Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl played Izzie Stevens the spirited doctor who left the show during season 6.

Biography Katherine Marie Heigl was born in Washington, DC, on November 24, 1978, to Nancy and Paul Heigl. A short time afterward, the family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, where Katherine was to spend the majority of her childhood; the youngest member of her family, Katherine--or "Katie" as she is nicknamed--has two elder siblings, John and Meg. Tragically, her older brother Jason died in 1986 of brain injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck. When doctors determined he was brain-dead, the family made the difficult decision to donate his organs. Not only did this painful chapter give Katherine a greater perspective and appreciation for life, but it motivated her to use her celebrity to promote the importance of organ donation.

Katherine was first thrust into the limelight as a child model. An aunt, visiting the family in New Canaan, took a number of photographs of Katherine, then aged nine, in a series of poses to advertise a hair care product she had invented. Upon returning to New York, with permission from Katherine's parents, she sent the photos to a number of modeling agencies. Within a few weeks Katherine had been signed to Wilhelmina, a renowned international modeling agency. Almost immediately she made her debut in a magazine advertisement and soon followed this with an inaugural television appearance in a national commercial for Cheerios breakfast cereal.

Katherine decided to leave Grey's Anatomy because she just had a daughter and chose to leave to spend more time with her. Creator Shonda Rhimes had a interview with her the day before she left. Katherine has since appeared in multiple movies. Including The "Ugly truth, "Killers", "27 Dresses" and "Knocked Up".

Return to Grey's Anatomy
In January 2012, Heigl stated in an interview that the producers have asked her to come back to the show and she also would like to return: "I’ve told them I want to [return],” she said. “I really, really, really want to see where [Izzie] is. I just want to know what happened to her and where she went and what she’s doing now. My idea is that she actually like figures it out, and finds some success and does really well in a different hospital. She was always floundering you know, and so she was always one step behind the eight ball and I want to see that girl take some power back."

Filmography

 * New Years Eve as Laura (2011)
 * Life as We Know It as Holly Berenson (2010)
 * Killers as Jen Kornfeldt Aimes (2010)
 * The Ugly Truth as Abby Richter (2009)
 * 27 Dresses as Jane Nichols (2008)
 * Knocked Up as Alison Scott (2007)
 * The Ringer as Lynn Sheridan (2005)
 * Valentine as Shelley Fisher (2001)
 * Under Siege 2: Dark Territory as Sarah Ryback (1995)
 * My Father, the Hero as Nicole (1994)

Television

 * Grey's Anatomy as Izzie Stevens (2005-2010)
 * Romy & Michele: In the Beginning as Romy White (2005)
 * The Twilight Zone as Andrea Collins (2002)
 * Roswell as Isabel Evans/Lonnie (1999-2002)