Actress Katherine Heigl has hit back at critics who have hailed her as the next Julia Roberts, insisting the comparison is "insulting" to the Pretty Woman star.

Heigl found fame starring in TV medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, but has since found Hollywood success in movies like 2007’s Knocked Up.

Her film outings have been well-received and critics have been quick to compare her to Roberts, who also starred in a number of romantic comedies throughout her career.

But 29-year-old Heigl insists she is not out to copy anyone else’s acting style.

She says, "I can’t help but feel that’s (the comparison) is a little insulting to Julia Roberts. There’s not another woman who I look at and think, ‘That’s it, that’s whose career I want to have.’

"I’m just me and trying to do the best I can in every decision in any given moment."