Jenisa Washington, who had been married to “Grey’s Anatomy” star Isaiah Washington for 29 years, suffered a massive hemorrhagic stroke and died in June 2025, her husband confirmed in an Instagram post on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. The loss had been kept out of public view for 16 months.
“Yes…the rumors are true. My dear wife of 29 years collapsed suddenly on May 31, 2025 and passed away on June 9, 2025. It came as a huge shock to me and our entire family,” Washington wrote beneath a photograph of his late wife.
“She succumbed to a massive hemorrhagic stroke and never recovered,” he said in the post.
Washington said speculation about his family was what finally pushed him to speak. His wife’s long absence had drawn attention from fans and parts of the press.
“I don’t know if this is an appropriate post, because Jenisa Washington was extremely private, but I guess I just have to be reprimanded from her on the other side,” he wrote.
Condolences and a Health Warning
In the same post, Washington urged his followers to take their own symptoms seriously and get a brain scan. “Listen, y’all…some headaches are not just headaches or migraines, they can be much worse and a warning sign. Get a brain scan if you can and take those headaches seriously,” he wrote.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, a blood vessel in the brain breaks and bleeds during a hemorrhagic stroke. That rupture starves the brain of the blood and oxygen it needs. The bleeding can damage or kill brain cells, and the strokes require immediate treatment.
The post drew nearly 45,000 reactions. Oscar-winning actress Viola Davis; actors Debi Mazar, Tichina Arnold, Michael Beach, Harold Perrineau and LaMonica Garrett; and singer Nicci Gilbert offered condolences to Washington and his family. “So very sorry Isaiah,” Davis wrote. Mazar wrote: “My condolences, Isaiah. To you and your family.”
A Private Marriage of 29 Years
The couple met at a dinner party in Los Angeles in 1995. The late wife’s full name was Jenisa Marie Garland, and she and Washington were introduced in 1995 and married one year later. They married on Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, 1996. Washington was briefly married and divorced at 21, before he met Garland.
Jenisa Washington worked in fashion and later founded the Impact Circle Foundation, a nonprofit that supports underserved families. Over the decades, she largely stayed away from the cameras that followed her husband. The couple made their red carpet debut at the ABC TCA party in July 2005 and appeared together at the 2006 American Music Awards in Los Angeles.
Washington is 63 and his wife was 56.
The couple had three children, sons Isaiah and Tyme and daughter Iman. His wife had been gone for 16 months, Washington wrote in closing the post, and three remarkable children survive her to carry on her legacy.
Actor-comedian Reggie McFadden, who died at 57, drew a tribute from Washington on Monday, Oct. 5, which credited him as the friend “who introduced me to her in 1995.”
The Role That Made Him Famous
Washington played cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Preston Burke on “Grey’s Anatomy,” a medical drama starring Ellen Pompeo that first aired in 2005. Fans came to count his character’s on-screen romance with Cristina Yang, played by Sandra Oh, as one of the series’ signature pairings.
A heated on-set argument with co-star Patrick Dempsey, in which he used a homophobic slur aimed at T.R. Knight, who played George O’Malley, led the show to fire him in 2007. He returned to the series in 2014, appearing in the 10th season to close out Yang’s storyline.
Washington starred in the science-fiction series “The 100” from 2014 to 2018 and also appeared in “P-Valley,” “Bionic Woman,” “The Cleaner,” “Law & Order: Los Angeles” and “Survivor’s Remorse.” His film credits include “Blackbird,” “Dead Trigger,” “Cut Throat City” and the Brazil-U.S. co-production “Área Q.” He announced his retirement from acting in 2023 before appearing in multiple movies.
Speaking in 2013 about losing the role, Washington said he was “shunned,” and said of the forced break in his career: “I became a better husband, a better father and a better artist.” He told Fox News Digital in 2022 that marriage changed his career: “For me, being married and having children did change a lot of my trajectory.” He added: “That’s why I didn’t want to get married 25 years ago, but I’m glad I did because the wife and children really make you the best human being that you can be.”
