Katherine Heigl was an experienced movie actress by the time she was cast as one of the out-of-this-world teenagers on WB's Roswell in 1999. Born and raised in Connecticut, Heigl began modeling and appearing in TV ads as a child. After making her film debut in That Night (1992), Heigl balanced movie work with high school, playing a small role in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era drama King of the Hill (1993), starring as Gerard Depardieu's difficult daughter in My Father, the Hero (1994), and Steven Seagal's niece in the action sequel Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (1995). Heigl headed to Los Angeles after high school to make acting her full-time job. Following a leading role in Wish Upon a Star (1996) and a small part as a Rita Hayworth stand-in in Stand-Ins (1997), Heigl made a foray into horror with Bug Buster (1998) and Bride of Chucky (1998). Branching out into television, Heigl co-starred with Peter Fonda in a Shakespeare-via-Civil War reworking of The Tempest (1998). Benefiting from the late-'90s wave of youth-driven TV shows, Heigl stayed with television and attracted an avid following as alien beauty Isabel on the cult hit Roswell. |