While fans loved watching Katherine Heigl play Izzie Stevens, it's no secret that she left Grey's Anatomy after a scandal involving some harsh words that she had for the series.
Heigl removed herself from being considered for an Emmy in 2008, and by 2010, she was off the show that had brought her so much fame.
After saying goodbye to the hospital drama, what happened to Katherine Heigl's acting career? It's interesting to take a look at the movie and TV roles she played after her time as Izzie was up.
Comedy Movies
Katherine Heigl got her start in TV, as she played Isabel Evans on the 90's teen show, Roswell. She did an incredible job as an alien living with her brother in the New Mexico town and hoping to keep their identity a secret.
Ellen Pompeo has played Meredith on Grey's Anatomy since the beginning, but the same can't be said for the other well-known actors and their characters. Many have left the show, including Heigl.
Heigl started appearing in some comedy movies after finishing up her time as Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, with not the best results.
In 2010, she starred opposite Ashton Kutcher in the movie Killers as a woman falling for a guy who is a secret spy. The Guardian called it "the worst film of 2010" and called it "a mess."
In that same year, Heigl played one of the lead roles in Life As We Know It. She and Josh Duhamel played child-free characters whose good friends died and left them their baby. This one didn't do well with critics, either. CTV News said it was "predictable" and that the story wasn't too interesting.
In 2012, Heigl played Stephanie Plum in the movie One For The Money, which was an adaptation from Janet Evanovich's book. This movie only got a 42 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and isn't one of her more memorable movies.
The next year, Heigl starred in The Big Wedding, and people didn't seem to like that one, either, based on some reviews.
Heigl was in another wedding-themed movie in 2015 with Jenny's Wedding. She and Alexis Bledel played a couple getting married. This one had more meaning and importance. In 2015, after the Supreme Court's ruling on same-sex marriage, Heigl told Variety, "I get very emotional and I cried. I was very grateful — grateful that our country has seen the light and is encouraging others to do the same.”
Back On TV
Katherine Heigl has also taken on some longer roles on TV series, and these seem to have left a better impression, although her first big role didn't last too long.
First up was State Of Affairs, which got a 13-episode first season in 2014. The president of entertainment at NBC, Jennifer Salke, told Variety, “She did get some blowback in the past, but the core audience loves her romantic comedies. I think people are very forgiving when they see a character played so well by her.”
Heigl's main role was that of Charleston Tucker, a CIA analyst.
According to Deadline, Heigl talked about the rom-coms that she had been a part of. She said, "I love doing romantic comedies" and explained that she wasn't “exercising different muscles of my ability." She said of her fans, “I wasn’t challenging them either."
Heigl said of playing Charleston, it's “an extraordinary role, and an extraordinary story, and the opportunity to flex different muscles. I hope my audience will be excited about it."
It's worth noting that some people weren't sure about seeing Katherine Heigl back on TV since she has been outspoken in the past. According to Time, she referred to her movie Knocked Up as "a little sexist" and famously said that Grey's Anatomy didn't give her interesting storylines.
In 2018 and 2019, Katherine Heigl played the role of Samantha Wheeler in 26 episodes of Suits. Heigl told Harper's Bazaar that she found she was taking on great roles as she got older. She said, "I thought aging in Hollywood was going be this giant disaster, and then suddenly it didn't turn out to be so bad. Instead, I'm playing women that I'm far more interested in than the women I was playing in my twenties—I’m playing women I'd actually want to be."
'Firefly Lane'
Katherine Heigl's latest role is on the upcoming Netflix drama Firefly Lane.
Heigl stars with Sarah Chalke as two best friends, Tully and Kate, who have known each other since forever. The show is adapted from the novel of the same name by Kristin Hannah. According to Entertainment Weekly, Heigl also has an executive producer credit on the show.
Fans can watch the show on February 3rd.