The youngest member of her family, Katherine, or “Katie” as she is known affectionately, 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 Jason 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 has motivated her to use her celebrity status 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 her niece, then aged 9 - in 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 modelling agencies. Within a few weeks Katherine had been signed to Wilhelmina, a renowned international modelling 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, Katherine 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" before landing her first leading role as a rebellious teenager alongside Gerard 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 modelling, which she undertook during holidays, vacations and weekends.
In 1995, she played opposite Steven Seagal in the role of Sarah Ryback in “Under Siege 2: Dark Territory,” which represented her first “action genre” film. 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” and “Late Night with Conan O'Brien” soon followed, before she took the lead role in Disney's “Wish Upon a Star” in 1996.
It was during 1996 that Katherine's parents divorced, and following her graduation in 1997, she moved with her mother into a 4-bedroom house in Malibu Canyon, Los Angeles. This enabled Katherine 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 the movie "Stand-Ins," and was also cast as the beautiful Princess Ilene in "Prince Valiant," a European production also starring Stephen Moyer and Edward Fox.
Katherine then branched into the world of television films, co-starring with Peter Fonda in a re-working of the classic Shakespearian play "The Tempest" (1998), updated with an American Civil War theme.
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" was the better received, both critically and commercially.
In 1999, Katherine decided to venture into the world of series television when she accepted the role of the haughty yet vulnerable Isabel Evans on "Roswell", a show which 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 Katherine found impossible to refuse. For three seasons, through a change of network (from The WB to UPN) and a change of hairstyle and color (long and blonde to short and brunette), Katherine continued to portray Isabel with a sensitivity and understanding that often transcended the show’s writing. Though she was woefully underused during Roswell’s first season, Katherine’s role was expanded in the second and third season to take advantage of her extraordinary talents.
To publicize her role on "Roswell", Katherine graced the covers of magazines such as TV Guide, Maxim, and Teen as well as appearing in FHM, and was interviewed on “Later with Cynthia Garrett” and “The Craig Kilborn Show.” Along with her mother Nancy, she also appeared on an episode of the Sci-Fi Television talk show “Crossing Over with John Edward,” during which she spoke with John Edward, a psychic medium, about her late brother, Jason.
During the three years "Roswell" was in production, Katherine found time to work on several movies. “100 Girls”, an independent film released in 2001. Katherine’s cameo role is that of Arlene, the Competitive Tomboy. The second film, “Valentine,” a horror film starring David Boreanaz and Denise Richards. Katherine plays Shelley, a medical student who meets a sudden demise.
In the spring of 2001, Katherine accepted a role in “Ground Zero,” a two-hour, original television thriller scheduled to be telecast that fall on NBC. Katherine and Kerr Smith (“Dawson's Creek”) 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 bestseller, “The Seventh Power,” by James Mills, was shelved when its storyline was deemed too close for comfort to the terrible events of September 11, 2001.
Katherine recorded a passionate public service announcement for the American Red Cross in an effort to help raise money for victims of the atrocity.
"Ground Zero" re-surfaced in 2003 under the new title of "Critical Assembly". The film premiered on NBC on July 12th almost two years after its original release date.
Since the Fall of 2002, Katherine has continued to work prolifically on an amazing variety of projects. "Romy and Michele: Behind The Velvet Rope", Katherine was cast in the role of Romy. It is a prequel to the movie - "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion", which starred Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow. Filming wrapped towards the end of 2002 under the new title of "Romy and Michele: In The Beginning".
"Love Comes Softly", a telefilm for Hallmark Entertainment, found Katherine starring in the role of Marty Claridge, a young, pregnant newlywed travelling west in a covered wagon, facing tragedy along with a new life. Based on a very successful series of books by Janette Oke, "Love Comes Softly" aired on cable's Hallmark Channel on April 13th, 2003. The film was a huge success and was received by the largest audience in Hallmark’s history.
Katherine continued her worldwide travels when she was cast as Isabella Linton in MTV’s contemporary take on Emily Bronte's classic novel "Wuthering Heights”.
Production wrapped on "Wuthering Heights" in May 2003 and the film premiered on MTV on September 14th. The New York Times film review wrote: "Katherine Heigl steals the movie as a sexy, scheming high-school Alpha girl."
Despite her hectic schedule, Katherine also found time to sign-up for the pilot presentation of a new television show. Entitled "Vegas Dick", the programme focuses on a former con man, played by Vincent Ventresca, who becomes an in-house casino detective. Katherine will portray the detective’s boss, the daughter of the hotel and casino owner who also serves as the manager of both establishments.
In early 2003, Katherine's returned to the horror genre with "Evil Never Dies", a modern-day variation on the Frankenstein story co-starring Thomas Gibson as a police officer who discovers that the executed murderer of his wife is being brought back to life as part of a professor's sordid experiment. Katherine plays the role of the professor's assistant, whose motives are not as clear-cut as the police officer is first led to believe. "Evil Never Dies" was filmed in Melbourne, Australia, and broadcast on June 1st 2003 as TBS Superstation “Movie Of The Week”.
Katherine attended the First Annual “Share the Beat” gala on September 20th 2003. The event was organised and hosted by the James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness and the Coalition on Donation – two charities dedicated to inspiring all people to donate life through organ and tissue donation. Katherine and her mother Nancy were both members of the planning committee for the event. Organ and tissue donation is subject very close to both of their hearts, as Katherine’s brother Jason was an organ donor.
In October 2003, Katherine was cast opposite Johnny Knoxville, as the female lead in “The Ringer”. Shot in Austin, Texas and directed by Barry Blaustein, the Farrelly brothers’ comedy sees Katherine portray Lynn, a beautiful Special Olympics volunteer and the love interest of Knoxvilles' character Jimmy.
In her personal life, Katherine has been happily dating her former Roswell co-star, Jason Behr, for several years.
Credits
External links