Katherine Heigl portrayed Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy, for almost six seasons. She abruptly exited the show in 2010. The actress moved to other projects, acting in films (27 Dresses, Big Wedding, and Unforgettable). She’s also appeared on many TV shows since her departure, such as: State of Affairs, Suits, and Doubt.
Despite these credits, diehard fans of the ABC medical drama will always think of her as the intelligent, kind-hearted (often with misplaced values) Izzie, with her trademark blonde mane. Now, though, she sports a new look…
Let’s take a peek.
Before the Season 16 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy, showrunner Krista Vernoff began floating hints of an alum returning to the show. She did not give any specifics, however. “I’m trying to bring someone back,” she said, according to IMDb. “There’s someone I’m hoping will make an appearance this year… but it’s a real maybe. I’m trying.”
And naturally this statement caused fans to weigh in on who they thought might return. There’s Sarah Drew (April Kepner), Sara Ramirez (Callie Torres), and Sandra Oh, who played Cristina Yang. However, fans had a clue with Heigly. When she was promoting Suits last year, she was asked if she might return to Grey Sloan Memorial.
“That’s a tough one. I don’t know,” she said in July, as reported by Cinemablend. “I almost feel like that would almost be distracting again to, sort of, what they’ve done with that show in the seven years since I left, you know, and what that’s become and what it is to the fans now. It must feel like it would just be kind of like, ‘Yeah, we already let that go, you know? Why are you here?’”
In September, Heigl posted a pic of herself showing a sharp change in hair color from the traditional blonde. She’s dark brunette now, for her role of Tully Hart in an upcoming Netflix series, Firefly, according to People.
“If you haven’t caught my stories this will be a shock for you… #tullyhart #FireflyLane #nextroleforthisgal,” she captioned the photo at the time, referring to her previous Instagram Story posts revealing the color-change process.
Firefly is set in the mid-1970’s, and is based on a book by Kristin Hannah, that follows the central relationship of main characters Kate Mularkey (played by Sarah Chalke) and Tully Hart (Heigl), and this relationship spans three decades. The release date is yet to be known.
Earlier this week, Heigl was back on Instagram showing off her family’s new haircuts! The actress and her 3-year-old son posed for a photo, her daughters Adelaide, aged 7, and Naleigh, age 11, were not.
“Fresh cuts for the Kelleys,” she captioned a slideshow of several photos. “The girls were nowhere to be found for these pics…or they’re hiding cause they don’t want to be in the pic…but every one of us got our hairs done and we feel fine!”
