Katherine Heigl and husband Josh Kelley’s adopted daughter Nancy Leigh made her public debut in photos posted to Katherine Heigl’s animal rescue foundation website a few weeks back. The child model-turned-actress, Katherine may have enjoyed the fast track with the adoption process, but her career took a little more time to build.

Katherine Heigl was born in Washington, D.C, but spent most of her childhood in Connecticut. At age nine, her aunt sent a number of photos of Katherine to modeling agencies and, within weeks, she was signed with Wilhelmina Models as a child model. A magazine ad and a Cheerios cereal commercial marked the start of her career, but her first acting debut was made with the movie That Night.

Katherine continued balancing modeling, acting, and school while attending New Canaan High School, but dropped out her sophomore year to concentrate on her career. Movies like King of the Hill, My Father the Hero, and Under Siege 2: Dark Territory marked her early film projects. After completing high school, Katherine moved to Los Angeles and her mother became her manager.

Although she continued to model, her true rise to fame was marked by her role on the TV series Roswell. She continued to rack up the movie credits, but is now most widely known for her role as Dr. Isobel Stevens on Grey’s Anatomy and her leading role in the film Knocked Up. She continues to bask in the limelight of Hollywood, currently making her one of the hottest stars in the business.

Do you feel that Katherine Heigl’s star status helped her through the international adoption process?

[Childhood photo: JADE ALBERT]

[Family photo: AP Photo/Cheyenne Ellis]