Kate Noelle Holmes was born on December 18, 1978, in Toledo, Ohio, two months premature at four pounds. She is the daughter of Kathleen Ann (Craft),a philanthropist, and Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr., a lawyer. Her ancestry is German, Irish, and English, and her strong-willed personality is likely due to her early birth.
As a teenager, Holmes attended modeling school and began competing in modeling competitions. She won numerous awards, but decided that modeling wasn't challenging enough for her. So, at the age of 17, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Her breakthrough role came when she was cast in the movie The Ice Storm, directed by Ang Lee.
After her success in The Ice Storm, Holmes began sending in audition tapes for pilot shows. She was eventually cast in the role of Joey Potter on the popular TV show Dawson's Creek. During her time on the show, she appeared in several movies, including Disturbing Behavior and Go. She won the Best Breakthrough Female Performance award at the 1999 MTV Movie Awards for her role in Disturbing Behavior.
In 2000, Holmes starred alongside Michael Douglas in the movie Wonder Boys. She played the role of Hannah Green, a published author and boarder at her teacher's house. Her first leading role came in 2002, with the movie Abandon. She played a college student named Katie Burke who is haunted by the disappearance of her boyfriend.
After Dawson's Creek came to an end in 2003, Holmes began to focus more on her film career. She appeared in several movies that year, including Pieces of April and The Singing Detective. In 2004, she starred in the romantic comedy First Daughter, and in 2005, she co-starred in the superhero movie Batman Begins.
In her personal life, Holmes married actor Tom Cruise in 2006 and had a daughter with him.
