Thursday character profile: Miranda Bailey

June 18, 4:59 PMGrey’s Anatomy ExaminerErin Nolan

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Name: Miranda Bailey

Played by: Chandra Wilson

Debut Episode: Season One, Episode One "A Hard Day's Night"

Occupation: Chief surgical resident at Seattle Grace Hospital

Family: Miranda is married to Tucker Jones and is the proud mother of a one-year-old son, William George Bailey Jones.

Romantic History: Out of all the surgeons on staff at Seattle Grace, Bailey is the least willing to discuss her personal life with her colleagues. It wasn't until season two, episode five (Bring the Pain) that the show revealed she had been married for ten years. But it wasn't long before her personal and professional lives began to collide. On the day Bailey checked into Seattle Grace as a patient to deliver her son, Tucker was severely injured in a car accident on his way to meet her at the hospital and had to undergo brain surgery with Bailey's friend, Dr. Derek Shepherd. Following Tucker's recovery and the birth of their son, Tucker became a stay-at-home dad while Bailey continued her surgical residency. This shift began to strain their relationship. Their marriage nearly imploded when they blamed each other for a severe injury their son sustained in a household accident. The couple separated for a short time, until Bailey decided to give up some of her extra responsibilities at work to spend more time with her family. However, Tucker was not satisfied with her concessions. When Bailey decided to switch specialties from general to pediatric surgery, he offered her an ultimatum: either she give up the new specialty or he'd leave her. Bailey was so angry at her husband for issuing this ultimatum, she decided to leave him instead.

Friendships: Bailey likes to maintain a high level of professionalism at work, but has been known from time to time to confide in her colleagues Derek Shepherd, Addison Montgomery, and her mentor, Chief Richard Webber. And although her nickname is "The Nazi", she's proven on several occasions that she harbors maternal feelings towards her class of interns (now residents), particularly George O'Malley, who provided instrumental support during the birth of her son, and Izzie Stevens, who was battling cancer at the end of season five.

Career Milestones: Chief Webber makes no secret of the fact that Bailey is one of the finest surgeons he has ever had the pleasure of teaching. That's why it came as such a shock to her when he originally picked Dr. Callie Torres over her for the position of chief resident. But when Torres couldn't handle the pressure and began to rely on Bailey for help, it didn't take long for Webber to realize his mistake and confess to Bailey that the real reason he hadn't given her the job was that he didn't want to take any more of her time away from her family. But Bailey's natural talent for leadership was undeniable, and she has thrived in the position of chief resident since the middle of season four.

Webber's desire to guide Bailey's career has led to other clashes between the two doctors. Webber grew frustrated with Bailey in season three, when she decided to devote a large portion of her time to running a free emergency care clinic at the hospital. Bailey eventually gave up the clinic to appease her husband, but her desire to explore different areas of medicine didn't go away. In season five, she applied for a fellowship in pediatric surgery, even though she had a difficult time dealing with the overwhelming emotions of caring for sick and dying children. Webber hated the idea of losing Bailey to a different specialty and tried to lure her back to general surgery with fancy new equipment. Bailey was awarded the pediatric fellowship in the season five finale, but had to turn it down after leaving her husband, knowing that as a single mother, she would have less time to devote to taking on new endeavors at work.

Memorable Moments:

Season One, Episode Five "Shake Your Groove Thing": Bailey catches then-secret couple Meredith and Derek in a compromising position.

Season Two, Episode 17 "As We Know It": Bailey snaps at George to "stop looking at my va-jay-jay" after he helps deliver her baby, while her husband undergoes brain surgery following a car accident.

Season Four, Episodes 9-10 "Crash Into Me (Parts 1 and 2)": Bailey's professionalism is put to the test when she must operate on a white supremacist with an offensive symbol tattooed on his chest.

Season Four, Episode 11 "Lay Your Hands on Me": Bailey is left feeling helpless when a bookshelf falls on her son, and she has to watch her colleagues attempt to save his life.

Season Five, Episode Four "There's No I in Team": Bailey successfully pulls off a "domino surgery" in which three kidney transplants are performed simultaneously.

Check back Tuesdays and Thursdays for more 'Grey's Anatomy' character profiles. In the meantime, catch up on our profiles of George O'Malley, Alex Karev, Izzie Stevens, Cristina Yang, Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey.

Photos: ABC