Katie Holmes: Snapshot

Katie Holmes: Video

Katie Holmes: Five Fun Facts

1. Katie Holmes deferred enrollment to Columbia University to play Joey Potter on Dawson's Creek.
2. Katie Holmes' father Martin is 6'4'' and used his height to intimidate boys interested in his daughter. "My being the youngest of five and having three sisters, he was right to be a little wary," Holmes told the San Mateo County Times.
3. The first concert Katie Holmes attended was Whitney Houston's.
4. Tom Cruise taught Katie Holmes how to ride a dirt bike in less than two hours. "She's a very quick learner," he told PEOPLE.
5. A nude sex scene between Katie Holmes and Aaron Eckhart was mysteriously cut from a 2006 screening of Thank You For Smoking. "We were sitting there in shock," the film's writer-director Jason Reitman told the L.A. Times. No one knows who altered the movie, but the scene was later reinstated in theatrical release.

Katie Holmes: Biography

1992

A Manager Makes it Official

As a student at Margaret O'Brien's Charm School in Toledo, Holmes studies both modeling and acting. After attending a talent convention in New York City, she signs with a manager in L.A.

1997

September 27

Taking Hollywood by 'Storm'

While still a senior in high school, Holmes lands a role in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. She plays opposite Toby McGuire (left), and her part calls for her to pass out in his lap. The performance catches the eye of Kevin Williamson, who wants her to audition for his new show, Dawson's Creek.

Priorities, Priorities

In her mother's sewing room, Holmes records a home-video audition for Dawson's Creek. Williamson asks her to fly out to L.A. for a screen test, but Holmes declines; the trip coincides with her performance in her high school musical Damn Yankees. Williamson reschedules, and Holmes wins the part of girl-next-door Joey Potter, opposite James Van Der Beek, Michelle Williams and Joshua Jackson.

Read More on Katie Holmes' Life

Katie Holmes: Special Feature