Katherine Heigl: WHAT I KNOW NOW

AFTER 30 YEARS IN THE SPOTLIGHT, THE FIREFLY LANE STAR OPENS UP ABOUT REGRET – AND HOW HER FAMILY HAS HELPED HER GROW

Sitting at home in Utah, where she’s spent the unprecedented past year with her family, Katherine Heigl isn’t looking to rewrite the past. After three decades in front of the camera, the star knows she’s made some mistakes, but she can find the value in even her worst blunders. “I don’t think you get through life without any regrets,” she says, “but you can create some purpose from it.”

Born in Washington, DC, and raised Mormon, the actress, 42, began her career as a child model. Teen stardom followed, but it wasn’t until the 2005 premiere of medical drama Grey’s Anatomy that she became a household name. But with that came added stress, fear and scrutiny, she says. The year after her 2007 Emmy win, she withdrew her name from contention for a repeat, saying she “did not feel that I was given the material this season to warrant” a nomination. That incident, compounded with several other comments and complaints Heigl had previously voiced, earned the actress the dreaded label of “difficult”. “I know there’s a better way to deal with those things than I did,” she admits. “I could have handled it with more grace.”