Katherine Heigl

Heigl married singer Josh Kelley in 2007 and they adopted a South Korean baby girl with a congenital heart problem, named Nancy Leigh. They also adopted a second daughter named Adelaide Marie Hope.

A passionate dog-lover, she worked with ‘Best Friends Animal Society’ on several projects. Her organization, ‘Heigl's Hounds of Hope’, rescues dogs with behavior problems from shelters with a high kill rate and rehabilitates them.

Katherine Marie Heigl was born on 24 November 1978 in Washington, DC to Nancy, a personnel manager, and Paul Heigl, a financial executive and accountant. She is the youngest of the four siblings.

She was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She initially lived in Virginia and Denver, and finally settled in New Canaan, Connecticut

When Heigl was nine, her aunt sent young Heigl’s photos to numerous modeling agencies. She signed with Wilhelmina Models and made her first appearance on a TV Commercial for ‘Cheerios’.

She debuted in the 1992 film, ‘That Night’ and appeared in Steven Soderbergh's drama, ‘King of the Hill’. She dropped out of High School to pursue career in Hollywood.

Her first lead role was in the 1994 comedy, ‘My Father the Hero’, as a teenager trying to impress a local boy.

In 1995, starring in the Steven Seagal thriller, ‘Under Siege 2: Dark Territory’ she portrayed a teenager traveling on a train escorted by her uncle, a counter-terrorist expert, to visit her departed father’s grave.

Between 1996 and 1999, she regularly modeled for magazines, had a lead role in Disney's TV film, ‘Wish Upon a Star’, and co-starred with Peter Fonda in the re-worked Shakespearean play, ‘The Tempest’.

During this time, she also appeared in the films, ‘Stand-ins’, ‘Big Buster’, ‘Bride of Chucky’, ‘100 Girls’ and ‘Valentine’.

In 2003, she appeared in television movies including ‘Evil Never Dies’ and ‘Love Comes Softly’. She was also seen in the film, ‘Descendant’.

Her role as Dr. Isobel Stevens on ABC's medical drama 'Grey's Anatomy' is her most popular role till date. The series ran for five years from 2005 to 2010 and won her a Primetime Emmy Award.