July 8, 2025, 5:03 pm | Read time: 4 minutes
Long before she became famous worldwide with “Grey’s Anatomy,” Katherine Heigl found success as a teenager in films, TV series, and on runways. Now 46, she is a veteran in show business and knows both the glamour and the downsides—especially the beauty pressure that female stars often face.
Being in the spotlight means being accustomed to being judged, admired, and criticized by others. However, when a very young person is repeatedly reduced to their appearance and told they are not beautiful or slim enough, it can have long-term effects. This was the experience of Katherine Heigl. The criticism of her body, which she has faced since her youth, led her to hate exercise. What exactly is behind this and what the actress does differently today…
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Overview
Heard at 16 that she was too fat
As a teenager, Katherine Heigl worked in Hollywood and quickly realized she did not fit the prevailing beauty ideal. “Since I was 16, I’ve been told to lose weight,” Katherine Heigl revealed in a “People” interview. “I’ve had personal trainers, nutritionists, and all that stuff since my youth.” All aimed at conforming to a norm set by others. A behavior that she now finds completely incomprehensible. “I look at my 16-year-old self and think: That was your peak. What were they complaining about back then? It’s bizarre. Hollywood is bizarre.”
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Exercise linked to body hatred
The critical gaze of the film and fashion industry on her body led Heigl to develop a dislike for exercise. “I hated working out. I always associated it with hating my body and wanting it to change and look different,” the actress said. She only ever trained to please other people. The focus of her workouts was more on losing weight than feeling good.
It was only much later in life that Katherine Heigl was able to internalize that exercise is primarily something that benefits her physical and mental well-being and is important for health.
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How Katherine Heigl views beauty and others’ opinions today
Today, the 46-year-old, who found success in her early 20s with the teen series “Roswell,” sees beauty and exercise differently. But it was a long journey to get there.
“It was always easy to let other people’s opinions and ideas about who I am or should be influence my own feelings about myself. I’ve spent my whole life trying to be overly perfect—and have always failed because no one is perfect,” Heigl revealed. “As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tried to find a way to forgive myself for my mistakes and not impose unrealistic expectations on myself anymore—because that really affects self-esteem.”
Her new relationship with exercise
After many years of battling against her body rather than working with it, and always associating exercise with this unpleasant scenario, Heigl has found a new, healthy relationship with her body and, consequently, with exercise. “I probably saw something on TikTok about the feel-good hormones released during exercise and thought: ‘Okay, that’s why I’m doing it.’ It has really improved my mental health. It sets me up for the day and makes me feel much more relaxed.”
Katherine Heigl wants to pass this perspective on exercise to her two teenage daughters, Naleigh (16) and Adalaide (13). “I’m trying to explain to my girls: ‘Don’t do it to change your body or fight against it. Do it to feel good emotionally.'” She hopes for her children “to develop a strong, independent sense of self-worth that doesn’t depend on what others think of them. And, of course, that they can forgive themselves when they fail—because they will.”