Katie Holmes is not just a charming and attractive actress, but also a talented and effervescent performer. She began her acting career after being encouraged by her teacher to enter a modelling contest, and her impressive skills in singing, dancing, and acting quickly earned her recognition. In 1997, she landed her first professional role in the film “The Ice Storm,” and followed it up with “Disturbing Behaviors” and “Go” the following year. As she climbed the ladder of success, she secured a lead role in “Teaching Mrs Tingle,” which was well-received. Although she had several successful films, it wasn’t until 2004 that she achieved blockbuster success with “Batman Begins” in 2005. Throughout her career, she has been involved in numerous films and television series. However, her personal life, including her relationship, marriage, and divorce with Tom Cruise, often overshadowed her professional achievements.
Quick Facts
- Also Known As: Kate Noelle Holmes
- Age: 45 Years, 45 Year Old Females
- Family:
- Spouse/Ex-: Tom Cruise (2006–2012)
- Father: Martin Joseph Holmes Sr.
- Mother: Kathleen A. Stothers
- Siblings: Holly Ann Holmes, Martin Joseph Holmes Jr., Nancy Kay Holmes, Tamera Holmes
- Children: Suri Cruise
- Born Country: United States
- Quotes By Katie Holmes
- Occupation: Actresses
- Height: 5’9″ (175 cm), 5’9″ Females
- U.S. State: Ohio
- City: Toledo, Ohio
- More Facts
- Education: Columbia University
Childhood & Early Life
Katie Holmes was born as Kate Noelle ‘Katie’ Holmes on December 18, 1979, to Kathleen and Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr. She was the youngest of five children born to the couple. Raised as a Roman Catholic, she attended the Christ The King Church in Toledo. She completed her preliminary education from the all-girls Notre Dame Academy and her higher education from Columbia University.
Since an early age, young Holmes was bitten by the acting bug. She participated in the school musicals and started attending modelling classes at a special training school. Coaxed by her teacher, she participated in the International Modelling and Talent Association Competition held in New York City in 1996. Her impressive recitation of the monologue from ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ gained her many awards in the competition.
Career
Her ground-breaking performance of the monologue inspired her to take up acting professionally. She moved to Los Angeles and started auditioning for roles. Her impressive personality and talent earned her the role of Libbets Casey in the Ang Lee’s film ‘The Ice Storm’. Following her successful launch, she auditioned for the role of Joey Potter, the tomboyish character and Dawson’s best friend, for the television series, ‘Dawson’s Creek’. Despite auditioning on videotapes, she won the role.
‘Dawson’s Creek’ opened to the audience in 1998, to mixed reviews. While the series was appreciated by the critics and audience, her role as Dawson’s best friend earned her national attention. While being a series regular in the television show, she took to the big screen and was featured in the film, ‘Disturbing Behavior’ in 1998. Though the film averaged at the box office, it won her a couple of awards. She followed this up by playing the character of a cynical supermarket clerk in ‘Go’ and an A-ranking student in ‘Teaching Mrs Tingle’. Rubbing off her cute-girl-next-door image, she took up challenging roles in her next couple of films released in 2000. While in “Wonder Boys’ she played the role of a college student who is madly in love with a college professor, in ‘The Gift’ she played a different type of temptress. In 2002, she was seen in the movie, ‘Abandon’, in which she played the character of a delusional, homicidal college student. She followed this up by playing the role of a mistress of the public relations agent in ‘Phone Booth’ and Robert Downey, Jr.’s nurse in ‘The Singing Detective’. With the end of the ‘Dawson’s Creek’ television series in 2003, she continued to look for challenging opportunities to display her acting latent. The same year, she played the title character of April in the film, ‘Pieces of April’ a gritty comedy. Her performance was much appreciated by the critics who labelled it as her best performance until then. In 2005, she starred in the big-budget film, ‘Batman Begins’, opposite Christian Bale. The film went on to become the most successful film of her career. However, her portrayal of the role of Rachel Dawes, Batman’s childhood sweetheart met with dismal reviews. Post 2005, she took a hiatus from acting for about two years to raise her kid. In 2008, she made a comeback to the film industry with the comedy ‘Mad Money’. However, the riposte did not do much to revive her career, as her performance was widely criticized and mocked at. Not the one to be disheartened, she moved to the small screen and starred in an episode of the television show, ‘Eli Stone’ as Grace, a lawyer. Following this, she made her Broadway debut with the Arthur Miller’s show, ‘All My Sons’. In 2009, she started filming for the remake of the 1970s tele-film ‘Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark’. The film was released to the audience in 2011. Other films which she was a part of include, ‘The Son of No One’ and ‘Jack and Jill’. In 2009, she played the role of Jackie Kennedy in the TV miniseries ‘The Kennedys’, which was much appreciated by the critics. She followed this up by an appearance in the show, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ as Slutty Pumpkin which she reprised in an episode in 2013, as well.
Awards & Achievements
She won the MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for her role of Rachel Wagner in ‘Disturbing Behavior’. In 2011, she received the Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award. In 2005, she was ranked No. 38 on TV Guide’s ‘50 Sexiest Stars of All Time’.
Personal Life & Legacy
Katie Holmes was romantically involved with Joshua Jackson, her co-star from ‘Dawson’s Creek’. Later on, she got engaged to actor Chris Klein in 2003. However, the engagement did not work out and the two officially separated in 2005. Soon after, she started dating actor Tom Cruise. After weeks of being in a committed relationship, the duo got engaged in June 2005, and went on to tie the nuptials in November 2006. Meanwhile in April 2006, she was blessed with a daughter Suri Cruise. The marriage did not work out for long and was annulled in July 2012. She was given the custody of her daughter Suri Cruise.