Katherine Heigl at The 59th Annual Primetime

Katherine Marie Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., on November 24, 1978. She has German and Irish ancestry and was raised very strict as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Her older brother Jason died after a car accident in 1986, and the family decided to donate his organs. Katherine is a strong proponent of organ donation.

Her career started already at age nine, after an aunt took photos of her and shoed them to modeling agencies. Katherine's acting debut was in 1992, and in 1994 she had her first leading role in My Father the Hero. In the following years, Katherine both modeled and acted. She appeared in magazines such as Life, TV Guide, Teen, FHM and Maxim, and she was a regular in "Sexiest Women" and "Hot 100"-lists. Katherine ranked number one in the AskMen.com Top 99 Women 2008 Edition.