'Grey's Anatomy's' Kate Burton on Her 16 Famous "Children"

Courtesy of ABC

"Grey's Anatomy's" Kelly McCreary, Kate Burton and Ellen Pompeo

When it comes to Kate Burton, there are two secrets to success: Have the three-time Emmy nominee guest-star in your pilot, or have her play your mother.

The latter is true for Grey's Anatomy's Kelly McCreary, who this season has joined the Shonda Rhimes medical drama as Ellis Grey's (Burton) daughter, Maggie Pierce.

The season 11 story centers on Maggie, the love child of Ellis and Richard (James Pickens Jr.), who was given up for adoption as a newborn.

For Burton, the storyline meant a return to the medical drama that earned her two Emmy noms for her role as a brilliant surgeon suffering from Alzheimer's. But it also meant that McCreary, who worked with Burton at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, would become the latest in a long line of her famous onscreen (and -stage) children.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Burton to get the scoop on her Grey's return and her many famous "children," including David Schwimmer, James Franco, Lea Michele and more.

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What was your reaction when you learned that Ellis and Richard had a love child?

Surprised! I was listening to Viola [Davis] or someone talk about when you're on a TV show, you have to roll with it because you often don't know what's going to happen to your character because there can be these major plot points that happen years later. As it is here, 11 years later! It made perfect sense to me. Being that we know Ellis was suffering form early onset Alzheimer's, God knows how early that started. Then I was thrilled when I heard it was Kelly McCreary. We'd worked together before in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Williamstown Theatre Festival where she was one of my fairies and I was Queen of the Fairies. Mostly I burst out laughing when I heard I was going back to Grey's. It's so great to go back.

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'Grey's Anatomy's' Kate Burton on Her 16 Famous "Children"