Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl had it all. She was on the massively popular hit TV series Grey’s Anatomy and was pulling down movie roles that paid her millions. She had looks that could stop a train and more importantly, she could act. But then the “diva” label hit and down went Heigl’s star. She stopped getting big movie roles and her public profile lowered.

But recently, things have started to really turn back around for the actress who has a Netflix hit on her hands.

KATHERINE HEIGL HAD A NETFLIX HIT WITH FIREFLY LANE IN 2022

Katherine Heigl made a major comeback with a Netflix show that put her right back in the limelight. Firefly Lane starred the actress alongside Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) as two friends and the way their relationship changes from the time they are children and teenagers all the way through adulthood and their careers.

In the series, Heigl plays Tully Hart, a daytime talk show star who’s made her way to fame in the television industry. Meanwhile, Chalke plays her best friend Kate Mularkey who is going through a divorce and desperately wants to recapture some of what she missed after years as a housewife.

The series is based on the novel of the same name and chronicles these two characters, how they met on the titular street and how the dynamics of their friendship have stood (mostly) the test of time.

Firefly Lane was a total hit for Netflix. The 10-episode first season ran in February 2021 and was one of the top performers for the streaming platform through its first 28-day window. It topped the Nielsen ratings and Netflix reported that it hit nearly 50 million watches during that stretch.

For this streamer, that represents a smashing success. And because of it, Firefly Lane was re-upped for a second and final season that premiered in 2022.

All things considered, this Netflix series marks a major win for Katherine Heigl and her career. The second half of the second season is on its way later this year. She’s also set to star in Woodhull about Victoria Woodhull, who is thought to have been the first woman Presidential candidate in the United States.

KATHERINE HEIGL’S FIRST BIG MOVIES WERE MY FATHER THE HERO AND UNDER SIEGE 2

Now 41 years old, Katherine Heigl got her career started as a teenager. Her first role was in the feature film That Night. She followed it up with King of the Hill. But it was in her next two movie roles that she saw much more screen time and began to forge her early career.

She appeared in the 1994 romantic comedy My Father the Hero where she played a teenager trying to impress a potential boyfriend by pretending her father, played by French actor Gérard Depardieu, was her lover. Yikes!

It was a modest hit, but Katherine Heigl turned that into another movie role, this time starring with then box office hitmaker Steven Seagal in the movie Under Siege 2: Dark Territory as Seagal’s niece.

Katherine Heigl continued to build a solid resume. Up until 2000, she appeared in seven movies which included the horror film Bride of Chucky, Prince Valiant, Wish Upon a Star, Bug Buster, and 100 Girls. In 1999, she played her first “Isabel” character when she was a regular on the teen hit show, Roswell. She held that role for the series’ entire three-season run.

Katherine Heigl’s acting career didn’t slow down after Roswell ended its run. If anything, it ramped up even more. Her body of work, this time, turned more toward TV movies, of which she made a handful. One of her biggies was the prequel Romy and Michele: In The Beginning. All of this was simply a build-up to what would become her biggest accomplishment and sadly, her biggest failure.

KATHERINE HEIGL BECAME A STAR IN GREY’S ANATOMY

In 2005, Shonda Rhimes came a calling. She was putting together a show many know and love called Grey’s Anatomy. The story followed the life of Meredith Grey, the daughter of a highly regarded general surgeon, as Grey was entering her medical residency.

Katherine Heigl’s character on Grey’s Anatomy was another doctor, who along with a handful of doctors, were also entering their residency. Heigl’s Izzie Stevens was a hit. The beauty of the show early on was that it didn’t simply focus on Grey’s character, it spread the wealth and allowed the other actors to shine. Heigl took advantage of this.

KATHERINE HEIGL TRANSITIONED TO MOVIE STAR WITH KNOCKED UP AND 27 DRESSES

Katherine Heigl was truly beginning to open eyes. Her beauty led the way as she was called the Most Desirable Woman by AskMen.com in 2008. On top of continuing to star in Grey’s, she landed in the feature romantic comedy Knocked Up with Seth Rogen and Paul Rudd. Her star continued to rise.

Reportedly, Heigl brought home $300,000 for Knocked Up but with her next movie, 27 Dresses, she brought home a cool $6 million. Yes, Katherine Heigl was on top. So on top was Katherine Heigl, that she won the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.

SHE CALLS KNOCKED UP “SEXIST”

Whether it be too much all at one time, or Katherine Heigl believing what the press and fans have been clamoring about, things with Heigl began to change. Labels like “difficult” and “diva” began to appear by her name.

In a 2008 interview with Vanity Fair, Heigl attacked the movie Knocked Up, in which she was the co-star, calling it “a little sexist” and complained about her character in the film. Her co-star Seth Rogen said he was hurt by her comments, particularly because he enjoyed working with her on the film and thought she enjoyed it too. Rogen said, “I think when that happens — also your trust feels somewhat betrayed.”

KATHERINE HEIGL WAS CUT OUT OF GREY’S ANATOMY

It all culminated when Katherine Heigl was again nominated for the 2008 Emmy’s. She was the frontrunner. But then she did something totally unexpected. She pulled out of contention.

In her statement as to why she withdrew, Katherine Heigl explained that she didn’t feel her role in Grey’s Anatomy Season 4 was “given the material” to warrant a nomination or a win. Thud! Later she explained, “I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and, in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention.” She also stated, “In addition, I did not want to potentially take away an opportunity from an actress who was given such materials.”

After that, Katherine Heigl’s role on the series was cut back, though according to series creator Rhimes, it was because Heigl had asked for a lighter work schedule. She continued to get work in feature films but the environment on the set of Grey’s continued to turn bad for Katherine Heigl.

Then one day Katherine Heigl just decided not to show up. Rhimes immediately went to work, reached an agreement, and Heigl was no longer part of the show. Rhimes had this to say about the situation, “On some level it stung and on some level I was not surprised,” she said. “When people show you who they are, believe them. I carry that with me a lot. It has served me well.”

A few years later, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Rhimes spoke about her new show (at the time) Scandal and handed out a vicious dig concerning Katherine Heigl, “there are no Heigls” on set. “I don’t put up with bullshit or nasty people,” she said of her “no assholes policy.”

SHE STARRED IN SMALLER MOVIES AFTER GREY’S

The question is, what really happened to Katherine Heigl after her Grey’s fiasco? It didn’t stop her from getting more work. Consistent work, even though her reputation as being difficult continued to follow her. Katherine Heigl starred in the features Life As We Know It, New Year’s Eve, and Jackie & Ryan. She also found herself on the TV series State of Affairs and Doubt.

Even after the complete fallout with Grey’s, Katherine Heigl says she went back to Rhimes to see if she could come back and finish Izzie’s story. “I really, really, really want to see where (Izzie) is,” she said. “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.”

Obviously, Rhimes wasn’t having any of it.

KATHERINE HEIGL REGRETS HOW SHE ACTED IN HER CAREER

Katherine Heigl has since expressed major regret for how she played her hand. She went on Howard Stern’s Sirius Radio show to explain. “I wasn’t feeling good about my work that season, no,” said Heigl. “As an actor, if you want to get nominated [for an Emmy], you have to submit your work. That year, I said I’m not going to submit [anything] because there is nothing I feel good about. . . I didn’t feel good about my performance . . . and there was a part of me that thought, because I had won the year before, that I needed juicy, dramatic, emotional material.”

She says she even went to Rhimes to offer an apology in person. “I went in because I was really embarrassed,” Heigl recalled via Vanity Fair. “So I went in to [see] Shonda and said, ‘I’m so sorry. That wasn’t cool, and I should not have said that.’ And I shouldn’t have said anything publicly. But at the time, I didn’t think anyone would notice. . . . I just quietly didn’t submit and then it became a story, and I felt I was obligated to make my statement, and [I should have just said], ‘Shut up, Katie.’”

KATHERINE HEIGL MARRIED JOSH KELLY AND THEY HAVE THREE CHILDREN

In 2007, Katherine Heigl married singer Josh Kelly. In 2009, they adopted their daughter, and in 2012 they adopted a second daughter. Then in 2016, Heigl gave birth to their third child, a boy named Joshua.

Katherine Heigl continues to get work. She was a regular in the series Suits and is finishing working on Firefly Lane for Netflix. Her hopes of becoming a blockbuster movie star may or may not be behind her, as her career saw a bit of a resurgence last year. For now, she’s still a working actress doing well for herself in her roles.

Maybe after all these years, Katherine Heigl has put her difficulties behind her and can begin again along the path she was destined to take.

KATHERINE HEIGL’S HEIGHT IS 5’9″

Katherine Heigl is listed at five feet, nine inches tall, which is on the upper end of height. For reference, her former Grey’s Anatomy co-star Ellen Pompeo rings in at five feet, seven inches.

And this is above the average height of Hollywood actresses in general which is right around five feet, five inches. So from that standpoint, Katherine Heigl has reached significant heights in her career both literally and figuratively.