what season does izzie stevens leave grey's anatomy
Izzie Stevens Heigl garnered critical acclaim for her performance as Izzie and received numerous awards and nominations for her role, winning the "Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series" at the 2007 Emmy Awards. She was critical of the character's development during the show's fourth season, particularly her romance with George. She declined to put herself forward for the 2008 Emmy Awards, citing insufficient material in the role. After speculation that Izzie would be killed off in the fifth season, the character was diagnosed with Stage 4 metastatic melanoma. She married Alex in the series' one-hundredth episode, and afterwards, her tumor was successfully removed. Izzie made her final appearance in the sixth season, leaving Seattle after Alex refused to resume their marriage. Heigl requested to be released from her contract 18Â months early, in order to spend more time with her family. In January 2012, Heigl reported that she would like to return to Grey's Anatomy to give closure to her character, however, Rhimes confirmed that there were no plans to have the character return at that time and has since stated that she has no plans to ever re-approach Izzie's storyline again.
Alex Karev Alex secured a position in the surgical residency program at Seattle Grace Hospital after graduating from the University of Iowa. He initially makes a poor impression on his fellow interns meeting fellow interns Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), and Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) whom he later taunts when he discovers she used to be a lingerie model. After initial disagreements, Alex reveals to Izzie that his father was a heroin addict who used to beat his mother. He became a wrestler so he could defend his mother, and attended university on a wrestling scholarship. He and Izzie begin a friendship. At the end of the first season, George contracts syphilis from Alex through nurse Olivia Harper, causing animosity between the two.