Ellen Pompeo says she ‘manifested’ the $6.4 million Malibu beach house she couldn’t afford in the early years of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Ellen Pompeo’s casting as Dr. Meredith Grey in 2005 would eventually make her one of the highest-paid women on television. She currently makes $550,000 an episode, according to Forbes, and will be leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” next year after 19 seasons.

But when the 53-year-old actress first came across the listing for the Malibu beach of her dreams, she went to check it out, knowing then that there was no way she could buy it.

Pompeo loved the house’s bluff-top location and “perfect proportions.”

“I knew I couldn’t afford it, but I didn’t tell anyone that,” she told Architectural Digest. “I like to say I manifested this house.”

The house was being listed by Friends co-creator Marta Kauffman and eventually sold to someone else.

Lucky for her, the house went back on the market in 2013, about eight years after she first fell in love with it, so Pompeo and her husband, Chris Ivery, jumped at the second chance to buy it.

“I truly enjoy the craft and art of houses,” she said. “It exercises a different creative muscle.”

At the time of the purchase, Pompeo had secured her spot as one of the highest-paid actors. According to Forbes, in 2012, Pompeo earned an estimated $275,000 an episode on the eighth season and secured that same salary for seasons nine and 10, with additional payments from syndication.

As of 2017, Pompeo was bringing in an additional $6 million a year from her share of the syndication profits too.

Built in 1979, the house is about 3,000 square feet and had to be “completely rebuilt because of the damage that the sea and the salt air does,” she said.

Fast forward almost a decade later, and Pompeo is finally enjoying her fully renovated and decorated Malibu beach house after announcing in August she will be taking a step back from the hit show.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Pompeo will continue serving as an executive producer but will only appear in eight episodes of the iconic ABC medical drama in the upcoming 19th season.

The actress is going to put that raise to good use, especially since she and her husband recently purchased the property directly behind their current Malibu home for a reported $10 million, according to AD.

Pompeo’s interior designer and friend Martyn Lawrence Bullard said he’s already thinking about what additions could be made to the house. He’s already thinking about a tennis court, extensive gardens, and a more spacious home with a bedroom for each child.

“It will give Ellen a true Malibu estate,” he said.

Sign up now: Get smarter about your money and career with our weekly newsletter

Want to earn more and work less? Register for the free CNBC Make It: Your Money virtual event on Dec. 13 at 12 p.m. ET to learn from money masters such as Kevin O’Leary how you can increase your earning power.