grey’s Anatomy on ABC.
