As a longtime fan of Grey’s Anatomy, I can’t help but feel a mix of emotions when reflecting on Katherine Heigl’s journey after her departure from the show. On one hand, it’s fascinating to see how an actress who once graced the halls of Seattle Grace Mercy West has continued to navigate the tumultuous world of Hollywood. On the other, it’s a bittersweet reminder of what could have been had Izzie Stevens returned to the series.
Reflecting on how “Grey’s Anatomy” has been airing since 2005, breaking records as the longest-running medical drama, it isn’t surprising that cast members frequently join and depart. Out of the initial cast members who debuted in the mid-season replacement on ABC, only two – Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey and James Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber – remain. Even Ellen Pompeo, who portrayed Dr. Meredith Grey for 19 seasons, left her series regular role in early 2023, but still contributes through voice-overs, executive production, and occasional appearances. So, what happened to Katherine Heigl, the actress behind Dr. Isobel “Izzie” Stevens, who was with the show until its sixth season?
There’s quite a bit of controversy surrounding Katherine Heigl’s departure from “Grey’s Anatomy.” The main points revolve around some controversial statements made by the actress, as well as a reported conflict with the show’s creator and then-showrunner, Shonda Rhimes. So, how did Izzie (Heigl’s character) leave the show, and has she ever returned? To put it simply, her departure was quite sudden and not very orderly, and while there have been some brief appearances since, they haven’t amounted to a full return.
How did Izzie leave Grey’s Anatomy?
During the fifth season of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Izzie encounters an extraordinary situation. She begins to see her deceased fiancé and past heart transplant recipient, Denny Duquette, portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan in Season 2. However, it’s not just a hallucination because they engage in intimate scenes together frequently, almost constantly, which is quite unusual. (It’s quite bizarre!) Eventually, Izzie realizes that she ought to investigate the strange occurrences and discovers that she has stage 4 metastatic melanoma, a highly aggressive form of skin cancer that has spread to her brain, skin, and liver. Denny, who assures her he’s there for her, is being literal – she’s dying.
In the TV series, since Izzie was a key character, she manages to pull through after numerous critical operations, an arduous chemotherapy regimen, and the tragic loss of her close colleague, Dr. George O’Malley (T.R. Knight). Shortly following her marriage to another resident in her class, Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), she goes into remission. However, Izzie’s luck takes a turn for the worse when Seattle Grace Hospital merges with Mercy West, causing staff reductions as two groups of residents compete for available positions in the combined program.
In the Season 6 episode titled “I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked,” Izzie, preoccupied by a Mercy West resident’s rude behavior, inadvertently administers an incorrect and potentially harmful dosage of medication to a patient, leading to her dismissal. During the termination process, she learns that Alex had voiced concerns about her swift return to surgery. Enraged by Alex’s stance, Izzie pens a note and departs, intending to mend their relationship; however, upon her return, a heartbroken Alex informs her that while he’s relieved to hear about her clean scans and remission from cancer, he no longer wishes to cross paths with her. This episode signifies the end of Izzie’s character arc on the show, as well as Katherine Heigl’s tenure in it.
Why did Katherine Heigl leave Grey’s Anatomy?
Over the years, Katherine Heigl has provided several reasons as to why she left the TV series “Grey’s Anatomy.” Before there were any serious discussions about her departure, she opted out of Emmy contention following her Season 2 award win, and in 2010, Entertainment Weekly disclosed a statement from Heigl herself stating that she and showrunner Shonda Rhimes had reached an understanding, which meant that Heigl’s character, Izzie Stevens, wouldn’t appear in any more episodes during Season 6. However, in Lynette Rice’s 2021 book “How to Save a Life: The Inside Story of Grey’s Anatomy,” Heigl stated something else – she left the show due to her expanding family, as she adopted a daughter from South Korea in 2009.
In an interview, Heigl expressed that starting a family transformed her life in every way. This shift influenced her decision to reduce her full-time work commitments. She took a leave of absence and spent three months in Utah enjoying motherhood, which significantly altered her outlook. This moment marked a pivotal turning point for her. Before she was due back, Heigl revisited the topic with Shonda about leaving the show. She then patiently waited at home until given formal permission to depart. The speculations that she refused to return were entirely false.
2022 marked the year when, as a gamer navigating life off-screen, I found myself grappling with my mental health. This is why I chose to part ways with the long-running medical drama. After ceasing to follow the show post-departure, I can honestly say that working on it was like stepping into an insane asylum. In hindsight, I felt I had no other option but to leave. “Grey’s” at that time was pushing me to my limits, and I was cracking under the pressure. I was on the brink, vibrating at a level that could potentially lead to illness. As a young woman, I did indeed succumb to mental distress.
The drama around Katherine Heigl’s departure from Grey’s Anatomy, explained
After Katherine Heigl chose to part ways with the television series “Grey’s Anatomy”, there was a significant amount of drama involving both her and showrunner Shonda Rhimes that unfolded. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter in 2014, Rhimes was candid about the cast of her subsequent hit show “Scandal”. Rhimes emphasized a policy against rude individuals, stating, “There are no Katherine Heigls in this scenario… I don’t tolerate nonsense or rudeness. I simply do not have the time for it.
In the same year, Heigl addressed those comments directly when speaking with Mario Lopez for Extra. Her response was fittingly apologetic. “I’m sorry she feels that way and I only wish her success. I have nothing negative to say about her. I’m a big fan of her work,” Heigl stated, in reaction to Rhimes’ highly viral comment. “I watch ‘Scandal’ every week, so I’m sorry if I left her with such a poor opinion of me. I wish I could do something to change that. Perhaps I’ll have the chance to someday.
It’s clear that Heigl’s comments about the Emmys in 2008, where she expressed her dissatisfaction with not receiving a nomination for Season 4 of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, likely upset Shonda Rhimes. To be fair to Heigl, she later acknowledged her mistake and apologized to the writers and creative team. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2021, Heigl admitted that she was unfair to the creators of the show by criticizing their work without fully understanding the context. She explained that at the time, she thought she was taking a stand, but now realizes she could have handled the situation more tactfully and with greater sensitivity towards the writers’ private work matters.
Did Katherine Heigl ever return to Grey’s Anatomy?
In “Grey’s Anatomy”, Katherine Heigl’s physical presence did not reappear, but her former on-screen spouse Alex Karev departed from his entire Seattle life in Season 16 for an off-screen Izzie Stevens and their children. Here’s the sequence of events. In the 35th episode of that season titled “Leave a Light On”, it was known that Justin Chambers would exit the series, but many fans didn’t realize his actual final scene occurred in the 307th episode “My Shot” (eight episodes prior to “Leave a Light On). When viewers discovered Alex’s fate – he was married to Dr. Jo Wilson and Meredith Grey’s closest ally at this point in the series – it’s an understatement to say they were surprised and saddened by the abrupt ending of his character.
In Season 5, it was revealed that Izzie and Alex had frozen embryos prior to her chemotherapy treatment, and later on, Alex discovered – many years later – that Izzie used those embryos to have two children. Unfortunately, Izzie does not come back, nor does Heigl, but Izzie’s spirit is what ultimately leads to Alex leaving the show permanently, shocking both the fans and Jo and Meredith.
What has Katherine Heigl been doing since Grey’s Anatomy?
Following her departure from “Grey’s Anatomy”, Katherine Heigl transitioned to working on romantic comedies, including films like “27 Dresses” and “Knocked Up”. However, subsequent projects such as “Killers” and “One for the Money” didn’t bring in as much success. On television, she appeared in the political drama “State of Affairs” from 2014 to 2015 and joined the cast of “Suits” during its eighth and ninth seasons (from 2018 to 2019). Yet, her most notable project after leaving “Grey’s Anatomy” is likely “Firefly Lane”, a Netflix drama that focuses on the long-lasting friendship between Tully Hart (Heigl) and Kate Mularkey (Sarah Chalke), which is at its heart.
In spite of her turbulent past with the ABC drama, Heigl has managed to remain connected to the series’ plotline. For instance, in the summer of 2023, she had a heart-to-heart chat with her old buddy and co-star Ellen Pompeo for Variety’s Actors on Actors segment—a conversation that unveiled some rather unsavory details about their surgical scenes on screen. Later, in January 2024, Heigl reunited with Pompeo, Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, and James Pickens Jr. at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards. Together, they presented an award and celebrated their long-running show by sharing a memorable moment.
“Grey’s Anatomy” is streaming on Netflix and Hulu now.
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2024-12-02 22:30