La Liga, BBVA

The Primera División (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga (The League) or, in terms of sponsorship, Liga BBVA (BBVA League) since 2008, is the top professional association football league in Spain. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division. A total of 58 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. The former have won the title 31 times while the latter have won it on 19 occasions. However, during the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, La Liga has seen other champions including Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Sevilla and Real Betis.
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 29,029 for league matches in the 2007–08 season. This is the eighth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third highest of any professional association football league, behind the Premier League. La Liga is currently ranked the second strongest league in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient, based on recent European performances.

Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from September to June, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion. If points are equal between two or more clubs, head-to-head results usually determine their placement. The first tiebreaker used when two teams are even on points is the goal difference resulting from the two matches between the clubs in question. When more than two teams are tied, the points accumulated from the games between those teams are used to rank them, then goal difference if needed. If head-to-head results are not sufficient to separate teams, goal difference over the entire season, then total goals scored in the season may be used.
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. The three lowest placed teams in La Liga are relegated to the Segunda División, and the top three teams from the Segunda División are promoted to La Liga.




Qualification for European competitions
The top four teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the first, second, and third placed teams directly entering the group stage and the fourth placed team entering the third qualifying round. The fifth and sixth placed teams qualify for the first round of the UEFA Europa League.




History

Foundation
In April 1927 Jose Maria Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol eventually agreed on the ten teams who would form the first Primera División in 1929. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up and Racing Santander qualified through a knockout competition. Only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División.



The 1930s
Although Barcelona won the very first Liga in 1929 and Real Madrid won their first titles in 1932 and 1933, it was Athletic Bilbao that set the early pace winning Primera División in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won their only title to date. Primera División was suspended during the Spanish Civil War.
In 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and FC Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on September 28 2007, Barcelona requested RFEF to recognise that title as a Liga title. This action was taken after RFEF recognised Levante FC's Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy.



The 1940s
When the Primera División resumed after the Spanish Civil War it was Atlético Aviación (nowadays Atlético Madrid), Valencia and Sevilla that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviación were only awarded a place during the 1939–40 season as a replacement for Real Oviedo, whose ground had been damaged during the war. The club subsequently won their first Liga title and retained it in 1941. While other clubs lost players to exile, execution and as casualties of the war, the Atlético Aviación team was reinforced by a merger. The young pre-war squad of Valencia had also remained intact and in the post-war years matured into champions, gaining three Liga titles in 1942, 1944 and 1947. They were also runners-up in 1948 and 1949. Sevilla also enjoyed a brief golden era, finishing as runners-up in 1940 and 1942 before winning their only title to date in 1946. By the latter part of the decade Barcelona began to emerge as a force when they were crowned champions in 1945, 1948 and 1949.


Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez
Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera, the 1950s saw the beginning of the Barcelona/Real Madrid dominance. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s there were strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases clubs could only have three foreign players in their squads, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. During the 1950s, however, these rules were circumnavigated by Real Madrid and Barcelona who naturalized Alfredo di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Ladislao Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barça won the title in 1952 and 1953. Di Stéfano, Puskás and Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Madrid won the first division for the first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained its title in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. During this period, Real Madrid also won an unprecedented five consecutive European Cups. Barcelona with a team coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez gained the title in 1959 and 1960.



The Madrid Years
Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated the Primera División being crowned champion 14 times. This included a five-in-a-row sequence from 1961 to 1965 and two three-in-a-row sequences (1967–1969 and 1978–1980). During this era only Atlético Madrid offered Real Madrid any serious challenge, adding four more titles to their tally in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. Of the other clubs, only Valencia in 1971 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Barcelona of 1974 managed to break the dominance of Real Madrid.



The 1980s
The Madrid winning sequence was ended more significantly in 1981 when Real Sociedad won their first ever title after barca had won in 2008 . They retained it in 1982 and their two in a row was followed by another by their fellow Basques, Athletic Bilbao who won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984. Terry Venables led Barcelona to a solitary title in 1985 before Real Madrid won again another five in a row sequence (1986–1990) with a team, guided by Leo Beenhakker, and including Hugo Sánchez and the legendary La Quinta del Buitre - Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.



The 1990s
Johan Cruijff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, JEWEL OF CUMNOCK and assembled the legendary Dream Team. Cruijff introduced players like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and Hristo Stoichkov. This team won Primera División four times between 1991 and 1994 and won the European Cup in 1992. Laudrup then moved to arch-rivals Real Madrid after a fall-out with Cruijff, and helped them end Barcelona's run in 1995. Atlético Madrid won their ninth Primera División title in 1996 before Real Madrid added another Liga trophy to their cabinet in 1997. After the success of Cruijff, another Dutchman - Ajax manager Louis van Gaal - arrived at the Camp Nou, and with the talents of Luís Figo, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo, Barcelona again won the title in 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also experienced success on the continental stage, winning the UEFA Champions League in 1998.



The 2000s
As Primera División entered a new century, the Big Two found themselves facing new challengers. Between 1993 and 2004, Deportivo La Coruña finished in the top three on ten occasions, a better record than either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and in 2000, under Javier Irureta, they became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Real Madrid won two more Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and also the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2002, and won their third league title in 2007 after a three year drought. They were challenged by a re-emerging Valencia in both competitions. Under the management of Héctor Cúper, Valencia finished as Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001. His successor, Rafael Benítez, built on this and led the club to a Liga title in 2002 and the winning a double with a league title and the UEFA Cup in 2004. The 2004–05 season saw a resurgent Barcelona, inspired by the brilliant Ronaldinho, win their first title of the new century, in addition to the Liga-Champions League double in 2005–06. Real Madrid won La Liga in 2006–07 and 2007–08 season, and Barcelona again in 2009, as part of their treble winning season.





La Liga clubs in Europe

In addition to their success in Primera División, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are three of the most successful teams in European competition history. All three clubs are the only Spanish clubs to have won 5 or more international trophies. All three clubs are also in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies. In 2005–06, Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup. The Primera División became the first league to do the European "double" since 1997.
The Primera División is currently second in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, behind the English Premier League in first and ahead of Italy's Serie A in third.


Clubs in 2009–10 season

Club Position in
2008–09 First season after
most recent promotion Region Stadium Capacity
Barcelona 1 Never relegated Catalonia Camp Nou 98,772
Real Madrid 2 Never relegated Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 80,400
Sevilla 3 2001–02 Andalucía Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 45,500
Atlético Madrid 4 2002–03 Madrid Vicente Calderón 54,851
Villarreal 5 2000–01 Valencia El Madrigal 23,000
Valencia 6 1987–88 Valencia Mestalla 55,000
Deportivo La Coruña 7 1991–92 Galicia Riazor 34,600
Málaga 8 2008–09 Andalucía La Rosaleda 29,000
Mallorca 9 1997–98 Balearic Islands ONO Estadi 23,142
Espanyol 10 1994–95 Catalonia Cornellà-El Prat 40,500
Almería 11 2007–08 Andalucía Mediterráneo 22,000
Racing Santander 12 2002–03 Cantabria El Sardinero 22,271
Athletic Bilbao 13 Never relegated Basque Country San Mamés 39,750
Sporting Gijón 14 2008–09 Asturias El Molinón 25,585
Osasuna 15 2000–01 Navarra Reyno de Navarra 19,500
Real Valladolid 16 2007–08 Castile and León José Zorrilla 26,512
Getafe 17 2004–05 Madrid Alfonso Pérez 16,300
Xerez 1st
in Segunda 2009–10 Andalusia Chapín 20,300
Real Zaragoza 2nd
in Segunda 2009–10 Aragon La Romareda 34,596
Tenerife 3rd
in Segunda 2009–10 Canary Islands H. Rodríguez López 24,000


Champions

Year by year
Year Winner Runner Up Third Place

1929 FC Barcelona Madrid CF Athletic Bilbao
1929–30 Athletic Bilbao FC Barcelona Arenas Club de Getxo
1930–31 Athletic Bilbao Racing de Santander Real Sociedad
1931–32 Madrid CF Athletic Bilbao FC Barcelona
1932–33 Madrid CF Athletic Bilbao CE Espanyol
1933–34 Athletic Bilbao Madrid CF Racing de Santander
1934–35 Betis Balompié Madrid CF Oviedo CF
1935–36 Athletic Bilbao Madrid CF Oviedo CF
1936–39 League suspended due to the Spanish Civil War
1939–40 Atlético Aviación Sevilla FC Athletic Bilbao
1940–41 Atlético Aviación Athletic Bilbao Valencia CF
1941–42 Valencia CF Real Madrid Atlético Aviación
1942–43 Athletic Bilbao Sevilla FC FC Barcelona
1943–44 Valencia CF Atlético Aviación Sevilla FC
1944–45 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Atlético Aviación
1945–46 Sevilla FC FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1946–47 Valencia CF Athletic Bilbao Atlético Aviación
1947–48 FC Barcelona Valencia CF Atlético Madrid
1948–49 FC Barcelona Valencia CF Real Madrid
1949–50 Atlético Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Valencia CF
1950–51 Atlético Madrid Sevilla FC Valencia CF
1951–52 FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid
1952–53 FC Barcelona Valencia CF Real Madrid
1953–54 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Valencia CF
1954–55 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1955–56 Athletic Bilbao FC Barcelona Real Madrid
1956–57 Real Madrid Sevilla FC FC Barcelona
1957–58 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona
1958–59 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao
1959–60 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao
1960–61 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona
1961–62 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid
1962–63 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Oviedo
1963–64 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Real Betis
1964–65 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Zaragoza
1965–66 Atlético Madrid Real Madrid FC Barcelona
1966–67 Real Madrid FC Barcelona RCD Espanyol
1967–68 Real Madrid FC Barcelona UD Las Palmas
1968–69 Real Madrid UD Las Palmas FC Barcelona
1969–70 Atlético Madrid Athletic Bilbao Sevilla FC
1970–71 Valencia CF FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid
1971–72 Real Madrid Valencia CF FC Barcelona
1972–73 Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona RCD Espanyol
1973–74 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid Real Zaragoza
1974–75 Real Madrid Real Zaragoza FC Barcelona
1975–76 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid
1976–77 Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1977–78 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1978–79 Real Madrid Sporting de Gijón Atlético Madrid
1979–80 Real Madrid Real Sociedad Sporting de Gijón
1980–81 Real Sociedad Real Madrid Atlético Madrid
1981–82 Real Sociedad FC Barcelona Real Madrid
1982–83 Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid Atlético Madrid
1983–84 Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid FC Barcelona
1984–85 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid Athletic Bilbao
1985–86 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1986–87 Real Madrid FC Barcelona RCD Espanyol
1987–88 Real Madrid Real Sociedad Atlético Madrid
1988–89 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Valencia CF
1989–90 Real Madrid Valencia CF FC Barcelona
1990–91 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid Real Madrid
1991–92 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Atlético Madrid
1992–93 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña
1993–94 FC Barcelona Deportivo de La Coruña Real Zaragoza
1994–95 Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Real Betis
1995–96 Atlético Madrid Valencia CF FC Barcelona
1996–97 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Deportivo de La Coruña
1997–98 FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Real Sociedad
1998–99 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Real Mallorca
1999–2000 Deportivo de La Coruña FC Barcelona Valencia CF
2000–01 Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Real Mallorca
2001–02 Valencia CF Deportivo de La Coruña Real Madrid
2002–03 Real Madrid Real Sociedad Deportivo de La Coruña
2003–04 Valencia CF FC Barcelona Deportivo de La Coruña
2004–05 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Villarreal CF
2005–06 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Valencia CF
2006–07 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Sevilla FC
2007–08 Real Madrid Villarreal CF FC Barcelona
2008–09 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Sevilla FC
2009–10 FC Barcelona Real Madrid C.F. Valencia CF


Performance by club
Club Winners Runners-up Winning Years
Real Madrid CF
31
18
1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64,
1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80,
1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07,
2007–08
FC Barcelona
19
22
1928–29, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74, 1984–85,
1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
Atlético Madrid
9
8
1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1995–96
Athletic Bilbao
8
7
1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1942–43, 1955–56, 1982–83, 1983–84
Valencia CF
6
6
1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1970–71, 2001–02, 2003–04
Real Sociedad
2
3
1980–81, 1981–82
Deportivo de La Coruña
1
5
1999–2000
Sevilla FC
1
4
1945–46
Real Betis
1
–
1934–35

Note on name changes

During the Second Spanish Republic clubs such as Real Madrid and Real Betis dropped the Real from their name and Real Sociedad became Donostia CF. In 1941, a decree issued by Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names. FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF, Athletic Aviación changed the spelling of its prefix to Atlético, and Sporting de Gijón and Racing de Santander became Real Gijón and Real Santander. Some of these changes have been undone.


Players

Eligibility of non-EU players
In La Liga, players can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry, he can claim Spanish citizenship after playing in Spain for 5 years.Sometimes, this can lead to a triple-citizenship situation e.g. Leo Franco, who is Argentine-born, of Italian heritage and can claim a Spanish passport, having played in La Liga for over 5 years.[dubious – discuss]
In addition, players from the ACP countries—countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement—are not counted against non-EU quotas, due to the Kolpak ruling.


Individual awards
Many individual awards are conceded relating to La Liga, although not sanctioned by the LFP nor the RFEF they are widely regarded as official.
The most notable of these are three awarded by Spain's biggest sports paper, Marca, namely the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer of the season, the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the goalkeeper with the least "goals-to-games" ratio, and the Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano, for the player judged to be the best overall player in the division. The most recent winners (for the 2008–09 season) were:
Pichichi - Diego Forlán (Atlético Madrid)
Ricardo Zamora - Víctor Valdés (Barcelona)
Zarra Trophy - David Villa (Valencia CF)
Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)


All-time top scorers
All-time top scorers in La Liga
Rank Player Goals Par
1 Telmo Zarra 252 0,91
2 Hugo Sánchez 234 0,67
3 Raúl 228 0,42
4 Alfredo di Stéfano 227 0,69
5 César Rodríguez 226 0,64
6 Quini 219 0,49
7 Pahiño 210 0,76
8 Edmundo Suárez 195 0,84
9 Santillana 186 0,40
10 Juan Arza 182 0,52
11 Guillermo Gorostiza 181 0,70
12 Samuel Eto'o 162 0,58
13 Luis Aragonés 160 0,44
14 Ferenc Puskás 156 0,86
15 Julio Salinas 151 0,36
16 Adrián Escudero 150 0,52
17 Dani 147 0,48
18 Silvestre Igoa 141 0,49
19 Manuel Badenes 139 0,69
20 David Villa 135 0,67
In bold Currently playing in La Liga

European Footballers of the Year
The following were all elected winners of the Golden Ball while playing in La Liga:
Alfredo di Stéfano - 1957, 1959 (Real Madrid)
Raymond Kopa - 1958 (Real Madrid)
Luis Suárez - 1960 (FC Barcelona)
Johan Cruijff - 1973, 1974 (FC Barcelona)
Hristo Stoichkov - 1994 (FC Barcelona)
Rivaldo - 1999 (FC Barcelona)
Luís Figo - 2000 (FC Barcelona) transfer to (Real Madrid)
Ronaldo - 2002 (Real Madrid)
Zinedine Zidane - 2001, 2003 (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho - 2005 (FC Barcelona)
Cannavaro - 2006 (Juventus) transfer to (Real Madrid)
Lionel Messi - 2009 (FC Barcelona)
Source:wikipedia

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Marie Heigl, (pronounced /ˈhaɪɡəl/; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy and her starring role in the movies Knocked Up, 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth.
Heigl started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before she turned her attention to acting. She made her debut in the coming-of-age film, That Night. Heigl co-starred as Isabel Evans in the television series Roswell and movies including My Father the Hero before landing her break out role in Grey's Anatomy. Over the years, Heigl has established herself as a cover model appearing on numerous publications including Maxim, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan.

Early life and family

Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Nancy, a personnel manager, and Paul Heigl, a financial executive and accountant. Heigl has German and Irish ancestry, and was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is the youngest of four children (her siblings are Meg, Jason, and Holt).[8] Heigl lived in Virginia and then Denver before her family settled in Connecticut, where they moved into a large, old Victorian-style farmhouse in the wealthy town of New Canaan, where she spent most of her childhood.
In 1986, her older brother Jason died of injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck while out for lunch with some of his high school classmates. Following his death, the family decided to donate his organs. Afterward, their parents converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (prior to that her mother was Lutheran and her father Catholic).Heigl is now a strong proponent of organ donation. Although she is no longer a "strong practicing Mormon", she stated that she hopes to "...find my way back as I get older and a little less selfish."



Career

Early work, 1986–1998
When Heigl was nine, an aunt visiting the family decided to take a number of photographs of her. After returning to her home in New York, her aunt sent the photos to a number of modeling agencies, with the permission of Heigl's parents. Within a few weeks, Heigl was signed with Wilhelmina Models as a child model. Soon after signing with the agency, a client slated Heigl for use in a magazine advertisement where she made her debut. At the time, she was earning $75 an hour posing for Sears and Lord & Taylor catalogs. Heigl appeared in her first national television spot for Cheerios cereal.
She made her acting debut in the 1992 movie That Night. Heigl appeared as Christina Sebastian in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era drama King of the Hill before being cast in her first leading role in the 1994 comedy My Father the Hero. During this time, Heigl continued to attend New Canaan High School, balancing her film and modeling work with her academic studies. Heigl dropped out of New Canaan High School after her sophomore year to pursue her career in Hollywood.
In 1995, she starred in the Steven Seagal action thriller Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Heigl portrayed a 16-year-old travelling on a train across a mountain pass to visit the grave of her deceased father with uncle Casey Ryback (Seagal), an ex-SEAL counter-terrorist expert. The main plotline has the train hijacked by mercenaries in Colorado, keeping her as a hostage. Much of her work in the film was opposite Morris Chestnut, Sandra Taylor and Everett McGill.
Despite an increased focus on acting, she still modeled extensively, appearing regularly in magazines such as Seventeen. She took the lead role in Disney's made-for-television film Wish Upon a Star in 1996. Also in 1996, Heigl's parents divorced and her mother was diagnosed with cancer. After her high school graduation in 1997, she moved with her mother into a four-bedroom house in Malibu Canyon, Los Angeles, and her mother became her manager.
In 1998, she co-starred with Peter Fonda in a re-working of the classic Shakespearian play The Tempest, set during the American Civil War. Later that year, she starred in the horror film Bride of Chucky.


Rise to fame, 1999–2004
In 1999, Heigl turned her attention to television when she accepted the role of Isabel Evans on the science fiction TV drama Roswell, a role that was expanded in the show's second and third seasons. Heigl had auditioned for all three of the show's female leads (the other two roles eventually went to Shiri Appleby and Majandra Delfino) before she was finally cast as alien-human hybrid Isabel.
Heigl was frequently featured in photo essays in magazines such as Life, TV Guide, and Teen as well as FHM. She appeared in the FHM and Maxim calendars, FHM's annual "100 Sexiest Women in the World", and was featured in the Girls of Maxim Gallery. In May 2006, Maxim awarded her #12 on their annual Hot 100List as well as voted the 19th "Sexiest Woman in the World" by readers of FHM magazine. While Roswell was in production, Heigl worked on several films, including 100 Girls, an independent 2001 film, and Valentine, a horror film starring David Boreanaz and Denise Richards.
Heigl accepted a role in Ground Zero, a television thriller scheduled to be telecast that fall which was based on the bestselling James Mills novel The Seventh Power, in the spring of 2001. She co-starred as a brilliant and politically-concerned college student who helps to build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national priorities. The device ends up in the hands of a terrorist following betrayal by a fellow student. However, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the film was shelved when its plot was considered inappropriate. It reemerged in 2003 under the title Critical Assembly. After the attacks, Heigl recorded a public service announcement for the American Red Cross in an effort to help raise money for victims.
In 2003, Heigl appeared in three television movies. She returned to the horror genre with Evil Never Dies, a modern-day variation on the Frankenstein story co-starring Thomas Gibson. Love Comes Softly, for Hallmark Entertainment, found Heigl starring as Marty Claridge, a young, pregnant newlywed traveling west. (She reprised the role of Marty in the sequel Love's Enduring Promise the next year.) Heigl played Isabella Linton in MTV's modern revamp of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. In October 2003, Heigl was cast opposite Johnny Knoxville in The Ringer, a Farrelly brothers comedy that was released in December 2005. Heigl starred as Romy in the 2005 television movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, a prequel to the 1997 film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.


Breakthrough, 2005–present
In 2005, Heigl was cast in what would become her most high-profile role to date, as medical intern Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, an ABC medical drama. The show, originally introduced as a mid-season replacement, became a huge ratings success and is still one of the highest-rated television series on broadcast television. The same year, Heigl landed the starring role in the independent film, Side Effects, about marketing and the pharmaceutical industry. In late 2006, Heigl was nominated for a Golden Globe award in the category Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her work on Grey's Anatomy. Also in 2006, she filmed Knocked Up, a comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow, starring opposite Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Apatow's real life wife, Leslie Mann. Upon its June 2007 theatrical release, the film received largely positive reviews from critics, and proved to be a box office success. Despite her run of success, she also starred in the box office bomb Zyzzyx Road which despite being filmed in 2004, was not released until 2006. It has been cited as the lowest grossing film of all time. She has been on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list twice as of 2007.


Heigl at the 59th Annual Emmy Awards in 2007
On September 16, 2007, Heigl won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzie Stevens. In her acceptance speech she acknowledged that even her mother did not believe she would win, and when her name was called, she had to be censored vocally by the telecast's producers, due to her saying "Shit!" when she reacted to the win. Earlier, she had corrected telecast announcer Rebecca Riedy, who had been given an incorrect phonetic spelling of Heigl's name, when she mispronounced her name as Hi-jell before the presentation of the award with Kyle Chandler for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. She starred in the film, 27 Dresses which was released in January 2008, playing alongside James Marsden.
Katherine Heigl was announced the Most Desirable Woman of 2008, according to AskMen.com.
There was some speculation that Heigl may be leaving Grey's Anatomy after the end of the 2008-2009 season. This speculation revolved around her refusal to put her name in for Emmy Award consideration and the time she had devoted to producing a film version of Carolyn Jessop's book Escape. Grey's showrunner Shonda Rhimes said she was not insulted by Heigl's Emmy withdrawal, but also noted that Heigl's character Izzy had less to do during the season because Heigl asked for a light work schedule.However, despite Heigl's reported displeasure with the previous season as well as suggestions that her character had died, Heigl's return for the sixth season of Grey's has been confirmed by ABC.
In 2009, Heigl starred opposite Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth, which opened July 24.
Heigl is currently filming the Lionsgate thriller Killers, opposite Ashton Kutcher. She has signed on to star in and produce the big-screen drama Life As We Know It. Life As We Know It revolves around a woman and a man whose respective best friends die in a car accident. Following the tragedy, they are left to share in caring for the deceased's orphaned daughter. Everwood creator Greg Berlanti will direct the film.
Whether or not Katherine Heigl would leave Grey's Anatomy remained to be seen for the bigger part of season six.However, on March 11, 2010, Heigl reportedly did not show up for work when she was supposed to, and that she and Shonda Rhimes had come to an agreement to release her from her contract immediately. Therefore, Heigl's last appearance on the January 21st episode of Grey's Anatomy is also her final appearance on the series. Heigl said that her departure was not about advancing her movie career but that she wanted to focus more on her family.
While receiving an award at the ShoWest Convention in March 2010, a strap on Heigl's dress broke in an apparent wardrobe malfunction.


Salary

Heigl won greater financial success after Knocked Up (2007). The movie grossed $148,761,765 in the U.S., for which she earned a salary of $300,000 USD. Heigl got higher wages in the film 27 Dresses (2008), for which she received $6 million USD.


Feminism

Despite Heigl's constant reassurances that she is "quite boring... really", Movie Entertainment called Heigl a complex individual with many contrasts, referring to her as an "ex-model with a strong feminist streak" and an "actress known for her dramatic roles who really wants to do comedy".
In the wake of widespread media attention to accusations of sexism (including articles in New York, The New Yorker, Slate, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Vanity Fair and People) against director and producer Judd Apatow and his film Knocked Up,Heigl has been tagged as a potentially important and assertive modern proponent of women's rights.
In a highly-publicized Vanity Fair interview, as one of the lead actors in the hit film Knocked Up, Heigl admitted that though she enjoyed working with Apatow and Rogen, she had a hard time enjoying the film itself. She called the movie "a little sexist", claiming that the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys". In his review for The Guardian, humorist Joe Queenan called Knocked Up "the latest in a new genre of romantic comedies in which an unappealing hero gets together with a gorgeous, successful woman".
Heigl's comments spurred widespread reaction in the media, primarily consisting of personal attacks in which she was called "an ungrateful traitor", "hypocrite", and "assertive, impatient go-getter who quickly tired of waiting for her boyfriend to propose", in some cases debasing her religious beliefs and criticizing her private relationships Heigl clarified her remarks to People magazine, stating that, "My motive was to encourage other women like myself to not take that element of the movie too seriously and to remember that it's a broad comedy", adding that, "Although I stand behind my opinion, I'm disheartened that it has become the focus of my experience with the movie".
The Guardian noted that Heigl's comments "provoked quite a backlash, and Heigl was described as ungrateful and a traitor. Some people even suggested she would never work again", remarks which in retrospect were not only proved demonstrably wrong but the publicity and promotion in the wake of her comments may well have propelled Heigl's career.
Following the release of 27 Dresses, the New York Post expressed some disappointment with the mismatch of Heigl's talent with the "chick-flick" triviality of the film, suggesting that Heigl might be more compatible "with female directors such as Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) or Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)...".On the other hand, her newest project, The Ugly Truth, has been touted as "a battle of the sexes" chick flick.
[edit]Animal welfare projects

Heigl has worked with Best Friends Animal Society on several projects including their Pup My Ride program. The program transports small dogs from high-kill animal shelters to other parts of the US where there is a greater demand for such dogs. Her involvement in this led her to give Best Friends a grant which would fund a year of the program.
Heigl and her mother, Nancy, then started Heigl's Hounds of Hope which operates as part of the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation. The Foundation was created in honor of Katherine's brother, who was killed in a car accident in 1986 at the age of fifteen. Heigl's Hounds of Hope rescues larger dogs with behavior problems from shelters with a high kill rate and rehabilitates them through training and other adjustments to make them suitable for re-homing.
As of 2009, Heigl has six dogs of her own.



Personal life

Heigl dated Joey Lawrence in 1994 and Roswell costar Jason Behr during the run of the series. In June 2006, she became engaged to singer Josh Kelley, whom she met on the set of his music video for "Only You".They were married on December 23, 2007 in Park City, Utah. During a taping of Live With Regis and Kelly, Heigl stated that she and Kelley chose not to live together before they were married, saying, "I think I just wanted to save something for the actual marriage... I wanted there to be something to make the actual marriage different than the dating or the courtship."At the end of 2007, Barbara Walters named Heigl one of "The 11 Most Fascinating People of 2007" on an ABC program of that title. Heigl questioned her inclusion on the list, saying that in fact she is actually "quite boring...not, just kidding, but really". In March 2010, Heigl changed hair color from her signature blonde to brunette.
On September 9, 2009, Heigl's representative confirmed that the couple had started the process of adopting a baby girl from South Korea. Later that month, the couple adopted a special needs baby girl they named Nancy Leigh (named after Heigl's mother and sister), nicknamed Naleigh.


Filmography

Film
Year Film Role Notes
1992 That Night Kathryn
1993 King of the Hill Christina Sebastian
1994 My Father the Hero Nicole Nominated — Young Artist Award — Best Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture
1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Sarah Ryback
1997 Prince Valiant Princess Ilene
Stand-ins Taffy-Rita Hayworth's Stand-in
1998 Bug Buster Shannon Griffin
Bride of Chucky Jade
2000 100 Girls Arlene
2001 Valentine Shelley Fisher
2003 Critical Assembly Aizy Hayward
2005 Side Effects Karly Hert Executive producer
The Ringer Lynn Sheridan
2006 Zyzzyx Road Marissa



Caffeine Laura
2007 Knocked Up Alison Scott Nominated — Empire Award — Best Actress
Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Performance
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
2008 27 Dresses Jane Nichols
2009 The Ugly Truth Abby Richter Executive producer
Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Summer Movie Star: Female
2010 Killers Jen Kornfeldt
Life as We Know It Holly Berenson Executive producer
One For The Money Stephanie Plum



Television
Year Title Role Notes
1996 Wish Upon a Star Alexia Wheaton Television movie
1998 The Tempest Miranda Prosper Television movie
1999–2002 Roswell Isabel Evans 61 episodes
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Television Actress
2001 The Twilight Zone Andrea Collins Episode: "Cradle of Darkness"
2003 Vegas Dick Television movie
Love Comes Softly Marty Claridge Television movie
CAMIE Award
Wuthering Heights Isabel Linton Television movie
Evil Never Dies Eve Television movie
2004 Love's Enduring Promise Marty Claridge Davis Television movie
CAMIE Award
2005 Romy and Michele: In the Beginning Romy White Television movie
2005–2010[32] Grey's Anatomy Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens 109 episodes
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2007, 2008)
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006, 2008)
Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Television Actress
Source:wikipedia

Germany's Next Topmo

Germany's Next Topmodel is a German reality television show, based on a concept that was introduced by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum, who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show, and revolves around IMG Models searching for a new supermodel.
IMG is developing it into a Nintendo DS and PC game.

Show format

Each yearly search of Germany's Next Topmodel has 10 to 17 episodes and starts with 12-19 contestants. Each episode, one contestant is eliminated, though a double/triple elimination or no elimination was given by consensus of the judging panel.
Makeovers are administered to contestants early in the competition (usually after the first or second elimination in the finals).

Differences between ANTM and GNTM

While the American version's season premieres (except cycles 1 and 2) start with thirty-something semi-finalists and they're cut-down to a batch of ten to fourteen contestants, Germany's Next Topmodel season premieres begin with highlights from the auditions of 100 candidates (cycles 1 and 2) and 120 candidates (cycle 3) respectively.
The panel challenge in front of the judges on America's Next Top Model is almost always replaced by a runway walk in front of the judges on the German show.
In the elimination process on America's Next Top Model, host Tyra Banks hands out the photograph of each contestant that are safe in order of merit.
The bottom two of each episode are called to stand before Banks and are judged individually. The call-out order does play a major role in determining who this week's best contestant was – quite in contrast to Germany's Next Topmodel where the call-out order does not say anything about the quality of the contestants' performance. Moreover, they are called out one by one while the others are waiting in the backstage lobby. The US contestants are all present.
The final five or six contestants travel to an international destination on the American show while Germany's version is noncommittal about the number of journeys abroad; cycle 1 went abroad two times, cycle 2 did so four times and cycle 3 went to five different international countries. Cycle 4 completely takes place in the USA, except for the casting and the final episode.
On America's Next Top Model the final two remaining models compete in a runway, and the winner is chosen in the judging room. On Germany's Next Topmodel, the final three contestants compete in a runway and a photo shoot in front of live audience in Cologne, Germany before the winner is revealed. The final show is live on TV. Cycle 4 final show was the first to air live from a concert hall instead of a tv studio.


Finalists from the first cycle.
Due to the pregnancy of Heidi Klum, the start of the fifth season was postponed and will kick-off in March. Instead a spin-off called Die Model WG was shown featuring several former contestants from the show and hosted by judge Peyman Amin.

Cycles

Cycle Premiere date Winner Runner-up Other contestants in order of elimination Number of contestants International destination
1 January 25, 2006 Lena Gercke Yvonne Schröder Andrea Lichtenberg, Anne Mühlmeier, Celine Roscheck (quit), Rahel Krüger, Micaela Schäfer, Luise Mikulla, Charlotte Offeney, Lena Meier, Janina Ordmann, Jennifer Wanderer 12
New York

Paris

Rotterdam
2 March 1, 2007 Barbara Meier Anni Wendler Alina (quit), Sophie (quit), Janine Mackenroth, Antje Pötke, Enyerlina Sanchez, Janina-Katharina Küpper, Alla Kosovan, Denise Dahinten, Aneta Tober, Tonia Michaely, Milla Gräfin von Krockow, Anja Platzer, Mandy Graff, Fiona Erdmann, Hana Nitsche 15
St. Moritz

Paris

Cape Town

Bangkok

Los Angeles

Lisbon
3 February 28, 2008 Jennifer Hof Janina Schmidt Rubina Radwanski, Aisha Grone, Sandra Korte, Aline Tausch, Tainá Santos Silva, Elena Rotter, Katharina Yvonne Harms, Gina-Lisa Lohfink, Bianca Schumacher, Sophia Maus, Anna Vanessa Hegelmaier (quit), Sarah Knappik, Raquel Alvarez, Gisele Oppermann, Wanda Badwal, Carolin Ruppert, Christina Leibold 19
Barcelona

Salzburg

New York / Los Angeles

Paris

Tel Aviv

Sydney / Melbourne
4 February 12, 2009 Sara Nuru Mandy Bork Olivia Bermann, Johanna Popp, Daphne Braun, Tessa Bergmeier, Dana Franke, Aline Bauer, Tamara Busch, Stefanie Theissing, Katrina Scharinger, Larissa Marolt, Ira Meindl, Sarina Nowak, Maria Beckmann, Jessica Motzkus, Marie Nasemann 17
Los Angeles / Las Vegas / Miami / Honolulu / New York

Singapore
5 March 4, 2010 TBA TBA Eliminated: Aline Kautz (quit), Lena Kaiser, Petra Roschek, Lara Emsen, Luisa Krüger, Catherine Kropp, Nadine Höcherl, Miriam Höller, Wioleta Psiuk, Jacqueline Kohl
Still in the running: Alisar Ailabouni, Hanna Bohnekamp, Laura Weyel, Leyla Mert, Louisa Mazzurana, Neele Hehemann, Pauline Afaja, Viktoria Lantratova 18
Cape Town

New York / Los Angeles / San Francisco
Source:wikipedia