Firefly Lane star Katherine Heigl reveals how she responds to questions from her daughters about their biological parents

Firefly Lane star Katherine Heigl has been a popular sight on many people’s screens across the world after the show landed on February 3. Previously she was perhaps best known for her brilliant portrayal of Izzie Stevens in Grey’s Anatomy. She has recently revealed the reason she wanted to work on Firefly Lane. Now having played Tully, one half of the best-friend duo we can all relate to, in the Netflix hit, viewers across the world are reminded about just how skilled an actor Katherine is. 

Watching the show, the speculative question of whether Tully has a baby isn’t far from our minds as we watch her go through romantic twists and turns. In real-life, Katherine is a devoted mother of three. 

She and her husband Josh Kelley are raising their children Naleigh (12) Adalaide (8) and Joshua (4) on a ranch in Utah. Katherine and Josh adopted their daughter Naleigh from South Korea when she was 9 months old and adopted Adalaide at birth in the US. 

Speaking in her cover interview for Parents magazine’s April issue, Katherine discussed how she goes about responding to questions from her daughters about their biological parents now they are older. 

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“They do have more questions as they get older”, she revealed. “We have said to them, this is your story. We don't have any information about your biological fathers, but we do have a bit about your biological mothers.

“If you guys want to talk more about them, you can have as much or as little information as you want. Tell us what you're comfortable with knowing”, Katherine said. 

Katherine also shared how she was “raised with adoption” as her parents adopted her sister Meg from South Korea. When asked about how she’s spoken openly about her own recent growth of understanding about living in a “white bubble”, she explained that “looking beyond skin color was the norm for me, and I just believed that love is love —it doesn't matter what we look like. 

“But then when I asked my sister, Meg, if she had been treated one way when she was out in public with our parents and a different way when she was out by herself without them, she said, "Oh yeah, all the time!" That made me realize that I had been so naïve."

“At first, I got very angry. But I had to calm down and realize, okay, this isn't about how it makes me feel. It's about how I need to protect my daughters and prepare them for the world, because I can't change society in one fell swoop.”

Katherine and Josh are devoted parents to their three children and are raising them on a Utah ranch where they can foster dogs, keep horses and chickens and enjoy life away from the limelight. 

When asked whether they would consider growing their family, the Firefly Lane star was clear.

“Before the pandemic, I thought that we needed one more child to complete this home. I wasn't sure if we would go the foster care route or adoption or maybe another pregnancy” she said. 

“But now I have completely changed my mind. I am very content with my three!”