Katie Holmes Left Tom Cruise To ‘Protect’ Her Daughter — She Feels ‘Worthy’ Again After Her Divorce

Jun 13, 2022 by apost team

Katie Holmes is a woman of many talents who is no stranger to the spotlight. While her talents as an actress, director and producer are what put her on the map and have continued to earn her fame, success and recognition, it was her whirlwind relationship with fellow actor Tom Cruise that really brought the star plenty of media attention. 

The pair were married from 2006 to 2012, and they had one child together named Suri. Holmes now has custody of her daughter. She is also showing just how content and confident she has become since her famous split and is continuing to advance her career more and more.

Holmes was born December 18, 1978, in Toledo, Ohio. She focused on both her studies and her love for entertaining from a young age and has since created a successful career for herself. She took modeling lessons when she was 14 and eventually signed with an agent. 

Holmes began focusing on acting by performing in plays before landing her first role in the feature film “The Ice Storm” in 1997. Her career launched from then, with Holmes taking on other roles in both television and on the big screen. She directed her first film “All We Had” in 2016, starring in the movie as well.

Holmes was born in Toledo, Ohio, and was an academically gifted student. She appeared in school plays and was accepted into Columbia University, which she attended for one summer session. After attending modeling classes at the age of 14, Holmes was in a competition in New York, which led to her create an audition tape that eventually led to her first acting job in the movie "The Ice Storm."

Soon after she auditioned via a taped video for a new teen show called "Dawson's Creek" and the producers instantly fell in love with her for the tomboy best friend role of Joey Potter. The show catapulted all four of the leads into the spotlight — James Van Der Beek, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, and Holmes — and the rest as they say is history. Following the show's success, Holmes took on darker movie roles that showed her range, often choosing independent or more serious movies that distanced her from her teen image.

Despite having talent, some of the movies she chose were "bombs," as Holmes said herself. She elaborated, saying, "It's not like I have a lot of stuff that's great just waiting for me to sign on to." Nevertheless, Holmes was a fixture in Hollywood but for the most part kept out of the public eye, ever since her star-making turn on "Dawson's Creek."

She also had a few high-profile relationships before meeting Tom, including with her "Dawson's Creek" co-star Joshua Jackson, who she described as her "first love" and another former teen heartthrob, Chris Klein, with whom she was engaged. 

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Holmes met Cruise, who was 16 years older than him, in 2005. Their relationship began like a whirlwind, with Tom declaring his love for Holmes on an episode of "The Oprah Winfrey Show," just one month after their relationship had become public and not long after they'd started dating. He infamously jumped up and down on the couch, clearly infatuated with his new love. The couple was engaged just seven weeks into dating, and by October of the same year, they'd announced Holmes was pregnant. Their daughter Suri Cruise was born on April 18, 2006. 

Tom's very public lifestyle and leading man reputation in Hollywood was in stark contrast to Holmes' low-key one, and their 16-year age difference probably didn't help either. After their whirlwind romance picked up steam and the couple got married soon after starting to date, they had their daughter Suri and became a major target for the paparazzi. This period coincided with Tom becoming much more public about his religion, Scientology, and the couple and their daughter often found themselves photographed and in the press.

It proved too much for Holmes, who in June 2012 filed for divorce from Cruise. Although the couple kept the details to themselves, it was thought that Scientology was one of the factors leading to their breakup, with allegations that Holmes wanted Suri to grow up outside of the religion. ABC News reports that this fact was confirmed by Tom, who was asked in a court case whether Holmes divorced Tom in order "to protect Suri from Scientology," to which he replied, "Did she say that? That was one of the assertions, yes."

After the couple's split, Holmes was granted primary custody of Suri and has lived a relatively normal life since. 

Holmes has been met with some ups and downs as a working woman in the entertainment industry. She has also dealt with plenty of media attention, meaning she’s used to having her every move analyzed and scrutinized. 

As someone who’s been in the industry for several decades, Holmes has gotten used to adjusting her work ethic and approach to her career. Speaking with InStyle’s Laura Brown back in 2020, Holmes said, “I have been in this business for quite some time. We both know you have ups and downs.” 

However, she explained that she has recently felt a new sense of freedom in her personal and professional life. “I feel like I can be more creative and have more time, have my voice,” Holmes said. “It's sort of, like, just put your stuff out there and be yourself. It takes a while to be comfortable, though.”

The actress admitted that she felt “consumed” by what people thought of her at times, but she now tries to live the way she wants. “I feel like I’m finally figuring that out,” she said. “I’m getting the projects I want made and just relaxing a little. I’ve been around for a long time, and I’m still here! I can’t believe it.” Holmes also talked about feeling more confident now in her 40s than she used to during her early days in Hollywood.

She continued, “I have seen things. I have experienced things. I know what I’m talking about, and I know that my feelings and my insights are worthy. I’m going to listen to myself instead of deferring to someone else.”

In fact, Holmes even welcomes some challenges every now and then and is open to hearing others’ ideas and opinions. “Whenever someone tells me no, I keep going,” she stated.

What do you think about Katie Holmes? Do you have a favorite movie she starred in? Tell us your thoughts and be sure to ask others as well!