Katherine Heigl Officially Leaves 'Grey's Anatomy'

By PopEater Staff Posted Mar 24th 2010 09:55AM

Katherine Heigl has officially checked out of 'Grey's Anatomy.'

In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly (on stands Friday), Heigl reveals that she is "done" with the show, citing family issues as the reason behind her exit. "I started a family and it changed everything for me," she told the magazine, regarding her adopted daughter, Naleigh. "It changed my desire to work full-time."

"I know I'm disappointing the fans. I just had to make a choice. I hope I made the right one," she added.

Fans may be especially disappointed to find out that Heigl's character, Izzie Stevens, has already left the show. According to the report, the Jan. 21 episode was Heigl's last official appearance, even though she was supposed to appear in five additional episodes this season.

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Katherine Heigl Snapshots

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 18: Host Billy Bush (L) looks on as Katherine Heigl accepts the Female Star of the Year Award after part of her dress broke during the ShoWest awards ceremony at the Paris Las Vegas during ShoWest, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Billy Bush;Katherine Heigl

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Katherine Heigl Snapshots

Actor Josh Duhamel (L) and actress Katherine Heigl arrive at the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation to promote their upcoming film 'Life as We Know It' at Paris Las Vegas during ShoWest, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners on March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. ShoWest 2010 - Warner Bros. Pictures Presentation Day Paris Las Vegas Las Vegas, NV United States March 18, 2010 Photo by Steven Lawton/FilmMagic.com To license this image (59950588), contact FilmMagic.com

Katherine Heigl Snapshots

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 18: Actress Katherine Heigl accepts the Female Star of the Year Award after part of her dress broke during the ShoWest awards ceremony at the Paris Las Vegas during ShoWest, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl Snapshots

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 18: Actress Katherine Heigl (L) accepts the Female Star of the Year Award after part of her dress broke during the ShoWest awards ceremony at the Paris Las Vegas during ShoWest, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl Snapshots

Actress Katherine Heigl, right, accepts the Female Star of the Year Award while holding a broken strap on her dress as show host Billy Bush looks on at the ShoWest 2010 Final Night Talent Awards in Las Vegas on Thursday, March 18, 2010. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles)

Katherine Heigl Snapshots

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 18: Actress Katherine Heigl (shoe detail) arrives at the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation to promote her new film, "Life as We Know It" at the Paris Las Vegas during ShoWest, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl Snapshots

LAS VEGAS - MARCH 18: Actor Josh Duhamel (L) and actress Katherine Heigl arrive at the Warner Bros. Pictures presentation to promote their new film, "Life as We Know It" at the Paris Las Vegas during ShoWest, the official convention of the National Association of Theatre Owners, March 18, 2010 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Josh Duhamel;Katherine Heigl

Katherine Heigl Snapshots

Still, Heigl's exit should come as no surprise, since it had been rumored for months. She's also had a long history of hiccups with the show, including in 2008 when she pulled her name from Emmy consideration, blaming the writers for bad material. ("I did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant an Emmy nomination and in an effort to maintain the integrity of the academy organization, I withdrew my name from contention," she said at the time.)

She also made headlines in 2009 following an interview on the 'Late Show With David Letterman,' during which she complained about a 17-hour work day on set.

Heigl's co-star and real-life friend T.R. Knight left the show last year.

In the meantime, Heigl, who won a Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2007, has two new films headed to the big screen this year: 'Killers,' opposite Ashton Kutcher, and Greg Berlanti's 'Life as We Know it,' with 'Transformers' star Josh Duhamel.

Heigl is married to singer Josh Kelley. The couple adopted baby Naleigh in 2009.

Tags: greys anatomy, katherine heigl

Comments

(39)

Wednesday 24 March

By dempsy

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Got tired of Heigl's whiney character anyway. B-bye!

Thursday 25 March

By carolyn Perry

She added nothing to Grey's. I'm also glad she's gone

By bazel

For th love of Mike.... please just move along if you must, but all of this repeated hoopla is annoying.

By rex

thank god shes gone i hope they replace her with someone who can act. she reminds me of david caruso on csi miami . he got abig head because he was on a populat tv show did a couple of movies and went off to be a star. he fell flat on his face and came back to tv with his tail tucked between his legs. the same with catherine heigl. the woman can not act and will lose her popularity very quickly

By jordan7833

High Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

I am sorry to hear Katherine Heigl is leaving "Grey's Anatomy". She is one of the reasons I tuned in from one week to the next and the show is different without her. She is already missed!

By renee

Lowest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

YOU CLEARLY HAVE NO TASTE

By Sheila

Thank goodness she was clearly the worst actor on the show. Even the extra's acted better than she did. Get to steppin you will not be missed.

By Bob

The only reason I watched the show was to see Ms. Heigl. The rest of the characters are not very interesting. I'm sorry she could not make a deal to allow her to continue on the show. I will stop making watching Grey's Anatomy a habit.

By NYFan

So glad NOT to have to see Izzie again. Her whiny character has been annoying for years. Just wish they had killed her off with George so they could have left together. Now Alex could have some fun!

Friday 26 March

By DAISY

I AGREE! BYE, BYE, BYE!

By glenn

Good riddence.

By David

Amen. Her character was a whining, sniveling witch. I suppose very much like Heigl herself. That said, the Grey's slot needs to be used for something more entertaining. This program is tired and done. Stick a fork in it.

By Linda

I'm glad she is leaving. They should have killed her off with metastatic melanoma which is a terminal cancer. The average life expectancy of someone with Stage IV metasatic melanoma (especially when it goes to the brain) is 4 months. My husband got around 16 months with this disease until his death 9 months ago. It pissed me off that the show had a storyline that flew so blatantly in the face of medical reality.

By Romana

I like to watching Grey,s Anatomy but I don't see much
new and I am getting tire

By jay

Hallejujah...It's about time. Next!

By Susan

I will miss her. And I miss T.R. Knight. Although I love several characters on the show, she is the only one with star potential. Good luck to her!

By DEF

YEAH!...I was so disappointed when she survived cancer...what a lousy actor and the whining...OMG!

By Teresa

I am sorry to see Katherine go. I thought she added a very nice touch to the show,the chemistry with Izzy and Denny's characters was very good. She made you feel her energy. I hope her all the best.

By jcheev1

Highest Rank Vote down Vote up Report this

Noooooooooooobody cares!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

By Ema

What did she do, dye her hair to match her new adopted daughters?

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