Kelly McCreary says she loves that she can show off her natural hair on Greys Anatomy

Kelly McCreary loves that she can show off her natural hair on Greys Anatomy, because it allows women watching the show to relate to her character.

The actress is known for playing Dr Maggie Pierce on the long-running US series and Kelly insists that one of the reasons why her character is loved so much, is because of her natural hair and how it has helped to present a real representation of black women on mainstream TV.

Speaking to Hollywood Life, Kelly explained: I get so many thankful black girls who are happy to see a representation of a woman who looks like them.

What I feel like they mean by that is, [Maggie is] not super done up. Shes not a bombshell and she looks like somebody that they could also be. Not a fantasy of a person.

She said: Its comforting [for fans] to see themselves reflected. You see a lot of black women on TV with straight hair, I did growing up, but I also saw people in my life who had little teeny weeny fros the women on TV were the same to me as the women in my life.

Kelly revealed that she chose to stop chemically straightening her hair in college because she couldnt afford to keep it up and so she decided to work with her natural hair instead.

She says she wasnt willing to change just because having natural hair could potentially be limiting to her landing roles, as she figured thats unfair and the right job would make room for her.

And sticking to her guns served her well, as Kelly did land work.

She has been starring on Greys Anatomy, which is watched worldwide, since 2014, and, having had such a huge response form fans, Kelly says she finds it gratifying that shes considered one of the early representations of natural hair on TV.

Greys Anatomy is currently in season 16 and will return for yet another series.

ABC bosses have said the medical drama is here to stay, with entertainment chief Karey Burke sharing her hopes to watch the show with her grandchildren when asked if there were plans to scrap Greys Anatomy in August last year.

While fans have been assured Greys Anatomy will long continue, it will be without original castmember Justin Chambers, as he announced last month that hes quit the series after 15 years as Dr Alex Karev.

Theres no good time to say goodbye to a show and character thats defined so much of my life for the past 15 years, he said.

For some time now, however, I have hoped to diversify my acting roles and career choices now is that time.

Greys Anatomy is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.

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