The winner of Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for playing the role of Izzie Stevens on ABC`s medical drama series Grey` Anatomy, Katherine Marie Heigl is a popular American film and TV actress, film producer, and fashion model. Heigl started her career in the entertainment business as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before eventually pursuing a career in acting. The model-turned-actress made her debut on the silver screen with That Night (1992) and few of her other popular films include Knocked Up (2007), The Ugly Truth (2009), and New Year`s Eve (2011). Apart from her successful acting career, the actress is a passionate philanthropist and she is known to work for animal welfare.

Early Life
Born in Washington D.C, Katherine Heigl is the youngest of the four children of Paul Heigl, a financial executive and Nancy Engelhardt who worked as a personal manager. The actress` father has a German and Irish descent while her mother has a German lineage. The actress had a pretty simple upbringing along with her siblings` Holt, Meg who was an adopted child and Jason who died in a car accident in 1986. Throughout her childhood, the Heigl family lived in different places including Virginia, and Denver before eventually moving to New Canaan, Connecticut when Katherine was just five-years-old. The actress spent rest of the childhood there.

Personal Life
Katherine Heigl got engaged to singer Josh Kelley in June 2006 whom she had met on the sets of the musical video `Only You.` The following year, the couple tied the knot in December 2007 in a ceremony at Park City, Utah. Together the couple has one biological son named Joshua Bishop Kelly, Jr. who was born on December 2016 and two adopted daughters Naleigh from South Korea and Adalaide from the U.S.

Movie Career
As an Actor
Katherine Heigl made her acting debut on the silver screen with a small role in the 1992 film That Night and American coming-of-age romantic drama directed by Craig Bolotin. The actress subsequently continued to appear in smaller roles in King of the Hill (1993), and Under Siege 2: Dark Terriotry (1995), before eventually bagging a lead role in the Irish-British independent sorcery film Prince Valiant directed by Anthony Hickox. The film also starring Stephen Moyer, Thomas Kretschmann, Edward Fox and Joanna Lumley received mostly negative reviews.

Post the Prince Valiant debacle, Heigl starred in films like 100 Girls (2000), Valentine (2001) and Side Effects (2005) but none of these films garnered any attention at the box office nor did it get Heigl any fame or recognition. It was not until 2007 that Heigl received praise for her acting as she starred in Knocked Up, an American romantic comedy directed by Judd Apatow. The film co-starring Seth Rogan and Paul Rudd was a massive box office hit, which grossed more than 219 million worldwide. The film was also chosen as the top 10 movies of the year by American Film Institute.

Heigl followed her Knocked Up success with yet another stellar performance in the Anne Fletcher-directed comedy drama 27 Dresses (2008). The film co-starring James Marsden and Malin Akerman was based on the life of Jane Nichols played by Heigl who has been a bridesmaid for 27 weddings. Although the film received mixed critical reviews, it emerged to be a commercial hit, it grossed more than 160.3 million USD at the box office. The following year, the actress collaborated with director Robert Luketic for the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth. The film co-starring Gerard Butler received negative reviews but turned out to be a commercial hit and thus Heigl completed her hat-trick of commercial hits.

In 2010, the actress had two releases Killers and Life as We Know It both of which received negative reviews and whilst the former performed averagely at the box office, the latter raked in good numbers. The next year, the actress featured in the Garry Marshall directed American romantic comedy film featuring an ensemble cast including Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jon Bon Jovi, Josh Duhamel, Zac Efron, Aston Kutcher, Seth Meyers, Hillary Swank, Sarah Jessica Parker and Michelle Pfeiffer. Although the film received negative reviews it emerged to be a box office hit. Over the next few years, the actress appeared in films like The Big Wedding (2013), Jackie & Ryan (2014), and Jenny`s Wedding (2015). Her 2017 release includes Unforgettable, an erotic thriller directed by Denise Di Novi.

As a Producer
Apart from acting, Katherine Heigl has also produced several films; she made her debut as an executive producer with Side Effects (2005). She subsequently produced films like The Ugly Truth (2009), Life as we Know It (2010) and One for the Money (2012).

TV Career
Katherine Heigl who has an elaborate and a successful acting career in Hollywood film industry, she is also quite a popular figure in the American TV industry. The actress who started her acting career on the small screen with the TV film Wish Upon a Star (1996), made her debut in a series with Roswell (1999-02) where she played one of the lead roles. The American science fiction TV series was based on the Roswell High young adult book series, written by Melinda Metz. In 2002, the actress also appeared in a single episode of The Twilight Zone titled `Cradle of Darkness.` Over the next few years, Heigl mostly starred in TV films like Critical Assembly (2003), Love`s Enduring Promise (2004), and Romy and Michele: In the Beginning (2005) before rising to fame with her role in the popular medical drama series Grey`s Anatomy. Her role as Dr. Isobel `Izzie` Katherine Stevens made her a household name. Her other series` appearance includes State of Affairs (2014-15), and Doubt (2017).