10 Little-Known Facts About The Actress Who Plays Zola On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
No child actor has appeared in more episodes of Grey’s Anatomy than Aniela Gumbs, who plays Zola.
Grey’s Anatomy has been on the air for a long, long time. It premiered in March 2005, and since then the show has had seventeen seasons and 380 episodes. Only two primetime television dramas – Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and NCIS – have aired more episodes since 2005, and Grey’s Anatomy is the longest-running primetime medical drama of all time.
In the seventeen seasons that Grey’s Anatomy has been on television, hundreds of actors have appeared on the series. Of those hundreds of actors, many have been children (including some pretty famous names), but no child actor has appeared in more episodes of Grey’s Anatomy than Aniela Gumbs. Gumbs plays Zola Grey Shepherd, the daughter of series leads Dr. Meredith Grey and Dr. Derek Shepherd. Gumbs has been on the show for several years now, but she remains a relatively unknown actress. Here are ten things to know about Grey’s Anatomy‘s Aniela Gumbs.
10.She Started Playing Zola In 2015
Aniela Gumbs first started playing Zola during season eleven of Grey’s Anatomy in 2015. Season eleven is noteworthy for being the season in which (Spoiler Alert) Dr. Derek Shepherd dies. Therefore, it makes plenty of sense that Zola started featuring more prominently in the show that season as she and her family dealt with the death of her father.
9.She Loves Acting On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Getting to act on a highly successful TV show sounds like a dream job for anyone, and Aniela Gumbs certainly agrees. She is frequently posting on her Instagram account about how much she loves Grey’s Anatomy and how excited she is to go to work. She often captions her posts about working on the show with the hashtag “#BestShowEver.”
8.She’s Not The Only Actress To Play Zola Grey Shepherd
Before Aniela Gumbs was cast on Grey’s Anatomy, the role of Zola was played by twins Jael Moore and Jela K. Moore. The twins played Zola from her first appearance in season seven until Gumbs took over the role in season eleven. TV shows often recast child actors when their characters grow old enough to take on speaking roles, and that appears to be why the Moore twins were recast. Many fans originally thought that child actress Heaven White had been chosen as the new Zola in 2014, but it turned out that she was just cast to appear on one episode as “Future Zola” during an alternate reality sequence.
7.’Grey’s Anatomy’ Was Her First TV Role
According to her IMDB page, Grey’s Anatomy is the first and only television series that Gumbs has appeared on. In fact, it’s her only professional acting credit on IMDB (although according to her Instagram account, she once appeared as a background dancer on Jane the Virgin). Gumbs has appeared frequently on Grey’s Anatomy since 2015, so it’s not surprising that she hasn’t had time to take on other roles. She is still just twelve years old, so it’s very likely that there are more roles in her future once her time on Grey’s Anatomy is up.
6.She’s One Of The Only Kids On ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Who Isn’t A Twin
Many of the children on Grey’s Anatomy are played by twins, as is often the case in film and television productions. Zola’s siblings, Bailey and Ellis, are both played by twins. Bailey, Zola’s younger brother, is played by Ryder and Brody Goodstadt. Eliis, the youngest Grey Shepherd child, is played by Ella and Grace Faris.
5.She’s Been On Over Forty Episodes of ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ More Than Any Other Child Actor
According to IMDB, Aniela Gumbs has appeared in forty-four episodes of Grey’s Anatomy. That means that Zola has appeared on the show far more often than any of the other Grey’s Anatomy children, like Leo Hunt and Sofia Robbin Sloan Torres. In fact, Gumbs has appeared in more episodes than almost any other actor in a recurring role on Grey’s Anatomy. The only other actors who have been in more episodes without being credited as main cast members are Jaicy Elliot, who plays Dr. Taryn Helm (58 episodes), and Debbie Allen, who plays Dr. Catherine Fox (70 episodes).
4.She Never Got To Act In A Scene With Her Onscreen Dad
Patrick Dempsey left Grey’s Anatomy in 2015, which is the same year that Aniela Gumbs joined the cast. Therefore, while Gumbs often has to act in scenes about her TV dad, she never got the chance to act in a scene with him. Even this past year, when Dempsey briefly returned to the show, Gumbs still did not get to appear on screen with him. However, the young actress still has plenty of admiration for her TV dad, and she has posted about him on her Instagram account several times.
3.She’s A Big Fan of Giacomo Gianniotti, A.K.A. Dr. Andrew DeLuca
From a quick look at Aniela’s Instagram account, it is clear that she is a huge fan of Giacomo Gianniotti, who played Dr. Andrew DeLuca on the show. Gianniotti’s character dated Zola’s mom and also briefly lived in her house, so Gianniotti ended up acting in plenty of scenes with Aniela Gumbs.
2.She Loves To Dance – Just Like Her Onscreen Mother
Aniela Gumbs has made various posts to her Instagram account showing how much she loves to dance – she literally used the caption, “Love to dance” on a recent post. Her love of dance means she fits right in on Grey’s Anatomy. Her co-star Debbie Allen is a famous dancer, choreographer, and dance teacher, and her TV mother, Dr. Meredith Grey, is known to love late-night dance sessions.
1.She Will Be Returning As Zola in Season Eighteen
Zola has been an important character in each of the past seven seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, so fans should not be surprised that Aniela Gumbs will be returning to reprise her role in season eighteen. While ABC has not released any official casting information about the upcoming season, Gumbs all but confirmed that she would continue to appear when she posted “we coming back #season18” on her Instagram account underneath a picture announcing the show’s eighteenth season.