Katherine Heigl
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The Grey’s Anatomy cast has been shaken up a lot in recent weeks, but things have returned to normal as Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl returned to work on the show this week.

“They’re back at work and everyone’s happy to see them,” says a source.

Pompeo, who welcomed her first child, Stella Luna Pompeo Ivery on September 15, won’t be absent from any episodes, thanks to the production team’s planning and pre-taping.

After adopting 10-month-old baby Naleigh on September 10 - and taking five weeks off to film the romantic comedy Life As We Know It - Heigl also returned to the set this week.

Heigl’s character, Izzie Stevens, will return to Seattle Grace in the episode airing November 12, the same episode where guest star Kim Raver will begin her stint on the show.

Ellen Pompeo just had a baby, while Katherine Heigl just adopted one.

No word on whether or not Stella and Naleigh have come to work with their moms yet, but if Chyler Leigh’s experience with five-month-old Anniston is any indication, they’re welcome.

“My trailer is overtaken by kid stuff. Anniston has a chair, diapers, wipes, formula, toys,” Leigh said. “Justin [Chambers] crowned [Anniston] baby Elvis because of her mohawk!”

Chyler's baby, born this summer, was her third.

One thing is for sure - soon Anniston, Naleigh and Stella will have a new playmate: Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart are expecting their first child together next year.

Talk about a family-friendly set!

Prepare for cute overload. Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl and husband Josh Kelley have completed their adoption of a baby girl from Korea, and she is adorable.

Heigl's spokeswoman, Melissa Kates says, the couple named the 10-month-old baby Nancy Leigh, after the actress's mother Nancy and her sister Margaret Leigh.

Nancy Leigh will go by the nickname Naleigh.

Both parents and Naleigh are together and doing well. They will be posting more photos and info soon on the website of Katherine's animal rescue foundation.

Congratulations to the happy family!

Grey's Anatomy star Katherine Heigl has confirmed yesterday's report that she and her husband Josh Kelley are adopting a baby from Korea. Hooray for them!

On The Ellen DeGeneres Show, airing Friday, the actress, 30, shared a bit about 10-month-old Naleigh (a mix of her mom and sister’s names, Nancy and Leigh):

“She was actually born the day before me in November," Heigl said.

"Which I thought was really serendipitous and just kind of like a sign. Though I realized just recently that I basically forfeited my birthday for the rest of my life.”

On how she got to adopt so quickly: “She is a special needs baby and because of that it all moved so much faster. They wanted to get her to us as quickly as possible.”

On her decision to adopt this way: “It’s been a big part of my life and my family. My sister is Korean and my parents adopted her back in the 70s and so I just always knew that this is something I wanted to do when I reached that point.”

On her husband's reaction and role: “I just wanted to make sure that I was marrying a guy who understands that this was going to have to happen."

"About a year ago we said, ‘OK, let’s start the process,’ and it is intense."

"It’s different but it isn’t, you know what I mean? It’s just as intense I’m sure to have a baby biologically because you’re going through the whole physical part of it.”

We're so happy for Katherine Heigl, and think it is a wonderful thing to give so much to a child who might otherwise have so little. Here's a clip of her interview:

Katherine Heigl is adopting a baby this week, according to Radar Online.

The Grey’s Anatomy star is becoming a mom to a baby girl. Heigl and husband Josh Kelley have wanted a baby for a long time, and have talked about adopting one.

The adoption process has been in the works for at least six months.

The baby is from Korea. Her full name is Nayleigh and her nickname will be Leigh, according to the online magazine. The baby is about 10 months old right now.

“She is thrilled,” a source said. “She and Josh are so happy.”

Katherine Heigl and Josh Kelley are rumored to be adopting a baby!

Heigl recently hosted a baby shower for co-star Ellen Pompeo. Assuming this report is true (it has not been confirmed), we are extremely happy for the two of them!

The 30-year-old is on leave of absence from Grey’s Anatomy (she will be gone for five episodes) and starts filming her newest film Life As We Know It next week.

Katherine Heigl will be taking a five-episode hiatus from Grey's Anatomy to film the Greg Berlanti-directed romantic comedy Life as We Know It, EW reports this afternoon.

Grey’s Anatomy producers have accommodated Heigl’s busy schedule before, but this is the first time they have given her permission to leave for an extended period.

Heigl’s absence "will be explained on screen," although it’s not yet clear how.

The fact that Katherine was granted such a lengthy leave is surprising in light of the public tongue-lashing ABC president Steve McPherson gave her last month for complaining about a 17-hour work day on the set filming this coming season.

Also, Heigl’s departure - which starts this month and will kick in on screen around November - will almost certainly overlap with co-star Ellen Pompeo’s maternity leave.

Translation: Grey’s Anatomy will be without Izzie and Mer at the same time.

What do you think prompts Izzie Stevens to temporarily check out?

Of course, Grey’s Anatomy boss Shonda Rhimes said over the summer that this kind of change would be in the air this season: "Eventually, everybody is going to leave the show,” she said, referencing T.R. Knight’s exit and the temporary loss of Pompeo.

"So we’re looking at [ways] we can mess with the structure now. Season 6 is about finding the longevity of the show and figuring out if there is a future beyond these characters.”

Not so coincidentally, Grey’s Anatomy recently announced it was adding three new doctors to its rotation at Seattle Grace Hospital: Nota Zehetner, Robert Baker, and Jesse Williams are joining Seattle Grace as recurring residents /medical professionals.

Pregnant Ellen Pompeo was joined by 25 friends - including Grey's Anatomy co-star Sandra Oh, Private Practice leading lady Kate Walsh and Eric Dane's wife Rebecca Gayheart - for a baby shower held Saturday afternoon at Katherine Heigl's home.

Heigl lives in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles. Ellen Pompeo and her husband of almost two years, Chris Ivery, are expecting a little baby girl in October.

"Ellen looked gorgeous in a white summer dress with her hair in a braided up-do. She seemed very excited to celebrate with her girlfriends," a close source said.

The catered, outdoor bash was held in the back yard. Umbrellas shielded guests from the heat, while pink flower arrangements and candles accented the tables.

Guests brought gifts wrapped in girly pink and yellow colors.

Many of the adorable gifts – which included a Sleep Sheep toy mobile, Sleepy Safari stacking toys, organic hooded towels and a Kiddopotamus organic swaddle wrap – came straight from the Juvenile Shop in Sherman Oaks, Calif., where Pompeo is registered.

Earlier in the day, Ellen Pompeo and friend Nicole Richie – who also is pregnant right now, with her second child with rocker Joel Madden – shared some time together.

She has certainly not let her pregnancy slow her down.

When not busy filming episodes of Grey's Anatomy, she keeps in shape with workout sessions at the gym. In addition, she and Ivery are remodeling their new home.

Many people don't have nice things to say about Katherine Heigl these days, based on various comments she has made about Grey's Anatomy over the past year.

Nevertheless, the actress seems to have at least one huge fan in Josh Kelley, her husband of a year and a half. The two were spotted shopping over the weekend.

Clearly, they're as in love as ever before ...

Co-stars Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl brought their hit comedy The Ugly Truth to London on Tuesday night with a huge red-carpet premiere across the Atlantic.

Luckily for fans who turned out, Katherine Heigl seemed to have gotten over her camera-shy attitude from earlier in the week, as the Grey’s Anatomy star cut loose and enjoyed herself.

Katherine signed autographs and took photos with fans.

Here's Katherine and Gerard sharing a smile ...

As we reported last week, the final scene in Grey's Anatomy's fifth season finale was supposed to feature Jeffrey Dean Morgan's Denny Duquette, who was seen throughout the season, as Izzie's heavenly escort as the ailing resident's life hung in the balance.

However, series creator and executive Shonda Rhimes had an epiphany and decided to use T.R. Knight's George O'Malley in the parting shot-cliffhanger instead

According to Entertainment Weekly, having wrapped filming for the season, T.R. Knight went ahead and shaved his head, believing he was done for the summer.

That posed a new problem - but ultimately a solution - for Rhimes.

"[Director] Rob Corn calls me up and goes, 'What do we do?'" Rhimes said, before she remembered George enlisted in the Army right before being struck by a bus.

Luckily, the workaround quickly came to Rhimes when she thought of that fact. "I said, 'I know. Put him in a military uniform!' It wasn't a big amazing plan I had."

The climactic, season-ending scene, which left the two characters literally in limbo and viewers on the edge of their seats, left Knight with a bag of emotions as well.

"It was brilliant of Shonda to put George in the dress blues," said Knight, who will not be returning to Grey's Anatomy next season. "It was such a powerful image."

Katherine Heigl, who plays Izzie, was in Atlanta shooting a film and was not present for the big re-shoot. So to ensure Heigl and Knight's expressions were in sync, T.R. Knight picked his BFF's brain over the phone before stepping in front of the camera.

"I was like, 'What did you do in that scene?'" the Grey's Anatomy actor said, laughing. "It's nice when you've worked with someone for five years. There's a shorthand."

Katherine Heigl was worried over whether the switcheroo could be pulled off.

"Katie called me and was like, 'Are my expressions going to match his? Is it going to work?" Rhimes said. "And I was like, 'I promise you it's going to be perfect.'"

It was.

Katherine Heigl made a visit to The Late Show with David Letterman Monday, and complained (semi-jokingly) about returning to the set of Grey's Anatomy last week.

“Our first day back Wednesday was - I’m going to keep saying this because I hope it embarrasses them - a 17-hour day,” she said, “which I think is cruel and mean.”

“It was actually kind of really great to be back,” she added after.

“All my friends are there and at this point, they’re sort of like family, although it was a little weird because [T.R. Knight]’s not there anymore.”

Katherine Heigl remained tight-lipped about the fate of Izzie.

“You last saw Izzie, you know, flatlining,” she said.

“So, I won’t give it away but, you know, I’m there so I’m either there as a ghost, on the other side or I survived a disease no one survives.”

“I’m guessing that if you’re working 17 hours, that means you’re not dead,” Letterman said. Heigl’s reply: “What if, however, Dave, I was in a bed in a coma for 17 hours, they could do that ...” Dave responded if they did that to him, no one would know the difference.

Ba-dum-ching.

Heigl said she hopes Grey’s Anatomy, which returns to ABC on September 24, will stick around for a while - with her on it: “We have another two years, I think, at least in the contract ... Hopefully the show goes, you know, ER time, which would be cool.”

Indeed. Here's Katherine's interview on The Late Show ...