"Age is just a number. Unless that is, you live in Hollywood, where there's this notion that if you haven't hit it big by your 20s, you may as well hit the road," said Kate Walsh in her tell-all interview with 'Harper's Bazaar'.

However, age is clearly not a factor for the 51-year-old star who chose to never give up and a long career of varied roles across broad spectrums of entertainment has finally helped her make a mark for herself. After playing fantastic roles in 'Grey's Anatomy', 'Fargo', 'Bad Judge' and recently '13 Reasons Why', the versatile actress is all set to play the role of The Handler in a live adaptation of Gerard Way's award-winning graphic novel series, 'The Umbrella Academy'.

In that backdrop, here's a look at how she rose to fame. Striving for greatness and working hard to achieve her dream, Walsh is the living example of being successful at a later stage in life. Although her role on 'The Drew Carey Show' back in the early 2000s, was warmly received by fans and critics alike, at the age of 30, it still hadn't given Walsh the traction that she was looking for.

Kate Walsh attends the partnership celebration between TOMS and Oceana to help save the sea turtles on March 24, 2016, at Au Fudge in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Randy Shropshire/Getty Images)

Walsh worked extremely hard to be where she is today, and in her early 20s, Walsh needed to take up three waitressing jobs in order to make ends meet, while simultaneously working on her acting career.

Walsh had played many bit roles during this time of strife in her life. You'd never for a minute guess that Walsh was going through a hard time when she played the rib-tickling Nicki Fifer on 'The Drew Carey Show', and seeing Walsh deliver her punch lines without a hint of distress is exactly what makes her an excellent actress.

Addison: "Stop being petty."

Derek: "Stop being an adulterous bitch." — Greys Anatomy Quotes (@GreysAnatmyQ) December 2, 2018

But all the waiting and hardships was setting Walsh up for something even greater, and she finally got her long-awaited recognition at the ripe age of 36 in her most famous role as Dr. Addison Montgomery in 'Grey's Anatomy', and ironically, her character has a 25-million dollar trust fund set up in her name.

Seeing the chemistry between Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Addison sent fans soaring. Walsh's acting skills may be the reason she received so much backlash from fans as well, as her character gets pregnant by Derek's best friend, Mark (Eric Dane), and some fans think that TV is real.

Her success in 'Grey's Anatomy' saw her leaving the series for its spin-off, 'Private Practice', and its critical acclaim resulted in Walsh getting noticed by agents all over Hollywood Boulevard, where she starred in numerous daytime TV series like 'Fargo', 'Full Circle' and even in NBC's short-lived 'Bad Judge'.

While there may not be enough information out on her character yet, the official description pegs The Handler as a self-assured leader of a mysterious, bureaucratic company who is always ready to manage any situation, though it's best not to get on her bad side. Her charm is her greatest strength and she uses it to her advantage to complete the business of her organization.

With the production studios and even Gerard Way being so secretive about her role, maybe she has an even bigger part to play in this series than we're led to believe? We can't wait to see what Walsh has in store for us this time!

'The Umbrella Academy' will be available for streaming on February 15 on Netflix.