KATHERINE HEIGL

Date of Birth: November 24, 1978

Raised in Connecticut with her two older brothers, Holt and Jason, and older sister Meg, the half-Irish, half-German natural blonde was a child model for Sears catalogs before landing small roles in commercial work.

In 1992 she got her first taste of feature film work at the age of 12 playing a small role in That Night (1992), followed closely by a co-starring role in Stephen Soderberg's critically lauded depression-era drama King of the Hill (1993). Rising quickly, she next landed the starring role opposite Gérard Depardieu in the comedy My Father the Hero (1994).

After playing Steven Seagal's niece in Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995), Heigl started to appear on David Letterman and Jay Leno as well as the cover of Seventeen Magazine.

Following graduation from high school, Heigl moved to California to concentrate full-time on acting. She starred in the independent features Prince Valiant (1997), Stand-ins (1997) and Wish Upon a Star (1996). In 1998, she joined the cast in the cult-hit, the bride of chucky.

In the late '90s, Heigl added television to her resumé, co-starring opposite Peter Fonda in the telefilm The Tempest. A year later she auditioned for all three female leads on the series Roswell before being cast as the beautiful teenage alien, Isabel Evans. She returned to modeling in a minor way thanks to Roswell, posing in print ads as a cross-promotion for Levi's, Roswell's clothing sponsor.

Heigl has also made a return to films in the new millennium, landing roles in 100 Girls (2000), the horror flick Valentine (2001) and The Ringer (2005). Her fame shot even higher when she received a Golden Globe nomination for her regular role in the hit TV series, Grey's Anatomy. She also shared a 2007 Screen Actors Guild Award with the rest of the cast for "Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series."

She continues to star in films during hiatus from the series, including the romantic comedy Knocked Up (2007), in which she plays an attractive young woman who becomes pregnant after a one night stand.

Filmography:

The Ugly Truth (2009)
27 Dresses (2007)
Knocked Up (2007)
Caffeine (2006)
The Ringer (2005)
Side Effects (2005)
Zyzzyx Rd. (2005)
Descendant (2003)
Valentine (2001)
100 Girls (2000)
Bug Buster (1998)
Bride of Chucky (1998)
Stand-ins (1997)
Prince Valiant (1997)
Wish Upon a Star (1996)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995)
My Father the Hero (1994)
King of the Hill (1993)
That Night (1992)