Katherine Heigl’s 3 Kids: A Look at Naleigh, Adalaide, and Joshua
- Celebrity
-
- UPDATED DECEMBER 04,2024
by Tasha Mayberry
530 shares
Katherine Heigl is raising her three children out of the public eye. The Firefly Lane star shares two daughters, Naleigh, 15, and Adalaide, 12, along with her 7-year-old son, Joshua, with her husband, Josh Kelley. The couple met on the set of Kelley’s music video for “Only You” in 2005 and got married in December 2007 in Park City, Utah.
From the start, Heigl and Kelley were excited to build a family.
“I always thought I’d be scared, but I’m ready,” Kelley shared with ahead of their wedding. “I’m 27, and I feel like I’ve done more than most will do in a lifetime. I’m ready to settle down, start a family, and build my Kelley empire.”
The couple became first-time parents in September 2009 after adopting Naleigh from South Korea. They expanded their family again in 2012 and 2017, adopting Adalaide and welcoming the birth of Joshua. Today, the family of five lives a peaceful life on their ranch in Utah, which they moved to full-time in 2010. “In our minds, this became the best place to be for our family,” the mom of three shared with. “It’s quiet, and there’s a different way of living here.”
Heigl continued, “Our time is centered around being home and being together… it’s grounded. I think we just appreciate the quietness of this lifestyle. There is just more time for each other.”
Nancy Leigh "Naleigh" Mi-Eun Kelley, 15 years old
In 2009, Heigl and Kelley adopted their first child, daughter Nancy Leigh Mi-Eun Kelley (affectionately called Naleigh), from South Korea when she was an infant. Naleigh was born with a congenital heart condition and had open-heart surgery before being united with her parents. The Life as We Know It star has shared that adoption was always part of her and Kelley’s plan for building a family.
“Josh and I started talking about [adoption] before we were even 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 wanted my own family to resemble the one I came from, so I always knew I wanted to adopt from Korea. We’ve talked about having biological children too, but we decided to adopt first. I just wanted to be a mom. So however we do that, it’s fine with me.”
These days, Naleigh is entering her teen years. In a 2021 interview with Parents, Heigl talked about her experience as a mom of tweens and shared that Naleigh is “one of two kids in her grade” at school without a phone.
“I know she thinks I’m being a tyrant, but I worry about the effect of social media on kids her age,” Heigl said. “I watched The Social Dilemma. So I’m like, ‘Go ahead and hate me. I’m trying to save you!'” She added that Naleigh has “been sneaking my iPad and creating TikTok videos without my permission.”
Adalaide Marie Hope Kelley, 12 years old
In 2012, Heigl and Kelley adopted their second child, a daughter named Adalaide, from Louisiana. During an appearance on The Tonight Show, Heigl told host Jay Leno that Adalaide’s adoption was “serendipitous.” She explained that she and Kelley had initially planned to adopt internationally again, but the process had become increasingly difficult. “Korea had gotten very hard to adopt from, and China had a very long waiting list. I was kind of, ‘Tick, tick, tick. Any day now!'” she said.
Heigl went on to share that they had only just started considering domestic adoption when they received a call about Adalaide. “My lawyer called and said, ‘There’s a birth mother, and she’s due in four weeks. She’s all yours if you want her!'”
As Naleigh and Adalaide have grown older, they’ve started to have more questions about their origins. In her April 2021 cover story for Parents, Heigl shared, “We’ve 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.'”In April 2022, Heigl shared a carousel of photos on Instagram to celebrate Adalaide’s 10th birthday. “My beautiful, fiery, witty girl turns 10 today,” Heigl began. “Ten years ago today, Adalaide made her way into the world and into our arms. She was the smallest baby I had ever seen, weighing just 4 pounds 11 ounces. I could place her in the palm of my hand, and her little legs would only reach an inch past my wrist. I started calling her peanut after that. My beautiful, delicious, observant peanut.”
Joshua Bishop Kelley Jr., 7 years old
In June 2016, confirmed that Heigl and Kelley were expecting their third child.
“The Kelley clan is thrilled to announce that we are expecting a third addition to our family,” the couple shared in a statement at the time. “Naleigh and Adalaide could not be more excited to welcome their new sibling, and Josh and I are overflowing with joy and gratitude.”
Joshua Bishop Kelley Jr. was born on December 20, 2016. Just after his birth, the couple and their newborn appeared on the cover of and discussed how Joshua came into their lives.
“It was a surprise! I knew I wanted to expand our family, I knew I wanted to have more children,” Heigl said. “I just didn’t know how we were going to go about that.
Who is Katherine Heigl’s husband? Here’s everything you need to know about Josh Kelley.
Katherine Heigl found her forever person in her husband, Josh Kelley. The couple first met on the set of Kelley’s “Only You” music video in 2005, where Heigl starred. Engaged and married within three years, they are now the proud parents of three children. They share daughters Nancy Leigh “Naleigh” Mi-Eun and Adalaide Marie Hope, both adopted, as well as their son Joshua Bishop.
In addition to being her life partner, Heigl also serves as Kelley’s muse. The Firefly Lane actress has made multiple appearances in his music videos and even graced the cover of his album My Baby & The Band. “She’s so great,” Kelley told of his wife. “We’re both kind of carbon copies of each other in some ways, and we have our differences, which makes things fun and exciting.”
So, who is Katherine Heigl’s husband? Here’s everything you need to know about Josh Kelley and his relationship with the actress.
Kelley made his mark on the music scene with hits like “Only You” and “Amazing.” In 2010, he shifted from pop-rock to country music when he signed with MCA Nashville. Since then, Kelley has released over 10 albums, including two during the pandemic. In a 2021 interview with Entertainment Tonight, Kelley shared that he plays his new music for his kids before anyone else.
“My 12-year-old Naleigh, she’ll sit next to me and I’m like, ‘What do you think of that mix?’ and she goes, ‘It sounds a little bass-heavy to me,'” Kelley said with a laugh. “Naleigh is a scary genius, and we’re terrified of her. I think she’s running the whole show.”
