Katherine Heigl: “Parenthood is far from perfect but you just have to try!”
Actress Katherine Heigl tells Closer how her kids changed her life – and why she relished her new role as a villain
She’s returning to the big S screen as a deranged ex-wife and mother in Unforgettable. But A-list star Katherine admits she’s a far cry from her on-screen character and instead cherishes life at home with her musician husband Josh Kelley, 37, and their three children.
The Emmy award-winning actress gave birth to her third child – Joshua Bishop Kelley Jr – just five months ago. And her new arrival joins her adopted daughters: Naleigh, eight, from South Korea and Adalaide, four, from the US.
Now that Katherine has made her Hollywood comeback, the star – who faced criticism after she described her own film Knocked Up as “sexist”– says she’s determined to get the work-family balance right. She reveals: “Life isn’t perfect – parenthood is far from perfect – but we all try to emulate that. When I was younger, I strove for perfection a lot, but now that’s just not feasible.”
GREAT SUPPORT NETWORK
She adds: “Women can beat themselves up so much over this, but there has to come a point where you say: ‘I can only do so much at one time.’ When I’m working, it’s time away from the family; and when I’m with my family, that’s a choice to keep me away from my job.
“Fortunately, I have an amazing husband, who is the greatest support and the best dad. We’re a team – we work really well together and I don’t take any of that for granted.
“Josh is only a baby and it’s tough with the diapers and the sleepless nights, but I’ve got my little army of helpers – they’ve been great. That’s why you have older kids!”
Before motherhood, Katherine, 38, rose to fame in 2005 in the hugely popular TV series Grey’s Anatomy, where she played lovable doctor Izzie Stevens. She’s since gone on to star in Hollywood rom-coms Knocked Up, 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth.
PURSUIT FOR PERFECTION
And Katherine says that while becoming famous has garnered her millions of followers on social media, she doesn’t feel compelled to show a picture-perfect life on Twitter and Instagram.
She says: “Does anyone ever put a bad – and when I say bad, I mean real, unfiltered, not-posed-in-a-gorgeous-rosy-hue – photo on Instagram? It rarely happens – the pursuit for perfection has gotten out of hand! It can drive you crazy. And I’m guilty of it – I’ve used filters and I wanted a pose to accentuate my best side. But now I just want to upload a cute picture with my children, even if there’s an extra chin in there – who cares?”
GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN
And while she’s known for her likable, girlnext-door type characters, Katherine has gone against her typical roles in her latest film and instead plays Tessa, a psychotic ex-wife intent on ruining her estranged husband’s new relationship.
Surprisingly, Katherine says playing the villain wasn’t a struggle.
“I’m concerned how easy this was for me!” she laughs. “I had to do very little preparation for Tessa – she came very naturally. Cue alarm bells!
“I never thought I’d ever get to play the villain because I’m known for playing the kooky, happy-go-lucky girl. But actors want the chance to take on these damaged, removed, morally questionable characters and I liked the conflict of emotions. It was delicious and juicy to be so wrong and calculating!”
However, the former model admits that playing an abusive mum to a young
daughter tugged at her heart strings.
“That was the hardest aspect by far,” she says. “I’ve never had to be horrible to a child before. After a scene where I’m cutting her hair and she’s sobbing, I walked straight out of the room and cried my eyes out. It took a while to get it together after that. It felt so wrong and went completely
against my nature.”
A WHOLE NEW PERSPECTIVE
And Katherine says that taking a four-year break to concentrate on her family has only made her a better actress. She adds: “Acting is a lot of drawing out
emotions and, until you have children yourself, you can’t really pull on something so powerful and encompassing without having gone through it first-hand.
“Motherhood is the most powerful experience you will ever go through. I’m pretty sure I could never have played a mum until I became one myself.
“Having children has been a huge blessing – it’s given me perspective. Prior to becoming a mother, it was all about my goals as an actor. But my kids helped me to take a step back and go: ‘OK, I have some important work to do on this earth.’”
‘Having children has been a huge blessing’