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Katherine Heigl as Isobel "Izzie" Stevens

Katherine Heigl was born on November 24, 1978 in Washington, D.C. As she was growing up, her family relocated from Washington to Virginia, and then to Denver, and finally settled down in New Canaan, Connecticut. She and her three older siblings were brought up under the value system of The Church of Latter-day Saints. Her older brother passed away in 1986, after succumbing to injuries he sustained from a major car accident. Heigl's parents decided to donate their son's organs and tissues, and this led Heigl to become an organ donor when she reached adulthood.

As for her acting career, she entered the limelight at the age of nine as a child model. Her first modeling jobs were for Sears and Lord & Taylor catalogs, and these were followed by television appearances, which include a nation-wide commercial for the popular cereal product, Cheerios. Eventually, she gained exposure on films, as she appeared in That Night, King of the Hill, My Father the Hero, Under Siege 2: Dark Territory, Valentine and 100 Girls. Moreover, she became a regular on the TV show Roswell. Heigl is also familiar face on well-known magazines such as Life, TV Guide, Teen and FHM.

At present, she portrays Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on the TV series Grey's Anatomy, a role which earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in 2006. Before her relationship with and engagement to singer Josh Kelley, Heigl dated actor Jason Behr, one of her Roswell co-stars.

In 2007, when the controversy regarding her co-star Isaiah Washington's use of a gay slur term erupted, Heigl strongly fought for her friend, openly gay actor T.R. Knight, who is also a Grey's Anatomy cast member and the alleged victim of Washington's verbal tirade.