May 31, 2023 | Rachel Ramlawi

Little Known Facts About Katie Holmes


"There's a weight to her, and it's not forced. There's just something going on behind her eyes that makes her compelling, She's always looking for a way to evolve and be better than she was yesterday," —Director Steven Soderbergh on Katie Holmes.

You might remember Katie Holmes for her marriage to Tom Cruise, but she’s pretty famous for her acting too. Holmes has a career that’s spanned two decades and is still going strong. She was catapulted to stardom in the late 90s in her breakout role as Joey Potter in Dawson’s Creek. Since then, she’s captured the public’s heart with roles ranging from the sweet girl next door to America’s First Lady. And of course, there’s her strange romance with Cruise. Here are 40 entertaining facts about Midwestern American actress Katie Holmes.


1. All American Girl

Holmes was born in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo is a midwestern American city that’s famous for being, well, the birth place of Katie Holmes. She graduated from Notre Dame academy in Toledo, an all girl’s Catholic school.

katie holmes

2. What’s That Short For?

While oftentimes Katie is a nickname for longer names like Kathleen or Katherine, Holmes’s first name is just Kate.

Katie Holmes FactsShutterstock

3."If She Were a President, She’d be Baberaham Lincoln".

Holmes has appeared a couple times on lists of hottest and most beautiful people. In 1998, she was "Babe of the Year" in Expressen Fredag, a Swedish Magazine. A year later in 1999, Teen People magazine chose her as one of the "21 Hottest Stars under 21". In 2002, Stuff magazine ranked her #35 on their list of 102 sexiest women in the world. Then in 2005, she was #22 on Maxim’s hot 100, and she was #72 on FHM’s "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005". FHM ranked her #90 the following year in "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006".

Katie Holmes FactsShutterstock

4. Ivy League Bound

Holmes was supposed to attend the Ivy League school Columbia University. She didn’t end up actually attending and only took a single photography class from the school. Smart way to avoid those student loans!

Jack Kerouac factsPixabay

5. Southern Charm

While filming Dawson’s Creek, Holmes bought a home in Wilmington North Carolina, where the show was filmed. She lived there 10 months out of the year while they were filming the show.

Katie Holmes FactsWikimedia Commons

6. The Perfect Muse

Holmes has been mentioned in—or the subject of–a few different songs by completely different bands. One is a small band from Japan, who have dedicated their song "Katie" to her. The other is the band Bowling For Soup, who mention her in their song "High School Never Ends". Firexit—an underground British outfit—has two songs Holmes is the subject of, "K H" and "The Reason I Can’t Have Her". I suspect any day Taylor Swift should be releasing the next big hit about Holmes.

Katie Holmes FactsFlickr

7. I’ll Be There For You (So Long as My Schedule Allows)

Holmes was supposed to have a three episode arc on the hit show Friends. She had to pull out due to scheduling conflicts. Guess we’ll never know if she hooked up with Chandler, Ross, or Joey.

'Friends' in London.Getty Images

8. On Her Own

Holmes is not only a gifted actress, but a gifted singer as well. She sang "On My Own" from Les Misérables in an episode on Dawson’s Creek where Holmes’s character competes in a beauty pageant.

Katie Holmes FactsDawson

9. Baby Sister

Holmes is the youngest of five children. She has three older sisters, and one older brother.

Quiz: The Dark KnightGetty Images

10. Smart Cookie

Holmes auditioned for the role of Buffy on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and was reportedly offered the job, but turned it down to focus on her studies.

Favorite TV Shows FactsGetty Images

11. You’re Once, Twice, a First Lady

Holmes has played First Lady Jackie Kennedy twice in her career as an actress. The first time she played Jackie was in The Kennedys, a Canadian-American mini-series. The second time she played Jackie O was in The Kennedys: After Camelot (sometimes called The Kennedys: The Decline and Fall) a follow up series to The Kennedys.

Katie Holmes FactsThe Kennedys, Muse Distribution International

12. Holy Double Batmans, Batman!

Holmes has worked with two Batmen. Or rather, she’s worked with their actors. Holmes was in Batman Begins playing opposite Christian Bale. She played his childhood friend and love interest Rachel Dawes before the character was recast for The Dark Knight. Holmes has also worked with Michael Keaton. Keaton and Holmes worked together in the film First Daughter. As you may know, Keaton was Batman in the Tim Burton Batman films.

Anthony Hopkins FactsGetty Images

13. That Was Fast!

Holmes and Tom Cruise were only dating for six weeks before they decided to get married. They might have set a new definition for "whirlwind romance".

Katie Holmes FactsShutterstock

14. Convert

Holmes converted to Scientology for her relationship to Cruise. In 2005, Holmes said she converted without any pressure from Cruise. Since her divorce from the movie star, however, she no longer practices scientology.

Leah Remini FactsShutterstock

15. Born Too Early

Holmes was a premature baby, weighing only four pounds when she was born!

Bessie Blount FactsShutterstock

16. Serious Commitment

Holmes turned down an audition for Dawson’s Creek in order to go to her school play’s opening night. She said that she had to do the right thing, and for her that meant honoring the commitments she’d already made for her school. Luckily, Holmes got the part of Joey Potter anyways. She just sent in an audition tape!

Vampire Diaries FactsShutterstock

17. And I Will Always Love You

Speaking of firsts, Holmes’s first concert was a Whitney Houston concert. She attended it with her mom and her sister.

2009 American Music Awards - Show.Getty Images

18. Passing the Bat-ton.

Before Maggie Gyllenhaal took over the role of Rachel Dawes in The Dark Knight, she called and asked for Holmes’s blessing. "I wanted to be sure, first of all, that I had her blessing. And I was assured that I did. I'm a big fan of hers. I think she was really great," Gyllenhaal said of her decision to reach out to Holmes. It’s really gracious on Gyllenhaal’s part to make sure Holmes was okay with it. And Holmes of course was, and only wanted great things for the movie. I love it when we can all just get along.

Katie Holmes FactsGetty Images

19. Oh la la!

Cruise proposed to Holmes at the Eiffel Tower in France. Trés romantic!

History's Greatest Tragedies quizPixabay

 

20. Dream Guy

Holmes used to have a poster of Cruise in her bedroom, and reportedly dreamed of marrying him when she was a teenager. I guess some of us do get to marry our celebrity crush, so there must still be hope for me and Chris Hemsworth.

Tom Cruise FactsShutterstock

21. Here Kitty Kitty.

Cruise and Holmes had a celebrity nickname; the press often referred to them as "TomKat".

Tom Cruise FactsShutterstock

22. Stranger Behavior

In a now infamous interview with Oprah, Cruise jumped around the set–and even on top of the couch–because he was so in love with Holmes. That classic moment has been an easy target of parody, as seen in Scary Movie 4.

Tom Cruise FactsGetty Images

23. That’s (Not) Real Love

Holmes and Cruise’s relationship was immediately called into question by the public. According to a People magazine poll, 62% of readers thought the relationship was fake. The media also wasn’t buying it. For everyone, Cruise’s strange, over-the-top behavior just called the whole thing into question. Most people thought the relationship was a publicity stunt. If so, Holmes had a lot of dedication for that publicity stunt, considering she converted to scientology, got married, and had a kid with Cruise.

Tom Cruise factsGetty Images

24. Oh Baby!

In October 2005, Cruise and Holmes announced they were expecting a child together. The internet was quick to react with horror. One columnist wrote, "The impregnation of sweet, sweet Katie Holmes by that little man -- it's horrific". The news shocked the world, and the internet ate up details of the pregnancy.

Tom Cruise FactsGetty Images

25. Paging Dr. Holmes

Holmes’s father didn’t want her to be an actress; he had his hopes set on her being a doctor. I guess to make her dad happy she could always play a doctor in a movie, or guest star on Grey’s Anatomy?

Biggest Impact FactsShutterstock

26. A Quiet Birth

Holmes had a cameo appearance in Oceans 8, and she was really excited when the movie to came out in summer 2018 (me too, Katie). She told People Magazine that Oceans 8 was "going to be a great female caper film. It won’t disappoint". Holmes’s cameo in the film is just one more reason to love this heist movie.

Katie Holmes FactsGetty Images

27. Wedding Bells Are Ringing

A few months later in November of 2006, Holmes and Cruise were married in a castle near Rome in a scientology ceremony. Holmes’s marriage to the father of her child did nothing to dispel the rumors this was all a publicity stunt gone too far.

Leah Remini FactsGetty Images

28. Fashion Do or Don’t?

Holmes stepped out of the house in Cruise’s jeans back in 2008 and caused a fashion firestorm. While some bloggers credit Holmes with kick starting a trend of boyfriend jeans, one fashion blogger thought it was "cuckoo". Well, boyfriend jeans became a hot fashion trend, so Holmes 1, fashion blogger who called her cuckoo, 0.

Katie Holmes FactsGetty Images

29. Bye Bye, Selma

Holmes’s breakout role as Joey Potter almost went to Selma Blair. That was until the creator got Holmes’s audition tape. Creator of Dawson’s Creek Kevin Williamson said, "when that video showed up, it changed my whole life". I think it’s safe to say it changed Holmes’s life too!

Sitcom Scandals FactsShutterstock

40. Guest Pumpkin

Holmes has guest starred on CBS hit How I Met Your Mother where she played Naomi, whose distinguishing trait on the show was that she dressed as a sexually provocative pumpkin for Halloween.

Katie Holmes FactsHow I Met Your Mother, 20th Century Fox Television

41. Foxxy Lady

Holmes had a steamy romance with actor and singer Jamie Foxx. The two kept their relationship very private and were careful about avoiding being photographed together, but in 2013, they confirmed they were a hot item. They were together for six years before calling it quits, but still remain close friends.

Katie Holmes FactsGetty Images

42. Just Wait Until My Lawyer Hears About This!

Holmes successfully sued Star magazine for libel when they published a magazine calling her a drug addict. Not every celebrity wins a case against tabloids, even if what they’re printing is false, but Holmes did. Court cases seem to go her way, maybe because of that lawyer father!

Lawyers Screwed factsPublic Domain Pictures

43. Missing: One Intimate Scene, If Found Please Return.

During the Sundance Film Festival, Holmes’s intimate scene from the movie Thank You For Smoking was "mysteriously" cut from the viewing. This led several people to speculate that Cruise had somehow managed to get the scene cut. The film’s director Jason Reitman explained it was just a projection error. The scene is still in the theatrical release of the movie.

Katie Holmes FactsThank You for Smoking (2005), Fox Searchlight Pictures

44. First Love

Holmes’s first love was Joshua Jackson, her Dawson’s Creek co-star. In a Rolling Stone interview, Holmes commented on her relationship with Jackson saying, "I fell in love, I had my first love, and it was something so incredible and indescribable that I will treasure it always". Sounds exactly like first love to me! Despite breaking up, Jackson and Holmes remained good friends.

Katie Holmes FactsGetty Images

45. Who Wants to Be Batman's Girlfriend Anyway?

No one knows for sure why Holmes walked away from her role as Rachel Dawes in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. Nolan wanted Holmes to take on the part again, as she had played the character in Batman Begins, but she turned it down. On missing out on a chance to play Dawes in the critically acclaimed box office smash The Dark Knight, Holmes says she has no regrets. As she said, ""You know, I really enjoyed working on the first one and I wish I could have worked with Chris Nolan again," Holmes said. "It was a decision that I made at that time and it was right for me at that moment, so I don't have any regrets. I think that Maggie did a wonderful job. But I really hope that I get to work with Chris some day". Maybe it’s for the best, who really wants fanboys coming up to you and doing their best Heath Ledger Joker impression for the rest of your life? No paycheck is worth that.

Katie Holmes FactsFlickr

46. Baby's First Pictures

Though many doctors criticized him, Tom Cruise reportedly bought a sonogram machine so that he could use it at home on Holmes for fun. As if she’s not already going through enough being pregnant, now she has to deal with her fiancé wanting to play doctor.

Katie Holmes FactsShutterstock

47. B.T., Before Tom

While Holmes’s first marriage was to Tom Cruise, she was engaged once before. In 2003, Holmes was engaged to Chris Klein, perhaps best known for American Pie. The couple split in 2005.

Katie Holmes FactsGetty Images

48. Ex-Connections

Holmes likely met her current beau Jamie Foxx through her now ex-husband Cruise when Foxx and Cruise starred in Collateral together back in 2004.

Celebrity Couples FactsGetty Images

49. Don't Go Breaking My Heart

Almost six years after they were married, Holmes filed for divorce while Cruise was in Iceland shooting a new movie. Holmes’s father, who is a lawyer, helped her with the divorce, making sure Holmes retained custody of her daughter Suri, which was the primary thing she wanted and, according to those close to her, much of what precipitated her quick escape.

Tom Cruise FactsShutterstock

50. A Quiet Place

On April 18th, 2006, Holmes gives birth to her daughter Suri Cruise in a silent birth. Silent or quiet births were recommended by L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, and are common among Scientology's practitioners. As the practice outlines, in a silent birth "everyone attending the birth should refrain from spoken words as much as possible" and "... chatty doctors and nurses, shouts to 'PUSH, PUSH' and loud or laughing remarks to 'encourage' are avoided". Scientologists believe that any spoken words could negatively affect both mother and child.

Tom Cruise FactsShutterstock

Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24


More from Factinate

Featured Article

My mom never told me how her best friend died. Years later, I was using her phone when I made an utterly chilling discovery.

Dark Family Secrets

Dark Family Secrets Exposed

Nothing stays hidden forever—and these dark family secrets are proof that when the truth comes out, it can range from devastating to utterly chilling.
April 8, 2020 Samantha Henman

Featured Article

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.

Madame de Pompadour Facts

Entrancing Facts About Madame de Pompadour, France's Most Powerful Mistress

Madame de Pompadour was the alluring chief mistress of King Louis XV, but few people know her dark history—or the chilling secret shared by her and Louis.
December 7, 2018 Kyle Climans

More from Factinate

Featured Article

I tried to get my ex-wife served with divorce papers. I knew that she was going to take it badly, but I had no idea about the insane lengths she would go to just to get revenge and mess with my life.

These People Got Genius Revenges

When someone really pushes our buttons, we'd like to think that we'd hold our head high and turn the other cheek, but revenge is so, so sweet.
April 22, 2020 Scott Mazza

Featured Article

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but few people know her even darker history.

Catherine of Aragon Facts

Tragic Facts About Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII’s First Wife

Catherine of Aragon is now infamous as King Henry VIII’s rejected queen—but very few people know her even darker history.
June 7, 2018 Christine Tran



Dear reader,


Want to tell us to write facts on a topic? We’re always looking for your input! Please reach out to us to let us know what you’re interested in reading. Your suggestions can be as general or specific as you like, from “Life” to “Compact Cars and Trucks” to “A Subspecies of Capybara Called Hydrochoerus Isthmius.” We’ll get our writers on it because we want to create articles on the topics you’re interested in. Please submit feedback to contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your time!


Do you question the accuracy of a fact you just read? At Factinate, we’re dedicated to getting things right. Our credibility is the turbo-charged engine of our success. We want our readers to trust us. Our editors are instructed to fact check thoroughly, including finding at least three references for each fact. However, despite our best efforts, we sometimes miss the mark. When we do, we depend on our loyal, helpful readers to point out how we can do better. Please let us know if a fact we’ve published is inaccurate (or even if you just suspect it’s inaccurate) by reaching out to us at contribute@factinate.com. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,



The Factinate team




Want to learn something new every day?

Join thousands of others and start your morning with our Fact Of The Day newsletter.

Thank you!

Error, please try again.