Katherine Heigl
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Katherine Marie Heigl was born on November 24, 1978 in Washington, D.C.,
to Nancy Heigl (née Engelhardt), a personnel
manager, and Paul Heigl, an accountant and executive. Her father is of
German/Swiss-German and Irish descent, and her mother is of German
ancestry. A short time after her birth, 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.
Following a number of commercials and modeling assignments for Sears
and Lord & Taylor, she made her big-screen debut in
That Night (1992), which starred
Juliette Lewis and
C. Thomas Howell. It was then that she
realized that acting rather than modeling was her passion. In 1993,
Katherine appeared in
Steven Soderbergh's
critically-acclaimed Depression-era drama,
King of the Hill (1993), before
landing her first leading role as a rebellious teenager, alongside
Gérard Depardieu, in
My Father the Hero (1994).
During this time, Katherine continued to attend New Canaan High School,
balancing her academic studies with work on films and modeling, which
she undertook during holidays, vacations and weekends.
In 1995, she played "Sarah Ryback", the niece of
Steven Seagal's character, in
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995),
which was her "debut" in the action film genre. Acting was now becoming
a stronger focus for Katherine, although she still modeled extensively,
appearing regularly in magazines such as "Seventeen". Television
appearances on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992)
and
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993)
soon followed, before she took the lead role in Disney's
Wish Upon a Star (1996)
in 1996. It was also during that year that Katherine's parents divorced
and, following her graduation from high school in 1997, she moved with
her mother into a four-bedroom house in Los Angeles' Malibu Canyon
area. This enabled her to focus upon acting with the guidance and
support of her mother, who now managed her career.
In 1997, Katherine portrayed "Taffy Entwhistle",
Rita Hayworth's stand-in, in
Stand-ins (1997) and was also cast as
the beauteous "Princess Ilene" in the European production,
Prince Valiant (1997). She then
made her made-for-TV movie debut, co-starring with
Peter Fonda in a re-working of the
classic Shakespearean play,
The Tempest (1998), updated
with an American Civil War theme. In this film, she played "Miranda
Prosper", a young woman torn between her love for both her father and a
Union soldier. Bug Buster (1998) and
Bride of Chucky (1998)
represented a venture into the horror genre for Katherine. While both
films could be described as rather tongue-in-cheek despite their gory
emphases, Bride of Chucky (1998)
was the better received, both critically and commercially.
In 1999, Katherine decided to branch out into series television when
she accepted the role of the haughty, yet vulnerable, "Isabel Evans",
on Roswell (1999), a show that
blended teen angst with sci-fi drama. Though she had never planned to
embark on a career in television, the role of Isabel, a teenager with a
secret life, was an offer she found impossible to refuse. In the
series, Isabel, her brother Max
(Jason Behr) and their friend Michael
(Brendan Fehr) are aliens passing as humans
in Roswell, New Mexico, as they desperately try to hide the truth from
government agencies, the people of Roswell and even their own adopted
families. To publicize her role on the show, Katherine graced the
covers of magazines such as "TV Guide", "Maxim" and "Teen" and was
interviewed on
Later (1994)
and
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (1999).
Along with her mother Nancy, she also appeared in an episode of the
Sci-Fi TV talk show,
Crossing Over with John Edward (2001),
during which she spoke with
John Edward, a psychic medium,
about her late brother, Jason. During the three years
Roswell (1999) was in production,
Katherine found time to work on several movies.
100 Girls (2000), an independent film
released in 2001, is the story of a college freshman who meets the girl
of his dreams in an elevator during a blackout, and spends the rest of
the movie trying to find her again. Her cameo role is that of Arlene,
the competitive tomboy. The second film,
Valentine (2001), a horror film
starring David Boreanaz and
Denise Richards, appeared in U.S.
theaters on February 2, 2001. In this movie, which is based upon the
1996 novel by Tom Savage, Katherine
plays "Shelley", a medical student who meets a sudden demise.
In the spring of 2001, Katherine accepted a role in NBC's
Critical Assembly (2002),
a two-hour original television thriller. Katherine and
Kerr Smith
(Dawson's Creek (1998))
co-starred as brilliant and politically concerned college students who
build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national
priorities, but are betrayed by a fellow student when the bomb ends up
in the hands of a terrorist. Unfortunately, the telefilm, directed by
Eric Laneuville, written by
Tom Vaughan, and based on the
best-seller "The Seventh Power" by
James Mills, was shelved when its
storyline was deemed too close for comfort to the events of September
11, 2001. It was eventually broadcast in 2003. Since the cancellation
of Roswell (1999) in the spring of
2002, Katherine has been busy with various projects, including an
appearance on UPN's update of the classic television series,
The Twilight Zone (2002).
That episode, entitled
Cradle of Darkness (2002),
aired on October 2, 2002, and featured Katherine in the role of a woman
who goes back in time to stop one of the most notorious murders in
history. In addition, she completed a movie,
Descendant (2003), a psychological
thriller inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's
"The Fall of the House of Usher". She has also starred as "Romy" in
ABC/Touchstone's two-hour telepic,
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning (2005),
a prequel to the 1997 feature,
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997).
During the summer of 2002, Katherine made a major decision in the
direction of her career when she signed on for representation in all
areas with the William Morris Agency, one of the biggest and most
prestigious agencies in the entertainment industry. She is now being
represented by Norman Aladjem at Paradigm
Agency and being managed by Nancy Heigl and
Stephanie Simon and
Jason Newman at Untitled
Entertainment.
to Nancy Heigl (née Engelhardt), a personnel
manager, and Paul Heigl, an accountant and executive. Her father is of
German/Swiss-German and Irish descent, and her mother is of German
ancestry. A short time after her birth, 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.
Following a number of commercials and modeling assignments for Sears
and Lord & Taylor, she made her big-screen debut in
That Night (1992), which starred
Juliette Lewis and
C. Thomas Howell. It was then that she
realized that acting rather than modeling was her passion. In 1993,
Katherine appeared in
Steven Soderbergh's
critically-acclaimed Depression-era drama,
King of the Hill (1993), before
landing her first leading role as a rebellious teenager, alongside
Gérard Depardieu, in
My Father the Hero (1994).
During this time, Katherine continued to attend New Canaan High School,
balancing her academic studies with work on films and modeling, which
she undertook during holidays, vacations and weekends.
In 1995, she played "Sarah Ryback", the niece of
Steven Seagal's character, in
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995),
which was her "debut" in the action film genre. Acting was now becoming
a stronger focus for Katherine, although she still modeled extensively,
appearing regularly in magazines such as "Seventeen". Television
appearances on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1992)
and
Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1993)
soon followed, before she took the lead role in Disney's
Wish Upon a Star (1996)
in 1996. It was also during that year that Katherine's parents divorced
and, following her graduation from high school in 1997, she moved with
her mother into a four-bedroom house in Los Angeles' Malibu Canyon
area. This enabled her to focus upon acting with the guidance and
support of her mother, who now managed her career.
In 1997, Katherine portrayed "Taffy Entwhistle",
Rita Hayworth's stand-in, in
Stand-ins (1997) and was also cast as
the beauteous "Princess Ilene" in the European production,
Prince Valiant (1997). She then
made her made-for-TV movie debut, co-starring with
Peter Fonda in a re-working of the
classic Shakespearean play,
The Tempest (1998), updated
with an American Civil War theme. In this film, she played "Miranda
Prosper", a young woman torn between her love for both her father and a
Union soldier. Bug Buster (1998) and
Bride of Chucky (1998)
represented a venture into the horror genre for Katherine. While both
films could be described as rather tongue-in-cheek despite their gory
emphases, Bride of Chucky (1998)
was the better received, both critically and commercially.
In 1999, Katherine decided to branch out into series television when
she accepted the role of the haughty, yet vulnerable, "Isabel Evans",
on Roswell (1999), a show that
blended teen angst with sci-fi drama. Though she had never planned to
embark on a career in television, the role of Isabel, a teenager with a
secret life, was an offer she found impossible to refuse. In the
series, Isabel, her brother Max
(Jason Behr) and their friend Michael
(Brendan Fehr) are aliens passing as humans
in Roswell, New Mexico, as they desperately try to hide the truth from
government agencies, the people of Roswell and even their own adopted
families. To publicize her role on the show, Katherine graced the
covers of magazines such as "TV Guide", "Maxim" and "Teen" and was
interviewed on
Later (1994)
and
The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn (1999).
Along with her mother Nancy, she also appeared in an episode of the
Sci-Fi TV talk show,
Crossing Over with John Edward (2001),
during which she spoke with
John Edward, a psychic medium,
about her late brother, Jason. During the three years
Roswell (1999) was in production,
Katherine found time to work on several movies.
100 Girls (2000), an independent film
released in 2001, is the story of a college freshman who meets the girl
of his dreams in an elevator during a blackout, and spends the rest of
the movie trying to find her again. Her cameo role is that of Arlene,
the competitive tomboy. The second film,
Valentine (2001), a horror film
starring David Boreanaz and
Denise Richards, appeared in U.S.
theaters on February 2, 2001. In this movie, which is based upon the
1996 novel by Tom Savage, Katherine
plays "Shelley", a medical student who meets a sudden demise.
In the spring of 2001, Katherine accepted a role in NBC's
Critical Assembly (2002),
a two-hour original television thriller. Katherine and
Kerr Smith
(Dawson's Creek (1998))
co-starred as brilliant and politically concerned college students who
build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national
priorities, but are betrayed by a fellow student when the bomb ends up
in the hands of a terrorist. Unfortunately, the telefilm, directed by
Eric Laneuville, written by
Tom Vaughan, and based on the
best-seller "The Seventh Power" by
James Mills, was shelved when its
storyline was deemed too close for comfort to the events of September
11, 2001. It was eventually broadcast in 2003. Since the cancellation
of Roswell (1999) in the spring of
2002, Katherine has been busy with various projects, including an
appearance on UPN's update of the classic television series,
The Twilight Zone (2002).
That episode, entitled
Cradle of Darkness (2002),
aired on October 2, 2002, and featured Katherine in the role of a woman
who goes back in time to stop one of the most notorious murders in
history. In addition, she completed a movie,
Descendant (2003), a psychological
thriller inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's
"The Fall of the House of Usher". She has also starred as "Romy" in
ABC/Touchstone's two-hour telepic,
Romy and Michele: In the Beginning (2005),
a prequel to the 1997 feature,
Romy and Michele's High School Reunion (1997).
During the summer of 2002, Katherine made a major decision in the
direction of her career when she signed on for representation in all
areas with the William Morris Agency, one of the biggest and most
prestigious agencies in the entertainment industry. She is now being
represented by Norman Aladjem at Paradigm
Agency and being managed by Nancy Heigl and
Stephanie Simon and
Jason Newman at Untitled
Entertainment.