Katherine Heigl Leaving ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ to Focus on Movie Career

Actress Katherine Heigl was due back to the set of the hugely popular medical drama series “Grey’s Anatomy” recently, after taking a three-month maternity leave so she and her husband Josh Kelley could focus on spending some time with new adoptive daughter.

But instead of being on set to shoot the final five episodes of the season, Heigl just didn’t show up. This obviously left fans of the show wondering, whether or not the actress would be returning. And now it appears that Katherine won’t be returning to the series.

According to a report at chicagotribune.com, Katherine said that she wanted to leave “Grey’s Anatomy,” to focus more on her movie career. And the show’s creator Shonda Rhimes, has now agreed to release the “27 Dresses” and “The Ugly Truth” star from her contract.

All that’s left now is for Katherine’s reps and ABC to negotiate a final exit agreement. Heigl’s departure caps a long history of problems between the actress and the show. In 2009, Heigl complained to Letterman about being subjected to intolerable working conditions.