Katherine Heigl is raising her three children away from the spotlight.
The Firefly Lane star shares daughters Nallie, 16, Adalide, 13, and son Joshua, eight, with husband Josh Kelly. The couple met on the set of Kelly’s music video “Only You” in 2005 and married in Park City, Utah in December 2007.
Heigl and Kelly were eager to start a family from the beginning.
“I always thought it would be scary, but I’m ready,” Kelly told PEOPLE ahead of her wedding. “I’m 27 years old and feel like I’ve done more than most people do in a lifetime. I’m ready to settle down, start a family, and build my Kelly empire.”
The couple adopted Nalee from South Korea in September 2009, making them first-time parents. They grew their Kelly empire again with the adoption of Adalide and the birth of Joshua in 2012 and 2017, respectively.
The family of five now lives a quiet life on a ranch in Utah, moving full-time to the ranch in 2010. “In our hearts, this has become the best place for our family,” the mother of three tells PEOPLE. “It’s quiet and there’s a different way of life here.”
Heigl continued, “Our time is centered around being at home and being together and staying grounded. I think we’re just grateful for the quiet of this lifestyle. We just have more time for each other.”
Although the Grey’s Anatomy alum has chosen to raise her children away from Hollywood, she isn’t shy when it comes to sharing her love for her family on social media.
In January 2023, Heigl spoke to NewBeauty about how she is raising her daughters to avoid being people-pleasers.
“I think there’s an under-the-radar, unspoken, collective understanding that women are ‘pleasers’. I see it in my young daughters, and it’s just a strange, inherent social thing,” she said. “Obviously I’m not teaching them to be that way, but somewhere down the line they’re learning it. I keep saying, ‘I want you to understand that it’s not your job.'”
Keep reading to know about Katherine Heigl’s three children.
Nancy Lee “Nairy” Miun Kelly, 16 years old
In 2009, Heigl and Kelly adopted their first child, daughter Nancy Lee Miun Kelly (affectionately nicknamed Nalley), from South Korea when she was a toddler. Nally was born with a congenital heart defect and underwent open heart surgery before being reunited with her parents.
The Life as We Know It star said adoption was always part of her and Kelly’s family plan. “Josh and I started talking about adoption even before we got engaged,” she told Scholastic Parent & Child in 2014. “My sister Meg is Korean and my parents adopted her three years before I was born. I always wanted to adopt from Korea because I wanted my family to resemble my own. We’ve also talked about having a biological child, but we decided to adopt first. I just wanted to be a mom. So whatever we do, it’s fine with me.” ”
These days, Nalley is entering her teenage years. In a 2021 interview with Parents magazine, Heigl spoke about her experience as a mother to a teenager, saying Nalley was “one in two in her grade” without her own cell phone at school.
“I know she thinks I’m a tyrant, but I’m worried about the effect of social media on kids my age. I watched ‘The Social Dilemma,’ so I’m like, ‘Go ahead and hate me, I’m trying to save you!'” she said, adding that Nalley “is secretly stealing my iPad and making TikTok videos without my permission.”
On Nally’s 13th birthday, the proud mother wrote a touching tribute to her daughter on Instagram and shared a photo of Nally with Kelly, the first baby she received. “This girl. The girl who made me a mother. The girl who gave me purpose in life. Meaning. Direction. A boundless and everlasting love. This girl turns 13 today. 13 years old. Officially a teenager. I can’t seem to figure it out.” Heigl wrote in part.
Heigl tries to give her children a normal childhood in Utah, but over the years they have occasionally accompanied her to work. Nalley made her debut on “The View” when she was young and became a hot topic. Ten years later, in November 2022, she watched from the audience as her mother appeared on the talk show again.
“Nalley came to us at nine months old, and three days later I got on a plane and went to work in Atlanta. I was a new mom at the time and I was like, ‘Okay, okay, this is going to work,'” Heigl explained on the show. “You know, ‘They told us we could have everything. We could have careers and families and everything would be great. Everything would be fine.’ I never saw that baby… She bonded with my husband — of course he was with her. So I was always worried that I missed this opportunity to bond with her, that she didn’t love me.”
Adalide Marie Hope Kelly, 13 years old
Heigl and Kelly adopted their second child, a daughter named Adelaide, from Louisiana in 2012.
During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Heigl told host Jay Leno that Adalide’s adoption was “by chance.” She explained that she and Kelly originally wanted to adopt internationally again, but the process became very difficult. “Korea had become very difficult to adopt, and China had a very long waiting list. I was like, ‘Tick, tick, tick, now!'” she said.
She went on to reveal that she had just begun considering home adoption when she received the call about Adalide. “My lawyer called me and said, ‘I have a biological mother and she’s due in four weeks. She’s yours if you want it!'”
As Heigl shared in her April 2021 Parents cover story, as Adalide and her sister grew older, they began to “have more questions” about their origins.
“We told them, ‘This is your story. We don’t have any information about your biological father, but we do know a little bit about your biological mother,'” Heigl said of Nalley and Adalide.
Later in the interview, Heigl talked about Adalaide’s personality and hobbies. “She’s my pistol and all piss and vinegar,” the actress said of her “fearless” middle child. “She actually wants to start barrel racing,” she added of Adelaide’s passion for riding horses on the ranch. “And she loves to make Nally laugh.”
In April 2022, Heigl shared a photo on Instagram of a merry-go-round in honor of Adelaide’s 10th birthday.
“My beautiful, passionate, and resourceful girl turns 10 today,” Heigl began. “10 years ago today, Adalide came into the world and into our arms. She was the smallest baby I had ever seen, weighing only 4 pounds, 11 ounces. I was able to hold her in the palm of my hand, and her little feet were just an inch past my wrist. From then on, I started calling her Peanut. My beautiful, delicious, observant peanut.”
Joshua Bishop Kelly Jr., 8 years old
In June 2016, PEOPLE confirmed that Heigl and Kelly are pregnant with their third child.
“The Kelly family is thrilled to announce that we are expecting a third addition to our family,” the couple told PEOPLE in a statement at the time. “Nally and Adelaide couldn’t be more excited to welcome a new sibling into the fold, and Josh and I are filled with joy and gratitude.”
Joshua Bishop Kelly Jr. was born on December 20, 2016. Shortly after his birth, the couple and their newborn appeared on the cover of PEOPLE magazine, where they opened up about how Joshua was born.
“It was a surprise. I knew I wanted to expand my family and I knew I wanted more kids,” Heigl said. “I didn’t know how to go about it.”
She later admitted in an interview with Parents magazine that she was “so relieved” when she found out she was having a boy. “That was actually a big reason why I was torn between trying to get pregnant and trying to adopt again, because adoption allows you to specify the gender,” she explains, adding, jokingly, “I thought having another girl could be a lifelong therapy for all of us.”
Heigl told his parents that when Joshua was 5 years old, he was “obsessed with Spider-Man and the Hulk.” He also loves helping his mother on set. While filming Season 2 of the Netflix show Firefly Lane, Heigl brought Joshua along. Joshua wore a director’s headset and took a photo with his mother. “Future director? ❤ #Firefly Lane #Firefly Lane Season 2 #Behind the Scenes #Family,” the actress captioned on Instagram.
Joshua also recently started kindergarten, which made Heigl a little emotional. On the first day of school, Heigl posted a series of photos of all three of her children and wrote in the caption, “It’s that time of year again. Back to school for these two and off to kindergarten for our last and final baby.” She continued, “I’m feeling weird. Maybe I’ll start crying. Or maybe I’ll just run around the house for the next 7 hours shouting ‘Freedom!!!’ intermittently! 😏❤️.”
