Katherine Heigl

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BIRTHDAY

November 24, 1978

New Canaan, CT

RECENT CREDITS

The Ugly Truth (FILM) Jul. 24, 2009

27 Dresses (FILM) Dec. 27, 2007

Knocked Up (FILM) Jun. 1, 2007

Caffeine (FILM) Mar. 16, 2007

Zyzzyx Rd. (FILM) Feb. 24, 2006

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BIOGRAPHY

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Katherine Heigl was an experienced movie actress by the time she was cast as one of the out-of-this-world teenagers on WB's Roswell in 1999. Born and raised in Connecticut, Heigl began modeling and appearing in TV ads as a child. After making her film debut in That Night (1992), Heigl balanced movie work with high school, playing a small role in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era drama King of the Hill (1993), starring as Gérard Depardieu's difficult daughter in My Father the Hero (1994), and Steven Seagal's niece in the action sequel Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). Heigl headed to Los Angeles after high school to make acting her full-time job. Following a leading role in Wish Upon a Star (1996) and a small part as a Rita Hayworth stand-in in Stand-Ins (1997), Heigl made a foray into horror with Bug Buster (1998) and Bride of Chucky (1998).

Branching out into television, Heigl co-starred with Peter Fonda in a Shakespeare-via-Civil War reworking of The Tempest (1998). Benefiting from the late-'90s wave of youth-driven TV shows, Heigl stayed with television and attracted an avid following as alien beauty Isabel on the cult hit Roswell. The doctors-in-love dramedy Grey's Anatomy, however, catapulted its entire cast to full-fledged stardom when it premiered in 2005; Heigl's role as the tough-cookie intern Izzie endeared her to countless fans of the show. The actress savvily parlayed this success into a movie career, although not by going the traditional three-hanky drama route. After winningly playing a Special Olympics counselor in 2005's broad comedy The Ringer, Heigl seemed the perfect choice for writer-director Judd Apatow's follow-up to The 40-Year-Old Virgin, 2007's Knocked Up. The improv-heavy tale of an unlikely one-night-stand - and its consequences - relied upon Heigl's charm and crack comedic timing to balance out the dude-centric humor supplied by co-stars Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. The combination worked, as audiences made Knocked Up a bona-fide summer hit.

~ Lucia Bozzola, All Movie Guide

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Headlines

Stephen Moyer and Anna Paquin star on HBO's 'True Blood: Season 2'

'Twilight,' 'True Blood' Set to Rule People's Choice Awards

Nov. 10, 2009

Vampires are set to rule the upcoming People's Choice Awards -- with blockbuster fantasy film franchise Twilight and blood-sucking TV series True Blood leading the nominations.

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Banks Tops Forbes' Primetime Rich List

Posted: Oct. 14, 2009

Cryer and Wife Adopt a Baby Girl

Posted: Sep. 29, 2009

Pompeo Gives Birth to Baby Girl

Posted: Sep. 23, 2009

Fantasy Couples in Hospitals All Over TV

Posted: Sep. 14, 2009

Heigl to Adopt Korean Baby

Posted: Sep. 9, 2009

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