The price of success — and the
mandatory long hours on the set — is the total lack of a meaningful love life."I
do love going out on dates and having a good time, but there is no time for a really
serious relationship, because I’m trying to focus on my career. You can’t have
it both ways, I suppose, but I’m not complaining. It’s what I want right now.
When the time is right, I’m open for anything. Including living in Paris for a year
or so to learn the language and the culture. Maybe meet someone …"
The youngest of three siblings born in Washington D.C. but reared in New Canaan, Heigl
is the daughter of a financial executive for UPI and a housewife who now lives and works
with her from their home on the outskirts of Los Angeles.
"My mom and I work extremely well together and share many interests," she
explains. "And it’s fun living outside L.A.— there are horses, cows and
sheep all around my house."
Heigl, who has always thought of herself as "the girl next door," still stays
in touch with several of her high school chums — some of whom undoubtedly remember
her as the richest kid in school, but never picked up the tab in the school cafeteria.
"Some of the kids in school were a bit confused about what I did, but ultimately
everybody just saw me as the girl attending classes with them unless a movie was coming
out. Some may have been jealous, but not many."
The only real embarrassment she suffered in school because of work was the result of
her performance in the comedy feature "My Father The Hero" with French film star
Gerard Depardieu. Only 14 years old at the time, her rebellious, hormone-driven character
was called upon to make herself look a more worldly 16 — in part by wearing a thong
bikini and pretending that her father was her lover in order to impress the local
heartthrob. Fortunately, the film was a bomb and few theater-goers even caught a glimpse
of her. Unfortunately, the three people in New Canaan who caught it were boorish boys in
some of her high school classes.
"I was just doing my job wearing that thong bikini, but these obnoxious guys made
disgusting comments about it for months," she recalls. "They didn’t
understand what my job was all about."
Heigl who also co-starred as Peter Fonda’s daughter in the television adaptation
of Shakespeare’s "The Tempest" a couple of years ago, still works to
develop a serious movie career.
"I love ‘Roswell’ because it’s a fun character to play and involves
nine months of steady employment per year," she says, "but I’ll never give
up on a film career. I haven’t created a real name for myself in features yet, but I
feel its just a matter of time."
