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| USA Today - February
11, 1995 |
List |
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`Hero' role suits Katherine
Heigl |
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Oh to be
15, a little giggly and look as good in a thong swimsuit as
Katherine Heigl does. "So far everything's been cool," says
Heigl. Here, she is taking a day off from her New Canaan, Conn.,
high school classes to publicize My Father, The Hero, a romp in
the Bahamas that requires her to wear four different bathing
suits as she vacations with dad, Gerard Depardieu.
"He's the nicest, friendliest guy," she insists. The scene in
which innocent knockout Heigl stands poolside, and sashays off
to the beach has everyone - from high school chums to trailer
audiences - atwitter. "The first time I saw it I was cringing,"
she admits. "It was so embarrassing to do. But now I'm used to
it."
This freshman is used to the life of a young glam gal. At 9, she
posed for photos to help her aunt sell a new hair care product.
The aunt told Heigl's mom: "Nancy, you should get Katie into
modeling! " So mom - who is now her manager - sent photos to big
agencies and took a deal with Wilhelmina. Soon after, Heigl was
earning $75 an hour posing for Sears and Macy's catalogs. "It
was fun when I was little but after a while it started to get
not as interesting. There's long hours and all you do is stand
around a lot. I like acting much better."
It wasn't that the daughter of accountant Paul Heigl and baby of
the family of six has always dreamed of being an actress. She
"always loved to make believe and imagine. With my friends we
loved to play house and playing secretaries or being doctors."
My Father, The Hero isn't her first movie. With That Night and
King of the Hill on her resume, she's already well into a career
that she hopes will be as successful as her idol's: Grace Kelly.
"When I was little, people used to tell me I look like her. I
love her, what she stood for, who she was."
When she's not acting, Heigl sounds like a normal teen.
Refreshingly, she isn't worrying about dieting. She eats what
she wants and exercises to Cindy Crawford's video or at her
school fitness center. As for a boyfriend? "Boyfriend?" she
repeats. "I have an interest." He goes to her high school and
his name is Baptiste Ibar. "His family is French." Or you may
find her writing poetry, another love of hers. She's planning to
go to college, but if movie offers pile up, she'll opt for set
tutors and finish her schooling that way. But don't think
there's a pushy manager mom behind her. Says Heigl, "It's more
me pushing her."
Interview and article by
Ann Oldenburg |
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