Biography:

Katherine Heigl was born November 24, 1978, in Washington D.C., to Paul and Nancy. Raised in New Canaan, Connecticut, with her two older brothers and older sister, Katherine's experience in the limelight started with her early modeling career.

When the Wilhelmina modeling agency saw pictures of nine year old Katherine, it was not long before she was working her first casual modeling job. She appeared in magazine advertisements and the Sears print catalogue, and made her television introduction with a small part in a Cheerios television commercial.

Modeling was the path to acting for Katherine, as it was for so many other sexy young actresses. By the age of twelve, she was hired for a bit part in the 1992 movie, "That Night", which marked her feature film debut.

After a part in Steven Soderbergh's "King of the Hill", Katherine was cast as Gerard Depardieu's daughter in the 1994 adaptation of the French adventure film, "My Father, the Hero". Her role as the gorgeous young teen enduring her father's stringent rules was a good opportunity for her to be seen by critics in a leading role. She was superb, receiving glowing reviews while critics awaited her next movie.

Testing her skills in the action-thriller movie world,  Katherine was cast in the movie "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory", as Steven Seagal's niece. Action adventure seemed to suit Heigl, but audiences admired her more in her romantic and comedy films.

Once Heigl relocated to Los Angeles, she starred in various independent movies such as "Prince Valiant" and the Disney feature, "Wish Upon a Star". After a role in the 1998 horror thriller "Bride of Chucky", the last film in the Chucky ax-murderer series, and the film "Bug Buster", Katherine starred next to her idol Peter Fonda in the television film, "The Tempest".

Katherine began feeling comfortable on television, becoming a regular on the 1999 short lived alien drama "Roswell", an earlier successful  alien series on the WB television network. She auditioned for all three of the female lead roles before being hired for the part of Isabel, the earthbound alien character she portrays in the show.

During time off while working on "Roswell", Katherine took the opportunity to work on two film projects, with roles in "100 Girls" and "Valentine" with Denise Richards and David Boreanaz.

In the spring of 2001, Katherine made a guest cameo in NBC's television movie, "Ground Zero", but the release was held by the network for two years because of the 9/11 tragedy - it was eventually aired in late 2003. Also in 2005, Heigl was cast next to Johnny Knoxville in "The Ringer", a Farrelly brothers sophomoric comedy. Then she was hired as Isabella Linton in the MTV rework of Emily Bront's memorable story "Wuthering Heights".

Katherine's major smash hit celebrity coming-out has come in the form of the television Doctor-Hospital-Comedy series "Grey's Anatomy" where she can be seen weekly as Dr. Isobel Stevens working next to the super Doctor himself - Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd. With all the first-rate reviews and huge following the series has commanded, we know for a fact that Katherine Heigl's Hollywood star is already bright and on the rise.

• Also Credited As:
  Katherine M. Heigl, Katherine Marie Heigl
• Born:
  Katherine Marie Heigl on 11/24/1978 in Washington, D.C.
• Job Titles:
  Actor, Model

Family

• Brother: Holt Heigl. Older
• Brother: Jason Heigl. Older; died in 1986 of brain injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck
• Brother: John Heigl. Older
• Father: Paul Heigl. Born c. 1941; divorced from Heigl's mother in 1996
• Mother: Nancy Heigl. Born c. 1953; divorced from Heigl's father in 1996; manages daughter's career
• Sister: Meg Heigl. Older

Significant Others

• Husband: Josh Kelley. Met spring 2005, when Heigl was cast in Kelley's music video for "Only You"; engaged June 2006; married December 23, 2007 in Park City, Utah
• Companion: Jason Behr. met when they co-starred on "Roswell"; reportedly dating in 2001
• Companion: Joey Lawrence. dated for three months in 1994

Education

• New Canaan High School, New Canaan, CT, 1996

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