Katherine Heigl hasn’t earned the best reputation in Hollywood… Partly because of her own actions and partly because we, as a society, tend to cling to bad gossip like it’s all there is to a person.
Speaking to the August edition of Marie Claire, the 27 Dresses actress said she felt “betrayed” by her career when things started going south.
“The thing that was my best friend for a long time suddenly turned on me,” she said. “I didn’t expect it. I was taken by surprise and angry at it for betraying me.”
She added she believes her poor reputation is due to her film choices; she didn’t reference the controversies about her Grey’s Anatomy criticism and reported “diva” behavior on sets.
“I love romantic comedies. But maybe I hit it a little too hard. I couldn’t say no. I stopped challenging myself,” said the 35-year-old mother. “It became a bit by rote and, as a creative person, that can wear you down. That was part of why I took that time off, to ask myself, ‘What do I want? What am I looking for?'”
After burning out, Katherine said she considered leaving the entertainment business altogether.
“I was thinking I’d maybe open a knitting store, get my money out of retirement accounts and live off that, live off the land,” said Katherine, who is based in Utah. “I had my moment where it all seemed so complicated and all I wanted to do was simplify.”
Eventually, the pull of Hollywood was too strong: She is set to star in NBC’s State of Affairs this fall, which is her first major television role in four years.
“I can’t wait to get into the writer’s room and see how we do this,” she said. “I feel like I’m finally rolling into the next phase of my adulthood.”
