Patrick Dempsey’s Biography: Age, Wife, Car, House, His Late Mom and Dad, and Net Worth

The biography of Patrick Dempsey, including his age, wife, car, house, late parents, and net worth

Speaking kindly of his late parents, Amanda and William, Patrick Dempsey

About his late parents, Patrick Dempsey has spoken with fondness.

On January 13, 1966, in Lewiston, Maine, the Ferrari actor was born into the family of Amanda and William Dempsey. Though he eventually left Maine at a young age to pursue his acting career, he still has close ties to the area in which he grew up. He founded the Dempsey Center in 2008 in honor of his mother Amanda, who passed away in 2014 following an ovarian cancer diagnosis in 1997.

Over the years, the actor has talked about his parents and the impact they had on his life. Notably, Dempsey told people in April 2023 that the grieving process of losing his mother made him a better husband to Jillian Dempsey and father to their three children.  “You really do prioritize your family and your children,” he said. “The family unit, I think, is really important and makes me appreciate that more.” Read ahead for everything Dempsey has said about his parents.

He grew up with his parents in Maine

Dempsey was born in Lewiston, Maine, but grew up in nearby Backfield and Turner, which he described as a “mill town” during the podcast Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris. He added that his father was an insurance salesman and his mother was a secretary.

His parents also had two other kids.

Dempsey is the youngest of three; his older sisters are Mary Dempsey (pictured above) and Alicia Hatten. His sisters also co-founded the Dempsey Center with him, which provides personalized and comprehensive cancer care at no cost.

His father died when he was 17 years old 

When Dempsey appeared on Dan Harris’ podcast Ten Percent Happier, he revealed that, at the age of 17, his father—who was significantly older than his mother—passed away. This coincided with his move to New York City to pursue a career in acting.

“I had just left Maine,” he said of his father’s death. “He had passed that first year I was here in New York, in ’83. That was the toughest.” Around that time, you are starting to see your father differently as a man. I’d been out on my own. There were a lot of things that I wanted to ask him that I didn’t get a chance to do,” he continued. “I regret not having more time with him as an adult now.”

His mother remarried after his father’s death 

Following the death of Dempsey’s father, his mother eventually married a man named Howard Lowell. They were together at the time of her death in 2014, per her obituary published in The Portland Press Herald.

His mother died of ovarian cancer in 2014

Dempsey’s mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1997 and died in 2014. “She survived much longer than anticipated,” he said on the podcast Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris. “She battled a slow-growing cancer for a very long time, and it returned almost every two years.” , Dempsey stated that he had found closure after his mother passed away. “There were a couple surgeries; we weren’t sure that she was going to make it,” he said. “And we had some of our best conversations where everything was on the table. She was very honest, direct, and open about how she was feeling. And so for me, yes, but not all of my siblings. My siblings did not have that closure and are still paying the price of that.”

He founded the Dempsey Center in honor of his mother 

He established the Dempsey Center in 2008 as a tribute to his mother Amanda. During his appearance on the podcast Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris, he noted that he got the idea for the center during his time on Grey’s Anatomy, when people asked him what charities he was involved with.  “That’s when the idea of a wellness center or complimentary therapy came up,” he said. Thankfully, his mom was able to see the Dempsey Center come to fruition before she died in 2014 and even worked as a volunteer. Speaking with Today, Dempsey said the experience “meant more to her than she could verbalize.” “She wanted to give back,” he added. “She was incredibly vulnerable but always had a strong façade. And, I think for her to come back as a volunteer meant a lot to her, and it meant a lot to the people in the community that she was here too.”