‘Chicago Med’ Star Exits Series After 2 Seasons

The halls at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center will be a little emptier. Asjha Cooper, who has starred as Vanessa Taylor since Season 6, has officially left Chicago Med. The actress made her final appearance during Wednesday’s episode, “Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This.”Including Wednesday’s episode, Cooper appeared in a total of 29 episodes of the hit medical drama between 2021 and 2022. Warning: This post contains spoilers for Chicago Med Season 8.

After initially arriving at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center in search of a job opportunity and reconnecting with her birth mother Maggie Lockwood, Vanessa chose to leave her job as a doctor. It was revealed during the episode that Vanessa accepted an opportunity to travel to the Philippines and help others, telling her mother, “This is my calling.” Variety separately confirmed Cooper’s exit.

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As the end credits rolled, Cooper’s onscreen mother, Marlyne Barrett, took to Twitter to confirm the actress’ Chicago Med exit. Alongside a clip of Cooper’s final scenes, Barrett wrote, “She’s going! A New Journey Begins! Will miss this one!” The official Wolf Entertainment Twitter account also reacted to the departure, writing, “Take a leap! Good luck, Vanessa!” Later responding to that post on her Instagram Story, Cooper wrote, “thank you for all of the love for Dr. Vanessa Taylor.”

Cooper’s departure marks just the latest cast shakeup to rock Chicago Med. In October, it was confirmed that Brian Tee, one of the remaining original series stars on the show who portrays Dr. Ethan Choi, would be leaving the medical drama after eight seasons. Choi, whose character was a military veteran who rose up the ranks from the emergency room’s chief resident to chief of Emergency Medicine at Gaffney Chicago Medical Center, is set to make his final appearance in “Could Be The Start Of Something New,” which is set to air on Dec. 7. He is still set to direct the 16th episode. Announcing his exit at the time, Choi said it “has been such a gift and a blessing” to play his character, adding that Dr. Choi’s “sendoff is fitting, and it’s beautiful.”

Prior to that October shakeup, Sarah Rafferty, Kristen Hager, and Guy Lockard also exited the series. Meanwhile, Yaya DaCosta, who originally left the show in 2021 after six seasons, returned in a recurring role for Season 8. Chicago Med airs Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.