Katherine Heigl has experienced some extreme ups and downs throughout her career, but today
she’s living her best life, thanks to her family, her many pets and — Tabasco? Stay
tuned to see her stunning transformation.
Katherine Heigl's family suffered an unimaginable loss when she was a little girl. Heigl had
an older brother, Jason, who died in a car accident when he was driving around with friends
at 15 years old. Heigl told Good Housekeeping that she was 7 years old at the time and had
to navigate life after such a shocking loss.
Jason's death has had a profound impact on her life - she admitted to The Sunday Times
that, for a long time, she was scared to allow herself to be too happy because she knew how
easily it could be taken away. She later realized that that was no way to live and decided to
embrace the happy moments.
Wherever Katherine Heigl goes, heads turn, and her aunt seemed to notice it first when
she used Heigl's picture to promote her line of hair accessories. As the actor recalled
to Good Housekeeping, her aunt recognized her niece's talent in front of the camera,
and asked her mother for permission to put Heigl in contact with a modeling agency, and
she agreed.
When she appeared on Anderson Cooper's talk show, Heigl revealed that she had modeled
for brands like Sears and Macy's, but she actually didn't like modeling much at all,
describing the experience to Cooper as "brutal," and apparently wasn't a fan of all the fake
posing the job required.
Even though modeling didn't turn out to be her thing, it gave Katherine Heigl the tools
to dive into the world of acting. She got cast in her first film, "That Night," at the
age of 11. In an interview with W Magazine, Heigl said that working as an actor didn't
feel like a job at all, apart from having to attend three hours of school every day.
Heigl did a few commercials as well, and by the time she entered sixth grade, she was
landing plenty of film roles. At 14, she starred in the feature film "My Father the Hero" and
started to feel she was finding herself. However, as she told Good Housekeeping, her classmates
didn't appreciate her newfound confidence, and Heigl found herself abandoned by her former
friends. Having no idea how she wronged them, she tried to prevent it from happening again
by becoming a people pleaser, though she ditched this mentality in her sophomore year and moved
to Los Angeles after finishing high school.
Katherine Heigl started her ascent to fame with the TV show "Roswell," which was based
on Melinda Metz's "Roswell High" novels. She portrayed Isabel, a character with a personality
as feisty as her own.
"Roswell" was not without its struggles, however, as E! News reported that the show nearly got
canceled repeatedly, only to be saved by its small but passionate fanbase. The aliens on
the show had a strange affinity for Tabasco sauce, and Heigl told W Magazine that fans
sent hundreds of Tabasco sauce bottles to the network to protest the show's cancellation.
It actually helped get the show renewed twice.
Heigl had a lot of fun during her time on "Roswell" and loved having so much creative
freedom when it came to her character's portrayal.
"What'd you see?" "Ricky Martin in the shower."
Katherine Heigl landed a part on "Grey's Anatomy" in 2005, portraying Dr. Isobel Stevens for
six seasons before exiting the show to focus on her family.
"Grey's Anatomy" is what turned Heigl into a household name. In 2007, she even won an
Emmy for her work. But, a year later, People reported that she decided not to enter her
name for a nomination, saying at the time that she didn't feel like the work she did
on the show that season was Emmy-worthy material.
The show's creator, Shonda Rhimes, apparently didn't take too kindly to Heigl's reason for
withdrawing. Heigl later clarified her comments to Entertainment Weekly and revealed she had
apologized to Rhimes, who was apparently very understanding.
However, it turned out all was not well, especially when Rhimes spoke about the incident with
Oprah Winfrey.
"Yeah on some - on some level it stung and on some level I was not surprised."
"You weren't?" "No."
"OK." "When people show you who they are, believe
them."
She also took a jab at Heigl in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter while discussing
"Scandal," another show of hers. While elaborating on how well that show's cast got along, Rhimes
said -
"There are no Heigls in this situation."
If you've never heard of a film called "Zyzzyx Road," that's totally okay. Films that only
gross $30 at the box office don't usually make it onto people's must-watch list. To
make matters worse for one of the lowest grossing movies in U.S. history in terms of box office
sales, it cost $1.2 million to produce.
In the movie, Heigl portrays a teenager named Marissa, who seduces an accountant, after
which a series of events typical of a thriller unfold. Despite the loss, Heigl didn't seem
to regret doing the project, claiming that it had allowed her to do the most innovative
work she had done up to that point, and most importantly, she collected a paycheck.
Katherine Heigl's outspoken nature hasn't always served her well. In addition to her
comments that led to the drama with "Grey's Anatomy" creator Shonda Rhimes, Heigl also
appeared on David Letterman's show in 2009, where she spoke out about the "Grey's Anatomy"
cast and crew's long working hours.
"Our first day back was Wednesday, and it was - I'm gonna keep saying this because I
hope it embarrasses them - a 17 hour day -" "Really?"
"Which I think is cruel, and mean."
Heigl also received a lot of backlash for calling "Knocked Up" a "sexist" film in a
Vanity Fair interview, as she wasn't pleased with how the film depicts women. In Heigl's
view, the male characters are portrayed as fun while the women are seen as difficult.
She went on to say that she couldn't bring herself to truly like the movie, even though
she enjoyed making it. It seems like her blatant honesty has only exacerbated her reputation
for not being easy to work with.
In an interview with Harper's Bazaar, Katherine Heigl admitted to being a huge fan of "Suits"
long before she starred in the show's eighth season, saying she loved the show's portrayal
of women in positions of power.
If not for her mother, however, Heigl might not have made it onto the show at all. She
was developing her own shows at the time, and her mom encouraged her to contact the
creator of "Suits" about a possible collaboration — that's how Heigl found out that "Suits"
was, in fact, going to have an eighth season. Heigl offered herself up if they needed another
actor, and she was cast as Samantha Wheeler, a headstrong lawyer who doesn't bow down to
anything or anyone — much like the other female characters on the show.
Katherine Heigl stole fans' hearts once again as Tully on the Netflix show "Firefly Lane,"
telling Glamour that she fell in love with the show when she first read the script. Not
only did she become one of the show's stars, but she also became an executive producer.
As Heigl explained to Glamour, the show presented her with the perfect opportunity to challenge
herself. She initially wanted to play the role of Kate, because she could see a lot
of herself in the character, but decided to give the role of Tully a shot because it was
way out of her comfort zone. In the end, Heigl actually drew inspiration from her mother's
personality after realizing the character reminded her of her mom's no-nonsense approach
to life.
"Firefly Lane" has allowed Heigl to tell the stories of women her age, and viewers can
definitely relate, as Netflix has renewed the show for a second season
In a 2014 interview with Good Housekeeping, Heigl said she had 36 pets on her ranch — from
dogs to horses.
Heigl's love for animals keeps her close to her late brother, Jason, who felt the same.
"Honestly the innocent and the voiceless were his, were his thing. He was a huge advocate,
even at 15, which is sort of remarkable."
Heigl told Entertainment Weekly that in 2008, she and her mother, Nancy, started the Jason
Debus Heigl Foundation to honor him. The foundation's main goal is to help shelters rescue and find
homes for pets, especially those at high risk of being euthanized. The foundation also provides
funding to several clinics so they can care for shelter animals that need medical attention.
Additionally, the foundation utilizes its resources to hold animal abusers accountable
and to encourage people to take action when they suspect animal abuse.
In early 2022, People reported Heigl was taking a stand against the method of euthanasia the
state of Utah uses for shelter animals. She told the publication there are better ways
to help animals than putting them down using gas chambers, and urged the Utah State Legislature
to make gas chamber euthanasia illegal.
Katherine Heigl met her husband, Josh Kelley, while shooting the music video for his song
"Only You" in 2005. Kelley caught Heigl's eye, but she told Good Housekeeping that he
didn't really seem to notice her until everyone who worked on the video went out to dinner,
and she finally managed to have a conversation with him. Their relationship blossomed from
there, and in 2007, they tied the knot.
In an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Heigl gushed about Kelley and admitted that she
is not always the easiest person to be around and that he somehow manages to take it in
stride, holding her accountable for her actions while accepting her with all her faults.
"He's a phenomenal, phenomenal man. I've never met a man like him and - and I - I don't know
if I ever will again."
After she married Josh Kelley, Katherine Heigl was ready to start her family. Heigl's sister,
Meg, was adopted from Korea, and so, Heigl wanted to do the same. In 2009, she and Kelley
adopted their first daughter, Naleigh, from South Korea. Heigl told Harper's Bazaar that
Naleigh was 9 months old at the time and had just had open-heart surgery. At the time,
Heigl was working on the film "Life as We Know It," which she said was somewhat surreal
because her character was also a new mom.
Three years later, in 2012, the couple adopted another baby girl, Adalaide, this time from
the U.S. The actor told Jay Leno that her husband needed some convincing to adopt again
so soon, let alone a newborn, but in the end, he agreed, and, now, of course, they wouldn't
trade their daughter and the experience for anything.
In 2016, Heigl became pregnant for the first time with what would be her third child. Announcing
the news on her blog, she wrote about how she and her husband had kept their options
open in how they wanted to expand their family — even considering fostering a child. Then,
everything changed when she found out she was pregnant, something she wasn't sure was
an option for her in her mid-30s. She later told People that pregnancy wasn't something
she ever actually desired until then.
Katherine Heigl underwent a serious surgical procedure in 2021. She first shared the news
with fans on Instagram, telling them that she'd had to go to Los Angeles to sort out
a herniated disc in her neck, which was incredibly painful.
It turned out that she needed surgery and, a few days later, revealed on Instagram that
the doctors had implanted two titanium discs in her neck. In the post, she expressed her
gratitude to her doctors who made the scary experience less terrifying. She said the pain
she'd experienced was gone, and she seemed in very good spirits, despite having to wear
a neck brace.
The death of her brother changed Katherine Heigl's life forever, but she continues to
keep his memory alive by doing what she knows is right — and that includes encouraging
people to become organ donors.
On the 35th anniversary of her brother Jason's death, she took to Instagram to share her
memories of him and the very difficult decision their family had to make after he died, choosing
to donate his organs because they knew he would have wanted them to do so. Heigl took
a moment to encourage others to become organ donors, too, saying -
"Tragedies happen. But none of us are in this alone. At least, that's what Jason taught
me."
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