• Faith: Latter-day Saint
• Career: Actress
• Birthday:  November 24, 1978

Katherine Heigl is an actress best known for playing Izzie Stevens on the ABC drama “Grey’s Anatomy” from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her accolades and recognition, including the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 2007. Heigl started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before turning her attention to acting.

She made her film debut in “That Night” and later appeared in “My Father the Hero,” “Under the Siege 2: Dark Territory,” and “Bride of Chucky.” Then, she landed the role of Isabel Evans on The WB series “Roswell,” for which she received nominations for Saturn and Teen Choice Awards. Then, Heigl starred in commercially successful romantic comedy movies like “Knocked Up,” “27 Dresses,” “The Ugly Truth,” “Killers,” “Life As We Know It,” and “New Year’s Eve.”

She also appeared in “The Big Wedding,” “One for the Money,” and “Unforgettable.” Heigl has also starred in several movies that have seen limited releases, including “Jackie & Ryan,” “Home Sweet Hell,” and “Jenny’s Wedding.” She was also an executive producer on her leading television roles, which include the short-lived NBC TV series “State of Affairs” from 2014 to 2015, the Netflix series “Firefly Lane,” and the upcoming limited series “Woodhull.” Heigl also lent her voice to the animated movie “The Nut Job” and its sequel.

Heigl also had a leading role in the last two seasons of the USA Network series “Suits.” Additionally, Heigl has established herself as a cover model, appearing in numerous publications, including Maxim, Vanity Fair, and Cosmopolitan. The actress was born in Washington, D.C., the youngest of four children. She lived in northern Virginia and then Denver before her family moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, when she was five, where she lived for the rest of her childhood. In 1986, Heigl’s older brother, Jason, died of injuries suffered in a car accident after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck while out for lunch with some of his classmates.

What religion is Katherine Heigl?

Katherine’s mother was Lutheran, and her father was Catholic, but the tragedy of her brother’s death led them to convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Heigl explained, “A couple of Mormon families were a great comfort. Both my parents felt a great desire for answers, and they found an answer in the Mormon church—or answers they could live with, anyway, because there really are none. I didn’t really understand death, so it was very confusing for me.

She continued, “The worst part was watching the devastation of my family. They weren’t the same people anymore. Everything was kind of a mess for a while. It wasn’t like Ordinary People, where it destroyed that family so badly that there was never finding any joy or loving or appreciating being alive again. But I give my parents unbelievable credit for pulling it together, and I give the Mormon church a lot of credit for helping them to do that.”