Katie Holmes

Born December 18, 1978, Katherine Noelle Holmes has managed lately to make even more of a stir off the big screen than on it. Raised in Toledo, Ohio and the youngest of five children, Holmes first gained notoriety as Joey Potter on the hit nighttime teen soap opera, 'Dawson's Creek.'

Holmes got her first big break when, after attending a modeling class, an agent told her that she should try her luck in Los Angeles. Her mother agreed to take her west, and in 1997, after one audition, Holmes landed a role in 'The Ice Storm', playing Tobey Maguire's girlfriend. After the filming of the movie Holmes returned to Ohio, where she appeared in several local theatre productions and, luckily for Sarah Michelle Gellar, turned down the title role in 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' to finish high school.

While performing in the play, 'Damn Yankees', Holmes heard that 'Scream' writer and director Kevin Williamson was planning a new television series. Holmes was unable to attend auditions in LA but sent him a tape. It was all the director needed. For the next five years Holmes appeared on 'Dawson's Creek' and is the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes.

While on 'Dawson's Creek,' Holmes appeared in several films, but it was 2000's 'Wonder Boys' starring Michael Douglas and Robert Downey Jr. that she won new status as a Hollywood star.

2005 was the year that saw her in her biggest role to date and when she felt the hottest media spotlight of her life. Shortly after the debut of the summer blockbuster 'Batman Begins', Holmes and Tom Cruise announced that they were an item.

Then, on June 17, 2005, Cruise proposed to Holmes at the Eiffel Tower, and she accepted. The company soon became food for a media frenzy comparable to the madness of Brangelina. Then, in October, the frenzy turned into an all out smorgasbord of flashbulbs and microphones when Holmes announced she was pregnant. On April 18, 2006 Katie gave birth to her and Cruise's daughter Suri.