Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl is an American actress and model best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010. Her performance on the series earned her widespread public recognition and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007.

Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., to Nancy, a personal manager, and Paul Heigl, a financial executive and accountant. She is the youngest of four children and spent her childhood in Northern Virginia, Denver, and New Canaan, Connecticut. Following the death of her older brother Jason in a car accident in 1986, her parents converted to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and she was raised in the faith.

She began her career as a child model at age nine after signing with Wilhelmina Models, appearing in print advertisements for Sears and Lord & Taylor and a national Cheerios commercial. She made her feature film debut in That Night (1992) and subsequently appeared in King of the Hill (1993), My Father the Hero (1994), Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Wish Upon a Star (1996), and Bride of Chucky (1998). She left New Canaan High School after her sophomore year to pursue her acting career in Hollywood, later moving to California with her mother, who also acted as her manager.

In 1999, Heigl achieved television success when she was cast as Isabel Evans on the science fiction series Roswell, a role she played until 2002 that earned her Saturn and Teen Choice Award nominations. During this period, she starred in films such as 100 Girls (2001) and Valentine (2001), as well as television films including Critical Assembly, Evil Never Dies, Love Comes Softly, Love's Enduring Promise, and Romy and Michele: In the Beginning.

Her major breakthrough came with her casting in Grey's Anatomy in 2005. That same year, she starred in and executive produced the independent film Side Effects. Heigl achieved film stardom with the comedy Knocked Up (2007), which led to leading roles in commercially successful romantic comedies, including 27 Dresses (2008), The Ugly Truth (2009), Killers (2010), Life As We Know It (2010), and New Year's Eve (2011).

Heigl's later film work includes One for the Money (2012), The Big Wedding (2013), and Unforgettable (2017), along with limited-release projects such as Jackie & Ryan (2014), Home Sweet Hell (2015), and Jenny's Wedding (2015). She also voiced characters in the animated feature The Nut Job (2014) and its 2017 sequel.

In television, Heigl served as lead actress and executive producer for the series State of Affairs (2014–2015), Firefly Lane (2021–2023), and the limited series Woodhull. She also joined the main cast of Suits for its final two seasons from 2018 to 2019. Outside of acting, she has established a modeling profile on the covers of publications such as Maxim, Vanity Fair, and Cosmopolitan.