Katherine Heigl

Real name: Heigl, Katherine Marie

Nickname: Katie

Birthday: 24 November, 1978

Birth city: Washington D.C., USA

Height: 5' 9 (175 cm)

Katherine Marie Heigl (born November 24 1978) was born in Washington D.C, USA on the 24th of November 1978 to parents Nancy and Paul. A short time afterwards, the Heigl family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut.

She has two elder siblings, John and Meg. Her older brother Jason died in 1986 of brain injuries suffered in a car accident. Having been thrown from the back of a pickup truck doctors determined Jason was brain-dead, the family decided to donate his organs. This has motivated her to promote the organ donation.

An aunt, visiting the family took a number of photographs of Katherine, (then aged 9). After returning to New York she (with Katherine's parents permission) sent the photos to a number of modelling agencies. Within a few weeks Katherine had been signed as a child model.

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 made her 'big-screen' debut in "That Night" (1992). It was then that she realized that acting as opposed to modeling was her passion.

Katherine appeared in Steven Soderbergh's 'depression' era drama "King Of The Hill" before landing her first leading role in "My Father The Hero" (1994). During this time, Katherine continued to attend New Canaan High School, balancing her film and modeling work with her academic studies.

In 1995, she played opposite Steven Seagal in the role of Sarah Ryback in "Under Siege 2: Dark Territory". Despite an increased focus on acting, she still modeled extensively, appearing regularly in magazines such as Seventeen. She took the lead role in Disney's "Wish Upon a Star" in 1996.

In 1996 Katherine's parents divorced, and after her high school graduation in 1997, she moved with her mother into a 4-bedroom house in Malibu Canyon, Los Angeles. Katherine's mother became her manager.

Katherine co-starred with Peter Fonda in a re-working of the classic Shakespearian play "The Tempest" (1998), themed around the American Civil War.

In 1999, Katherine turned her attention to television when she accepted the role of Isabel Evans on "Roswell Roswell". Katherine's role was expanded in the second and third season to showcase her talents.

To publicize her role on "Roswell", Katherine appeared on the covers of magazines such as TV Guide, Maxim, and Teen as well as appearing in FHM. Katherine later appeared in the FHM and Maxim calendars and FHM's 100 sexiest women in the world.

Whilst "Roswell" was in production, Katherine worked on several films. "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.

In the spring of 2001, Katherine accepted a role in "Ground Zero," a two-hour, original television thriller scheduled to be telecast that fall. Katherine co-starred as a brilliant and politically-concerned college student who helps to build a nuclear device, to illustrate the need for a change in national priorities. The bomb ends up in the hands of a terrorist following betrayal by a fellow student.

Unfortunately, "The Seventh Power" based on the bestseller by James Mills was shelved when its plot was considered too close for comfort to the terrible events of September 11, 2001. The title given, and its relation to September 11 also was deemed far too close thus, when "Ground Zero" re-emerged in 2003, it was now titled "Critical Assembly".

Katherine recorded a passionate public service announcement for the American Red Cross in an effort to help raise money for victims of September 11.

Love Comes Softly, a telefilm for Hallmark Entertainment, found Katherine starring in the role of Marty Claridge, a young, pregnant newlywed travelling west.

Katherine continued her worldwide travels when she was cast as Isabella Linton in MTV’s modern 'revamp' of Emily Bronte's classic novel "Wuthering Heights".

In early 2003, Katherine returned to the horror genre with "Evil Never Dies", a modern-day variation on the Frankenstein story co-starring Thomas Gibson. Katherine plays the role of the professor's assistant, whose intentions are not as clear as the police officer is first led to believe.

In October 2003, Katherine was cast opposite Johnny Knoxville, as the leading lady in "The Ringer", a Farrelly brothers’ comedy.

Katherine has been dating her former Roswell co-star, Jason Behr, for several years.  (Source: Wikipedia)