‘The Sopranos’ Star Joins ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

Jamie-Lynn Sigler is returning to TV with a new guest-starring role on Grey’s Anatomy.

The 44-year-old actress, who is best known for playing Meadow Soprano on The Sopranos, will make her Grey’s debut on the Jan. 15 episode of the ABC medical drama, titled “Heavy on Me,” as per Deadline.

Sigler reportedly will play Dr. Laura Kaplan, a urologist who has Multiple Sclerosis and visits Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital at the request of Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen), offering Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) a “unique perspective on his case.”

The role was created for Sigler, who was diagnosed with MS in 2001, with Deadline reporting that it was important for show producers and Sigler alike to show Kaplan as someone who has a full life and career, despite her diagnosis.

This also marks Sigler’s first return to TV in three years, having last portrayed Tonya Walsh on ABC’s Big Sky.

Sigler was first diagnosed with the chronic neurological disorder at age 20, after experiencing heaviness and tingling in her legs, but hid her diagnosis for 15 years out of fear as to how it would impact her career.

Since sharing her diagnosis with the world in 2016, Sigler has become an advocate for breaking down the stigmas surrounding MS, even hosting the podcast MeSsy with actress Christina Applegate, who also lives with the disease.

“It was a big moment for me, because it was the beginning of this journey of self-reflection and self-acceptance,” Sigler told PEOPLE in 2023 of coming forward with her diagnosis. “I grew up with this idea that people are only going to be attracted to you when you’re perfect, and it’s quite the opposite. MS gave me my superpower, which is vulnerability, because the more raw and real and open I am — and this has forced me to be that — the more beautiful connections are.”